Guelph, Ontario, August 1, 2012 – Agricorp is shifting resources and priorities to focus on maintaining claim processing turnaround times in the event that this season’s adverse weather results in a busier-than-normal claim season.
Frost, hail and dry weather have caused significant damage to fruit, vegetables and grain and oilseed crops across the province. Agricorp has already received over 5,000 damage reports from producers and expects that number to rise as the growing season continues.
“Although it’s still too early to assess the overall impact to Ontario crops, we know that some crops will not survive,” says Agricorp CEO Randy Jackiw. “I have met with some producers and have personally witnessed the damage to their crops. I have a great deal of empathy for the challenges Ontario producers are facing this year. Agricorp is realigning our workflows to make sure we are in a position to respond as needed despite claim volumes.”
To ensure timely processing, Agricorp is taking several actions, including:
- Encouraging producers who are experiencing financial distress to contact Agricorp to discuss their options, such as interim or deferred payments
- Preparing to allocate additional staff to assist with the potential influx of claims
- Maintaining up-to-date analysis of damage report trends to stay ahead of crop inspections
- Closely monitoring call volumes to determine if extended call centre hours are needed
- Sharing up-to-date information with producers about program options available to them
“This has been a challenging summer for many of our members due to the drought and we are thankful that programs like crop insurance are available to protect our crops from weather conditions beyond our control,” says Henry Van Ankum, chair of Grain Farmers of Ontario. “Crop insurance is a good, predictable program for Ontario’s grain farmers.”
As an agency of the Government of Ontario, Agricorp works with government and industry partners to contribute to a vibrant and sustainable agricultural industry. Agricorp delivers risk management programs to help producers across all sectors manage all kinds of risk including financial, environmental and market security.
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