Aug. 20/26 News Print Page

With harvest fast approaching in some areas of the province, producers with hail-damaged crops are starting to wonder if Agriculture Financial Services’ (AFSC) claims adjusters will make it to their farm before they need to start harvest.

“Our adjusters are working hard to assess hail damage,” said George Kueber, AFSC Claims Adjusting manager. “This year’s storm season is a bit unprecedented. We had two large scale hail events back-to-back on July 4 and 5.  We haven’t had claims volumes like this since 2016.

“We can’t get to everyone immediately,” said Kueber, adding that there are 2,951 outstanding hail inspections as of August 18. “We prioritize our work based on a number of factors and with harvest getting underway across the province, we will be asking clients to leave representative strips.”

Producers with hail-damaged acres can harvest before the crop is assessed, provided they contact their preferred AFSC branch office for approval to leave inspection strips before starting any work. Inspection strips allow adjusters to evaluate crop damage, while allowing producers to begin swathing or harvesting.

Ensuring an efficient claims process

AFSC adjusters are committed to handling every claim with professionalism, fairness and efficiency. Following a storm, clients can help speed up inspections by checking their fields for signs of damage. Please note that claims that include non-damaged fields can add to overall workload levels and affect inspection timelines.

To help clients identify potential crop damage, email alerts are sent from AFSC when storm activity is detected near insured fields. Clients must be enrolled in client notifications to receive email alerts.

Here’s how the claims process works:

  • Clients have 14 days to report hail damage. Clients can file hail claims online via AFSC Connect. Online claim reporting provides an email confirmation and eliminates the need to phone in a hail claim.
  • Clients receive confirmation once their claim has been assigned to an adjuster.

Claims are prioritized and processed based on several factors, including the number of claims in an area, field conditions, crop stage, the type and severity of damage, and whether an inspection must be completed before harvest or other field operations can continue.

Clients should plan to go with the adjuster when they inspect the crop or provide them with clear directions. They should also be able to show the adjuster where the damage is, and how to access the fields.

If you have questions or would like addition information, please use Live Chat on our website or AFSC Connect, call our Client Care Centre at 1.877.899.2372 or contact your preferred branch office.

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