Saskatchewan Grain Bin Insurance: Building Code Updates
Protecting your livelihood starts with understanding the current landscape of the industry. Back in 2023, we saw harvest progress well ahead of the five-year average. Fast forward to 2025, and Saskatchewan farmers have shown incredible resilience.
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Saskatchewan Harvest Trends: Late-August Progress (2023–2025)
While the final bins are usually settled by October, the last week of August serves as a critical benchmark for the season’s pace. The following snapshots show how much harvest completion varied during this window over the last three years, according to Provincial Crop Reports.
23% (2025)
Progress as of Sept 1; behind the 10-yr average of 34% due to uneven crop staging.
42% (2024)
Progress as of Sept 2; ahead of the 10-yr average of 31% after a rapid August push.
51% (2023)
Progress as of Sept 4; ahead of the 10-yr average of 33% due to hot, dry conditions.
Year-End Summaries
- 2025: A season of abundance and recovery. [Source]Plentiful rainfall throughout the growing season led to strong potential, though late-season humidity and frost required a patient finish to reach 99% completion.
- 2024: A year of rapid transitions. [Source]After a moisture-heavy spring, a hot and dry late summer allowed crops to mature quickly, resulting in a 100% completion rate by mid-October.
- 2023: A testament to producer grit. [Source]Despite widespread drought and significant pest pressure from gophers and grasshoppers, resilient management saw 98% of the crop safely in the bin.
Whether you’re facing the drought-driven pace of 2023 or the moisture-rich challenges of 2025, the shift from the field to the bin is when your hard work is most at risk. Securing comprehensive farm insurance is the only way to ensure your business stays protected against post-harvest losses and storage incidents.
Insuring Grain Bins
What is considered “Insured Property”?
- Farm Buildings: Structures including permanently attached fixtures and equipment pertaining to the use of the building.
- Contents: Property usual to a farming operation while contained in farm buildings.
Scheduling Your Farm Property
The property that needs to be scheduled includes various equipment, buildings, and any contents within them. It is important to note that these items should be specifically listed and displayed on your insurance policy to ensure they are fully protected.
Common Buildings Requiring Scheduling
To avoid gaps in coverage, the following structures must be specifically listed on your policy:
- Fabric-covered buildings or structures
- Greenhouses
- Grain bins
- Seed cleaning or grain handling complexes
- Grain dryers
Temporary Storage & Grain Bags
If you’re using temporary setups like bin rings or grain bags, keep in mind they usually aren’t covered under a standard policy. However, most insurers will still step in if there’s a major “peril,” insurance-speak for an event like a fire, lightning strike, or explosion. Since every provider has slightly different rules on this, it’s a good idea to walk through your specific wording with an advisor to make sure you aren’t left with an expensive surprise.
Managing Your Risks
Your grain bins face more than just the weather. Problems like fungi, spores, or even simple storage errors can put your yield at risk. For example, a stormy harvest can lead to mildew, and improperly managed hay can actually self-ignite and cause a fire. To protect against this, most policies cover your bins and the grain inside using one of two methods:
- Individual Scheduling: This is where we list each bin specifically with its own value.
- Blanket Limits: This is a “total” pot of money that covers all your bins and grain collectively, rather than listing each one individually.
It is vital to check that these limits are high enough. A small fire in one bin can go unnoticed, but if it spreads, it can ruin the grain in every surrounding bin, making your entire harvest unsaleable.
Need to review your limits? Contact your advisor to ensure your farm insurance is up to date.
+15% → 35%
Estimated increase in construction costs for large farm buildings under new code requirements (Source: Canadian Underwriter, 2024)
The “Perfect Storm”: Building Codes & Your Coverage
Recent updates to the National Building Code of Canada (NBC) are a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand, they’re designed to make large farm buildings (like confined livestock housing) much more resilient against extreme wind and seismic activity. On the other hand, these higher standards mean that rebuilding after a loss has become significantly more expensive.
As Ken Worsley of Nova Mutual puts it, “Every one of those buildings now, technically, is underinsured unless that’s contemplated in the [rebuild].” If your policy hasn’t been updated to reflect these new rules, your current insurance limit might not be enough to actually get your building back up and running.
The takeaway? Don’t wait for a claim to find out your coverage is stuck in 2023. A quick review of your farm insurance policy can ensure that your rebuild limits are high enough to handle the 2025 standards.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is “insuring to value,” and why is it important for my bins?
Insuring to value means setting your coverage limits based on the actual cost to rebuild or replace your property today. If you under-insure a building (e.g., insuring a $500k barn for only $300k), you may be subject to a “coinsurance” penalty, meaning you would have to pay a portion of even a small claim out of pocket.
Are grain bags and temporary bin rings covered by my SGI Canada policy?
Generally, property stored in temporary enclosures like grain bags or bin rings is excluded from standard coverage. However, some policies often provide a specific extension that covers these items for limited perils such as fire, lightning, or explosion.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is intended as a general guide. Please consult your specific insurance policy for precise coverage details, including conditions, definitions, and exclusions that apply to your individual insurance.
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Posted in Farm on September 19, 2023 by Hope Prost
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