The Municipal Hail Insurance Act

The Municipal Hail Insurance Act regulates the terms and conditions under which municipalities provide hail insurance to land owners. It establishes an association of all rural municipalities, the Saskatchewan Municipal Hail Insurance Association, which insures land owners against loss of or damage to crops caused by hail. The Association also has the power to extend the coverage for damage to crops due to loss through fire.

For land owners who participate in the program, the municipality annually levies, by way of taxes, at the rate to be charged. An owner must choose to either include all of his or her land, except land used for grazing and hay purposes, or exclude all of the land from the operation of the Act. An owner whose land is withdrawn can apply to have the land come under the operation of the Act again.

The Association provides basic and increased amounts of insurance against hail damage to crops for all participating land owners throughout Saskatchewan. The amounts of basic indemnity are determined annually by the Board elected by the Association. Every participating owner must file a report with the municipality, giving a description of the land and the number of acres under crop or intended to be put under crop in the current year. The amount of the indemnity is determined from these reports.

A claimant who suffers crop damage must give notice within three days by registered mail to the secretary of the Association at Regina.

The Act permits the Association to invest a portion of its reserves in a hail insurance subsidiary called Additional Municipal Hail Limited. Additional Municipal Hail Limited provides crop hail insurance coverage to owners and tenants over and above that provided by the Association. Additional competes with other private hail insurers and is regulated by the Superintendent of Insurance under The Saskatchewan Insurance Act.