| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: Lee Boyer |
| December 13, 2004 | (406) 444-2402
TTY (406) 444-4687 |
Hail Board Approves Refunds, Raises Limits
HELENA, Mont. -- Montana farmers who purchased state hail insurance for wheat, barley and other crops this year will receive 20 percent refunds on the premiums they paid, the state Hail Board has decided.
The insurance limit for dryland crops also will increase for 2005, using flexibility authorized by the Legislature, says Ralph Peck, director of the Montana Department of Agriculture. House Bill 325 enabled the Hail Board to increase coverage limits within a range to a maximum of $40 per acre for dryland crops and $56 per acre for irrigated crops.
Insurance limits for the 2005 crop year will be set at those maximums, the board decided at its annual meeting Dec. 1. The limit for dryland crops in 2004 was $35 per acre.
The state program insured 1,521,701 million acres this year, down slightly from 1,752,256 acres last year but roughly double the number of acres insured during 2002, according to Lee Boyer, Rural Development Bureau chief for the Montana Department of Agriculture.
The program insured crops valued at $4 million and paid 367 loss claims totaling about $1.9 million, for a loss ratio of 47 percent. After reviewing the program's loss ratios and other factors, the five-member Hail Board approved the refunds on paid premiums, and authorized the higher coverage limit for dryland crops in 2004.
Serving on the board with Peck are Chairman Keith Arntzen of Hilger, State Auditor John Morrison, Larry Barbie of Inverness and Lillian Ostendorf of Powderville.
For more information about state hail insurance, contact the Montana Department of Agriculture's hail specialists at (406) 444-2402 or by email at agr@mt.gov.
