The B.C. government is recommending Okanagan tree fruit
growers include insurance for hail damage in their 2014 risk
management plans, and take advantage of the fact that B.C. premiums
are the lowest in Canada. Hail insurance offered jointly by British
Columbia and Canada is a cost-effective way for farm families to
ensure that weather risks such as hail can be managed and farm
businesses can be sustained.

Spring and summer hail storms occur regularly in the Okanagan, but
the exact timing and potential areas impacted are unpredictable. To
help mitigate their risk, all commercial tree fruit growers can buy
hail insurance with the option of increasing their coverage
throughout the year. Like any insurance policy, coverage cannot be
purchased or adjusted retroactively.

The governments of British Columbia and Canada subsidize the premium
of each hail insurance policy in the province. A sample policy with
80% coverage for an apple crop worth $100,000 would result in $7,200
in producer premiums, with the governments contributing a roughly
equal amount. Though coverage for up to 100% of a crop is available,
many growers choose to purchase 80% coverage as an appropriate level.

Payments to insured tree fruit growers following 2013 hail storms in
the Okanagan totalled about $10 million, about half of what was
initially estimated, but higher than average years.