Saskatchewan farmers are raising concerns about sharply higher insurance costs.
APAS president Todd Lewis says some farmers face hikes of six thousand dollars because last week, during the announcement of the provincial budget, the six-percent PST was added to insurance premiums.
“It’s not unusual for a 5-thousand acre farm to have 100-thousand dollars worth of insurance billed with their crop insurance,” says Lewis. “Of course there’s building insurance and vehicles, and so on. You know, 100-thousand dollars – that’s a 6-thousand dollar hit. So it’s significant.”
The President of Saskatchewan Crop Insurance, Shawn Jacques says there are various options available for farmers worried about rising costs.
He says with confusion surrounding the higher insurance costs, office staff have been fielding questions from farmers.
“They’re calculating their coverage options for the year and what the potential premium could be,” says Jacques. “And then they’re factoring in what the provincial sales tax would mean to that.”
Source : CKRM