The B.C. government is recommending Okanagan tree fruit
growers include insurance for hail damage in their 2015 risk management
plans, and take advantage of B.C. premiums being the lowest in Canada.

Hail insurance offered jointly by British Columbia and Canada is a
cost-effective way for farmers 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 2014 hail storms in
the Okanagan totalled about $9 million.