The winter storm that wreaked havoc on southeast Saskatchewan earlier this month had a significant impact on many in Saskatchewan, but farmers appear to be particularly hard hit.
According to Tyler McMurchy, the manager of media relations for Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI), the Crown corporation has received 2,264 property claims (including 771 AgroPak claims) and 508 auto claims related to wind damage. The storm packed wind gusts that reached 120 kilometres per hour.
AgroPaks are for farm customers, and cover barns, sheds, livestock, machinery and equipment, but can also cover dwellings, all-terrain vehicles and watercrafts.
“When it comes to AgroPak claims, a lot of the damage we are seeing is from empty bins, with many being a total loss,” said McMurchy. “Some have imploded when the hatches blew open and the wind speeds created a vacuum. We’ve also had a few pole sheds disappear and/or collapse onto the machinery stored inside for the winter.
“This has resulted in some significant claims. In short, we are seeing many damaged bins and farm buildings.”
It’s possible there are some claims from customers who have an AgroPak that covers their farm property and also includes their dwelling located in a town or city, and the urban dwelling was what was damaged, McMurchy said. But he expects that would be less than 10 per cent of AgroPak holders.
Most AgroPak claims reported are located in southern Saskatchewan, primarily between Regina and Weyburn.
Customers have up to two years to file a claim, so McMurchy expects these numbers to continue to grow in the coming weeks and months. Some of the AgroPak claims they have seen may just be for personal property, but they will have to wait until all claims are fully reserved to determine if this is the case.
“It will be a while until SGI can provide an accurate estimation of the total value of AgroPak claims in particular, due to the complexity of farm building claims. We will continue to monitor the situation as more data becomes available,” McMurchy said.
Of the claims that they’ve received, 98 per cent of their customers have been contacted. On average, this happens within a couple of days. The value of individual claims vary widely.
McMurchy noted that for this time of year, there isn’t a huge history of winter storms causing this much damage in Saskatchewan. In January 2014, a windstorm and blizzard that swept through much of the province resulted in about $5 million in claims.
“However, there was a similar wind event in October 2017, which had a cost of $16 million,” he said. “Although we don’t have firm estimates yet, the January 2021 storm could end up approaching or even surpassing that, as it had higher wind speeds over a similar area with a similar population and with some consideration for inflation,” he said.
