Production Insurance
Bee Health

How it works

Production Insurance for bee health covers colony losses caused by an insured peril that occur during the overwinter period.

Production Insurance covers you for losses due to adverse weather, disease, pests, wildlife, or other uncontrollable natural perils, except for perils excluded in your Contract of Insurance – General Terms and the Commodity-Specific Terms: Bee Health on the Publications page.

Calculating your coverage and claims

Guaranteed colonies

To calculate your guaranteed colonies, multiply your insured colonies by the level of coverage you choose.

Guaranteed colonies = insured colonies × chosen coverage level

Insurable value

Each year, Agricorp determines a choice of insurable values based on the average cost of a replacement colony. You choose an insurable value when you apply or renew. For current insurable values, see the Rates page.

How claims are determined

A claim payment is calculated by subtracting your surviving colonies in the spring from your guaranteed colonies, multiplied by your chosen insurable value. If the number of surviving colonies is less than your guaranteed colonies (after adjustment for any uninsured perils), a colony-loss claim may be paid.

Claims are calculated using this formula:

Claims = (Guaranteed colonies – surviving colonies) × insurable value

Dead colonies

To calculate your total dead colonies, add 67% of your weak colonies to your dead colonies. A weak colony consists of three or four eligible frames; 67% of weak colonies will be considered dead for claim calculation purposes.

Surviving colonies

To calculate the number of surviving colonies, subtract the number of total dead colonies from your insured colonies.

Surviving colonies = insured colonies – total dead colonies

Example calculation

A beekeeper insures 100 colonies and chooses:

  • 70% coverage
  • $265 insurable value

​When overwintered hives are unwrapped:

  • 50 colo​​nies are de​​​ad
  • 9 colonies are w​ea​​​k​

​In this example, the claim would be calculated as follows:

Guaranteed colonies

= insured colonies × chosen coverage level

= 100 × 70%

= 70 colonies

Total dead colonies

= dead colonies + (67​% of weak colonies)

= 50 + (67% × 9)

= 56 total dead colonies

Surviving colonies

= insured colonies – total dead colonies

= 100 – 56

= 44 surviving colonies

Claim payment

= (guaranteed colonies – surviving colonies) × chosen insurable value

= (70 – 44) × $265

= $6,890






Canadian Agricultural Partnership – Agricorp – Ontario – Canada