Hail Insurance?

[Fransisco]

What's everybody's opinion on hail insurance? I have yet to hear a convincing answer on how much to get.

Some guys don't do any, some load it right up to full crop value.

I always do some but most of the time I never collect anything.

The worst loss I ever had was a week before harvest and 40% of my oats was gone. But it wasn't hail that did it, it was wind so I was SOL.

[AdamSmith]

I put on $0.00 this year, the same as last year and the same as the year before that and....

1993 Hail insurance would have been woth it for me, the years before that even going back to the years when the only thing I did on the farm was ride my little Honda Trail 70 up and down the dirt roads would have been nada in value and every year since then nada.

For me the odds are big time in favour of no hail.

plus I hate dishing out 20 or 30 K for zip.

[dfarms11]

I generally take out just enough to cover my inputs, less whatever my crop ins coverages are. Now this year I didn't take any out on my canola as we don't really have a crop.

[LWeber]

Mr Smith:

Honda Trail 70 - do u still have it?

[AdamSmith]

LWeber, regarding my Honda Trail 70, you bet I still have it, it's been rusting in the machine shed since 1981.

Bent handle bars, ripped seat and original 1972 tires.

My youth exists in that little bike.

[AdamSmith]

You know, when I think about it, that little Honda and the freedom it gave me when I was 9 thru 13 years old shaped how I see the world today.

Evel Knievel in the morning, worldly traveler and man on the move in the afternoon and racing(45 mph) home after midnight so the Gargoyles wouldn't get me (a bad B movie that scared the crap out of me when I was 12)

What a world it would be if every young lad (and gal) got to experience the freedom of a Honda Trail 70.

[sumdumguy]

In 2001, we were 100% hailed out twice within 7 days. We had enough hail insurance to cover the whole crop and then sold residue for greenfeed. The next year, we were hailed out again. Experts say it is common for hail to follow same path 2 years in a row. The central hail insurance company refused to pay the second year because they had paid the year before. This well-known company waited for crop to limp back a bit and then said it had recovered. You ever see Peas and Lentils recover? We witnessed the need to deal with smaller line companies that you know you can trust. The premiums at the time were cheap, even for Lentils and Peas - You realize how cheap when you see your entire crop laying flat as a pancake. We looked at hail insurance from the angle of 2-3% premium - we could insure for 30-50 years and surely in that time we'll be hit. In our case, we were hit 3 times in 2 years.

Also when our sons bought their land in 1994, we loaded up with hail insiurance for them. 70 % hailon Lentils paid their expenses and premiums for 3 years and took them through university and med school. So, ask me if I'm a believer in hail insurance? I say, "I don't even think about it-its a given".
ASk your neighbours which companies adjust proerly and pay before buying.

[cottonpicken]

When i took over grandaddys land he would always talk about getting hailed out the first two years in a row-so i loaded up and wham O- made some money.

Of course fighting with those bitch line companies was fun.

I dont put any on now.

I do still put a pile of clicks on my atv,but i reallly do have gargolyes chasing me.

[dfarms11]

It definitely depends on the area as well, we don't get hailed out much,maybe one year out of 10-15 but we will get our premiums back and then some, more often then not.

[LWeber]

So Adam, you think CWB supporters had 2-wheel bikes as teenagers?

CP: thanks for cracking me up this a.m. - I needed that...

http://www.crystalinks.com/gargoyle3.gif

my precious....