SCIC increases 2023 crop insurance coverage – and premiums

For this year, the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. (SCIC) is implementing a new system which will see increased coverage for producers – but the change also comes with corresponding premium increases as well.

Under the new system, crop insurance premiums will be calculated per crop, based on a producer’s personal claim history compared with their corresponding area risk zone. Essentially, a producer’s claim on one crop would not impact their premium from another crop.

According to Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit, the new system will be “more reflective of what [producers] are experiencing on their own farm.”

SCIC also stated in a release that it continues to offer producers in the province higher crop insurance coverage, noting that the average coverage for 2023 is at a “record-high level” of $446 per acre, due to increased commodity prices and yield coverage.

But with this increased coverage also comes a commensurate increase in premiums, as the average total crop insurance premium in 2023 is $14.79 per acre, up from $12.05 in 2022.

Marit said that the changes to crop insurance will ensure that the fund is “strong, and will continue to support Saskatchewan producers by paying all eligible claims.”

The move has been generally praised by producers, but some have approached the individual premium change with a bit more caution.

“We realize that there is a lot of risk out there,” Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities president Ray Orb told The Local Journalism Initiative, via CBC News. “Producers are still looking at pretty high input prices and costs down the road … We’re not quite sure yet about the individual premium coverage change and how that actually will take place … but with the idea that there will be no more, I think, than a $5 premium increase, I think that change should generally be fairly muted.”