Saskatchewan has an interesting situation with a larger number of total claims----but a lower average payout per claim. The Canadian Crop Hail Association indicates losses tracked above the five-year average at 11,001 claims. An average year is usually closer to 8,000. "Our adjustors were really taxed," says Rodney Schoettler, chief executive officer with Saskatchewan Municipal Hail Insurance. "It hailed every day in July and August this year. July is normal to have hail everyday, but not August. Since harvest was delayed, we also had more claims than usual in September." Schoettler says crop hail claims were filed in 280 of the 297 rural municipalities in Saskatchewan. Total payouts amounted to just over $124 million, resulting in a 70.8 per cent loss ratio. The number is close to the long-term average, but well below the 45.6 per cent loss ratio in 2015. "We had a lot of small events, more localized hail storms. You would have the pocket in the middle where it was heavy and then it would be real light on the outside. It (usually) was just small areas that were hit." Some areas---including Kindersley, Moose Jaw and Frontier had multiple hail events during the growing season. Manitoba had the worst year for hail in Western Canada with a loss ratio of 142.6 per cent. Total losses were reported at $67 million, which is a sharp increase over last year's total of $46 million. Alberta reported crop hail payouts of $64 million compared to $50 million last year. The loss ratio was 81.8 per cent. Based on these numbers, farmers in Manitoba can expect to pay more for crop hail insurance next year. Some Alberta customers could see increases as well, while Schoettler anticipates Saskatchewan will be ''relatively flat." Source - http://www.saskatoonhomepage.ca