Production Insurance for bee health covers colony losses caused by an insured peril that occur during the overwinter period.
Production Insurance covers you for losses due to adverse weather, disease, pests, wildlife, or other uncontrollable natural perils, except for perils excluded in your Contract of Insurance – General Terms and the Commodity-Specific Terms: Bee Health on the Publications page.
Calculating your coverage and claims
Your coverage is based on your average colony survival rate and the insurable value you choose.
Average colony survival rate
Your most recent years of historical colony survival rates reported for Production Insurance are used to create your average.
If you have less than 5 years of historical colony survival rates or are a new customer, you are assigned an underwritten value for the missing years.
Each year that you participate, your own colony survival rate replaces an underwritten value until your average is composed entirely of your own actual colony survival rates.
| Number of years with individual colony survival rate data | How your average colony survival rate
is calculated |
| 0 | Calculated using an underwritten value. |
| < 5 | Calculated using your own survival history and an underwritten value for any missing years. |
| 5 to 10 | Calculated using your own history only, up to a maximum of 10 years. |
Stabilizing your average
Changes to your average colony survival rate are limited to an increase or decrease of 5% per year, adding a level of stability to your coverage. For example, if your average goes down by 8.5%, only a 5% decrease is reflected for the current year.
Coverage level
Coverage levels reflect your individual historical average colony survival rates. Agricorp determines your coverage level every year based on your average.
Eligible coverage levels range from 20% to 90% at 10% increments.
| Average colony survival rate ranges | Corresponding
coverage level |
Less than 25%
| 20%
|
| 25% to 34.99% | 30%
|
| 35% to 44.99% | 40%
|
| 45% to 54.99% | 50%
|
| 55% to 64.99% | 60%
|
| 65% to 74.99% | 70%
|
| 75% to 84.99% | 80%
|
85% or more
| 90%
|
Calculating a claim payment
Insurable value
Each year, Agricorp determines a choice of insurable values based on the average cost of a replacement colony (nucleus colony or single colony). You choose an insurable value when you apply or renew. For current insurable values, see the Rates page.
How claims are determined
A claim payment is calculated by subtracting your surviving colonies in the spring from your guaranteed colonies, multiplied by your chosen insurable value. If the number of surviving colonies is less than your guaranteed colonies (after adjustment for any uninsured perils), a colony-loss claim may be paid.
Claims are calculated using this formula:
Claim payment = (guaranteed colonies – surviving colonies) × insurable value
Dead colonies
To calculate your total dead colonies, add 67% of your weak colonies to your dead colonies. A weak colony consists of three or four eligible frames; 67% of weak colonies will be considered dead for claim calculation purposes.
Surviving colonies
To calculate the number of surviving colonies, subtract the number of total dead colonies from your insured colonies.
Surviving colonies = insured colonies – total dead colonies
Example scenario
A commercial Ontario beekeeper has:
- Coverage level: 70%
- Insured colonies: 200
- Dead colonies in spring: 150
- Weak colonies: 6
Guaranteed colonies
| = insured colonies × coverage level = 200 × 70%
= 140 colonies
|
Total dead colonies
| = dead colonies + (67% of weak colonies) = 150 + (67% × 6)
= 154 total dead colonies |
Surviving colonies
| = insured colonies – total dead colonies
= 200 – 154 = 46 surviving colonies |
| Claim payment formula | = (guaranteed colonies - surviving colonies) × chosen insurable value |
| Payment | Insurable value – single colony ($380/colony)
| Insurable value – nucleus colony ($265/colony)
|
| = (140 – 46) × $380 = $35,720 | = (140 – 46) × $265 = $24,910 |
