News
Enhancements to Alberta crop insurance

Mar. 21, 2016 - Six new enhancements to the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation's (AFSC) AgriInsurance programs will benefit crop and bee producers across the province. The developments include a new malt barley insurance product, the first of its kind in Canada.

AFSC, the Government of Alberta, the Government of Canada, and various producer groups worked together to make the enhancements based on producer feedback. AFSC worked with various producer groups, including the Alberta Alfalfa Seed Commission, the Alberta Beekeepers Commission, Organic Alberta, the Alberta Barley Commission, and the Alberta Pulse Growers Commission to make the enhancements.

Highlights of the other five program enhancements include:

• Amendments to the Annual Insurance Program to include winterkill as a designated peril for pedigreed alfalfa seed production loss insurance.
• Implementing individual coverage as part of the Bee Overwintering Insurance Program.
• Making organic producers eligible for production insurance. This new option will work similarly to AFSC's standard production insurance programs.
• Continued changes to field pea insurance as the crop shifts to an edible end-use.
• The creation of a distinct category for yellow dry beans.

Additionally, AFSC clients will pay an average of six per cent less in multi-peril Annual Crop Insurance Program premium rates compared to 2015 levels. The reduction is based on the average of all crops in risk areas, and is related to the positive-loss experience in recent years. In certain risk areas, the premium reductions will be higher or lower than the six per cent average.

Clients will also see a 14 per cent increase in dollar coverage per acre in 2016. This increase is due to a combination of increasing spring insurance prices and yields.

March 22, 2016  By Top Crop Manager