The crown corporation that runs hail insurance in Alberta is gearing up for what may be an active season of damage claims.
The Agriculture Financial Services Corp. is training new adjusters and has outfitted adjusters with new equipment aimed at increasing efficiency.
With much of Alberta’s farmland still holding a lot of moisture, and warmer temperatures expected, Brian Tainsh, the provincial and central region adjusting manager, said farmers are bracing themselves.
“Everyone that’s farmed knows the more moisture in the air, the more chance there is for hail. So I think that may definitely have some results as far as people buying more hail insurance,” he said.
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David Phillips, a senior climatologist with Environment Canada, said worries about the hail potential are well founded, although long range forecasting, particularly forecasts for precipitation, are not always reliable.
“It’s a bit like boiling a pot of water,” he said. “You know for sure there’s going to be bubbles, but it’s anyone’s guess as to how many or where those bubbles will be.”
Alberta endures more frequent and more severe hailstorms than anywhere else in the country, focused mainly in the central and southern regions.
In fact, Phillips said Calgary may be the most hailed-upon city on Earth.
A half hour of hail on one afternoon in Alberta could cause historic amounts of damage to property and crops if it hits in the right spot.
“It’s a question of where and how intense, not the number of storms,” he said.
Tainsh said high commodity prices are also encouraging farmers to buy hail insurance.
He is confident AFSC is ready for anything the hail season might bring.
A slightly higher than average number of retirements means the corporation isn’t at an ideal level of staff, but Tainsh said efficiencies gained from the adoption of new technologies will more than make up for it.
Laptops and GPS units are now part of adjusters’ standard-issue gear as they head out to process claims, which means they no longer have to return to a central office to pick up their next claim to process.
GPS units will eliminate guesswork so that adjusters will know exactly what quarter they are assessing.
Tainsh said farmers concerned about hail should buy their insurance early. They can do it online, but first need to pick up an activation key at their local AFSC office.
Producers who make a claim can help ensure speedier processing by giving correct land location information and being available to go out to the affected site with the adjuster on the day of the appointment.
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