The first completely online option for hail crop insurance has been launched.
Rates for AG Direct Hail Insurance were made public last week, explains the company's CEO Bruce Lowe.
"We wrote our first policy within minutes of going live and I expect we'll be closing our first township by the middle of the week due to the demand," he says.
In Manitoba, the hail insurance is in addition to coverage provided by Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation.
"Farmers in that province must first purchase the $200 per acre - the maximum with MASC - before being eligible to purchase AG Direct Hail. Should they have a claim, AG Direct will settle that claim by matching the loss reward they've signed off on with MASC," explains Lowe.
He says the new online direct option, which is based on the model used by some auto-insurance providers in the US - will save farmers up to 15 percent on their hail insurance costs.
"The concept of direct and online is not new. There's a pretty successful company that says something about saving 15 percent in 15 minutes, so we're taking that model and applying it to crop hail insurance," notes Lowe.
Source - http://www.portageonline.com/
