Record Hail Damage In 2013: Montana Farmers

Insurance claims for crop damage due to hail in Montana exceeded $14 million in 2013.

The Montana Department of Agriculture told the Great Falls Tribune that’s the most expensive year in the 98-year-history of the state’s crop-hail insurance program.

The agency’s hail board on Friday as a result announced that the state’s hail insurance program will not offer refunds this year.

Montana Department of Agriculture Director Ron de Yong says the hail board voted not to offer refunds so it could keep the program viable.

Board Chairman Gary Gollehon says 2013 might have been a once-in-a-lifetime year, but the crop-hail insurance program has to be prepared if another bad year happens.