| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: Lee Boyer |
| December 9, 2005 | (406) 444-2402 TTY (406) 444-4687 |
Montana Hail Board approves refunds
HELENA, Mont. — Montana farmers who purchased state hail insurance for wheat, barley and other crops this year will receive a late Christmas gift in the form of 30 percent refunds on the premiums they paid, the state Hail Board decided Thursday.
Administered by the Montana Department of Agriculture, the program insured a record 1,950,693 acres in 2005, issuing 2,440 hail insurance policies and collecting more than $5.5 million in premiums, according to Nancy K. Peterson, director of the Montana Department of Agriculture. The program insured 1,521,701 acres last year.
"The increase in the number of policies and acres follows an increase in coverage limits, and it reflects an improvement in growing conditions this year after several years of severe drought," Peterson says.
Coverage limits under the state program are $40
per acre for dryland crops and $56 per acre for
irrigated crops. Limits for the 2006 crop year will
be kept at those levels and premiums also will not
change, the board decided at its annual meeting
held Dec. 8, 2005, in Billings.
The increase in the number of premiums relative
to hail losses made it possible for the board to
approve the 30 percent refund on paid premiums.
Refund checks will be mailed in early 2006, says
Lee Boyer, Rural Development Bureau chief for the
Montana Department of Agriculture.
Serving with Peterson on the board are Chairman
Gary Gollehon of Brady, State Auditor John Morrison,
Larry Barbie of Inverness and Keith Arntzen of Hilger.
For more information about state hail insurance,
contact the Montana Department of Agriculture's
hail specialist at (406) 444-2402 or by email at
agr@mt.gov.
