Productions covered

Individual crop insurance offers you personalized coverage, tailored to the needs of your farming enterprise. Plan A covers apple tree mortalities.

Insurable production

• Group 1: Dwarf and semi-dwarf apple trees.
• Group 2: Standard apple trees.
• Group 3: Apple trees on newly planted areas, i.e. dwarf and semi-dwarf apple trees aged from one to five years old planted on areas that are homogeneous.

N.B.:    Producers may choose to insure only one of these groups, or a combination of the groups.

Risks covered

• Drought
• Excessive wind, rain, humidity and heat
• Floods
• Freezing rain
• Frost and ice formation in soil, from November to April
• Hail
• Hurricanes, tornadoes
• Snow
• Uncontrollable insects and diseases
• Wild animals against which there is no adequate means of protection, with the exception of the waterfowl provided for through the Waterfowl Plan under the Federal-Provincial Agreement for AgriProtection

Protection offered

Benefit options:

Group 1 and 2: 90%, 95% or 97% of the insurable value.

Group 3: 90% or 96% of the insurable value.

Deductibles: 10%, 5%, 4% or 3% depending on the group and the benefit option chosen.

Protection in effect: From December 1 to November 30 of the following year.

Financing of the premium

The financing of the premium for the Crop Insurance Program is assumed by the governments (60%) and the participant (40%), for all benefit options.

The governments cost-share in a proportion of 60% for Canada and 40% for Québec.

Financing of the administrative costs

The costs inherent in administering the Crop Insurance Program are shared in a proportion of 60% by the Government of Canada and 40% by the Government of Québec.

Enrolment

Deadline for enrolment: December 1 preceding the insurance year.

Minimum insurable: For each group of insurable apple trees, 250 trees planted before May 30 preceding the insurance year.

Farming practices:

• Abide by the standards recommended by the Centre de référence en agriculture et agroalimentaire du Québec or approved by La Financière agricole.
  

Cross compliance measures

• When the Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs (MDDEP) transmits information to La Financière agricole establishing that the participant did not submit a valid phosphorus report as stipulated under the Agricultural Operations Regulation (AOR), the participant loses the right to any compensation for the current insurance year for all the insured products. Moreover, the participant will be required to pay, as an administrative fee, an amount equal to the contribution that would have been due on all the insured products.
  
  The provisions related to the phosphorus report concern all the raising or spreading sites owned, leased or on which the operation custom produces. It targets all the operation's productions, whether or not they are covered by stabilization insurance.
  
  For more information on the requirements related to the phosphorus report, participants should consult their agrologist or their regional office of the MDDEP.
  
  
• In accordance with the Protection Policy for Lakeshores, Riverbanks, Littoral Zones and Floodplains, La Financière agricole excludes from insurable units cultivated units within a three metre strip of vegetation with respect to riverbanks.

Change to certificate

No change may be made to crop insurance coverage by the participant after the enrolment deadline.

Notice of damage

When damage occurs to your insured crops, you must notify La Financière agricole immediately.

Minimum period for notice of damage: 2 working days before removal of trees, so that an appraisal can be made.

Failure to report damage within the prescribed time limits may lead to the loss of your right to compensation.

Compensation

ABANDONMENT

Abandonment can be authorized at any time during the season, providing a representative from La Financière agricole can appraise the damage before the trees are removed. The damage must meet certain criteria:

Minimum area: the entire lot or an undivided area regrouping 250 trees of a same group.

Abandonment threshold: abandonment is authorized when the loss of trees is 75% or greater.

DROP IN YIELD

When the damage causes a loss greater than the deductible listed on the certificate for a selected group.

Application for review

Any request for a review of a final decision rendered regarding a participant's insurance file must be made in writing, explaining the motives behind the request, and sent to the Service Centre in charge of the participant's file or delivered in person to a representative of La Financière agricole within ninety (90) days from the date of the decision in question. However, program conditions and parameters or program premises, the results of collective appraisals for crop insurance losses and exclusion from programs for motives provided for in the programs may not be subject to a request for a review.

This coverage summary in no way takes precedence over the provisions of the Program, of the regulation in effect and of the agreements with the Government of Canada.