March is here, and that means April is not too far around the corner. For row croppers, orchard growers, and the like, this means the hail season is not too far behind, along with certain choice deadlines for getting hail crop insurance lined up before you start planting your crop for 2023.
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- Hail insurance covers a lot more than just hail!
- Some coverage you may find included with your hail insurance policy:
- You can purchase hail-specific insurance anytime during the season.
- You can go in on a policy with your neighbors that covers you both.
- If you live in a less hail-prone area, you’ll pay less for insurance.
Farmers should know that hail damage is not covered under the main Federal Crop Insurance Program in the U.S. For hail-specific coverage, you’ll need to contact a private insurance agent or company that offers it… which we just so happen to do.
While farmers might wince at the thought of having to shell out cash for hail coverage (especially as it’s not government-subsidized like other options), they’ll love hearing that hail insurance has very low deductibles, and sometimes no deductible at all! This is because it’s pretty common for hail damage to fall short of the deductibles on other types of weather-related insurance policies. Thus, the need for hail-specific coverage with low to no deductibles.
Want to know all about hail insurance? Considering a policy? Here’s what you get out of the deal, and some perks to hail insurance you may not know.
Hail insurance covers a lot more than just hail!
Despite the deceptively simple title, hail insurance is inclusive of a lot more than just hail damage. However, that can and does depend on the insurance agent or company.
Many private agents and companies (including us here at Colville Crop Insurance!) offer coverage for several other weather-related events wrapped right up into your policy. And no, it’s not a Multi-Peril policy… it is technically a Named Peril policy, even if the policy still addresses multiple weather perils.
Some coverage you may find included with your hail insurance policy:
- Fire. Wildfires are becoming increasingly common and highly devastating weather events to farmers everywhere. Your hail insurance policy could cover fire events that are related to weather that damage your crops (but not related to on-farm originated fires or electrical fires). At Colville Crop Insurance, we also offer a policy that compensates growers for fires damaging product even post-harvest while it is still in the harvester.
- Lightning. It’s true that most wildfires are caused by lightning, and thus coverage for this could be wrapped up under fire insurance with your hail policy. That said, lighting strikes can cause damage to crops in other surprising ways. If lightning strikes the soil around your crops, it can create an unnatural spike of nitrates that may damage or kill them off — and in instances like these, lightning under hail insurance will have you covered. Like fire insurance, Colville Crop Insurance protects against damage to crops even post-harvest while still in the harvester.
- Vandalism. That’s right, some hail insurance policies will help you cash in on stealing, tampering, malicious damage, shrinkage, etc. to your crops in the field (and in some cases, post-harvest) that affect your revenue. It’s not just Mother Nature’s mischief farmers might need to be worried about, but the human-caused type, too.
- Transit protection. Some hail policies may also throw in transit protection as part of the deal. This means product (post-harvest) is covered during transportation from damage or loss to accidents or other events while in the vehicle or other transit method. For example, we offer coverage for transit to the first storage location up to 50 miles and even protect against damage to product caused by collision, culvert/bridge/dock collapse, and even unanticipated overturning of the transport vehicle.
- Plenty of add-ons. Not enough coverage? No worries. A lot of hail policies are also designed for implementing and incorporating other types of weather events that could happen and potentially damage your crops: such as wind, re-planting costs, unanticipated harvest expenses, and more.
Hail insurance offers even more unexpected perks.
In addition to the fact that hail insurance covers other weather events, there are other unique qualities about hail policies that every good farmer should know about.
You can purchase hail-specific insurance anytime during the season.
While in many ways Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) policies tend to be more favorable purchases for farmers, which cover hail damage along with many other types of natural and non-natural threats, but one of the huge bonuses to hail insurance under the Named Peril category is that you can buy it any time of year.
That means there’s no rush to get coverage squared away in the next couple of months in order to make sure you’re secure against hail or other incidents.
You can go in on a policy with your neighbors that covers you both.
This may come as a surprise to some farmers. Some insurance providers (including us), will cover hail damage within a range even if it didn’t happen on-farm. Our hail policy specifically offers coverage for hail damage within a 3-square-mile grid.
What if hail damage occurred within the 3 by 3-mile grid, but impacted your neighbor’s fields instead? You could still get compensation for this loss. It could be advantageous for multiple farms to share hail insurance policies in some cases.
If you live in a less hail-prone area, you’ll pay less for insurance.
Farmers who have never dealt with hail — or don’t expect to deal with it often, based on their location — might still want to consider hail insurance nevertheless.
For one, your policy will be far less expensive than it would be in a hail-prone area! But even if that weren’t the case, “freak” hailstorm events are becoming more frequent, more intense, and popping up in more areas where they are not expected. Even if it is a bit of extra change every year for your business, having (or not having) hail insurance could mean the difference between a rogue hailstorm completely making or breaking your business — yes, even completely losing the family legacy.
Take last year’s February hailstorms in Texas for example. Or even the story about this Ohio apple farmer, who might have had to close their doors if they didn’t have hail insurance. And hail is not a common occurrence in Ohio
Remember: hail insurance goes far beyond covering farms that experience frequent hail storms. It offers many other perks that you might want to consider. If you’re curious about what Named Peril and Multi-Peril hail insurance policies could cover, get in touch with us today!
If you live in a less hail-prone area, you’ll pay less for insurance.
Farmers who have never dealt with hail — or don’t expect to deal with it often, based on their location — might still want to consider hail insurance nevertheless.
For one, your policy will be far less expensive hail-prone area. On the other hand, “freak” hailstorm events are becoming more frequent, more intense, and popping up in more areas where they are not expected. Even if it is a bit of extra change every year for your business, having (or not having) hail insurance could mean the difference between a rogue hailstorm completely making or breaking your business — yes, even completely losing the family legacy.
Take last year’s February hailstorms in Texas for example. Or even the story about this Ohio apple farmer, who might have had to close their doors if they didn’t have hail insurance. Hail is not a common occurrence in Ohio!
Remember, hail insurance goes far beyond needing it because you live in a hail-prone region, and it offers many other perks of coverage that you should consider. If you’re curious about what Named Peril and Multi-Peril hail insurance policies could cover, get in touch with us today!