Now's the time of year that farmers are starting to think about hail insurance.

Bruce Lowe, CEO of AG Direct Hail Insurance explains why having adequate coverage is so important.

"Hail is that one peril that could absolutely decimate a crop very, very quickly," he said. "There's nothing more tragic than having a beautiful crop out there, a dark cloud approaches on the horizon and within 15 minutes you're literally talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars in loss. For the farmers that want to sleep at night, hail insurance is a very important part of their decision-making process in every season."

Lowe notes that hail damage on the Prairies wasn't that bad last year, although an area around Crystal City, Manitoba has been hit for three consecutive years.

He adds AG Direct Hail Insurance is now accepting applications.

The company is the fastest growing hail insurance provider on the Prairies. Five years ago the company became the first and only direct and online crop hail insurance provider.