The Canadian Crop Hail Association has released its final report, confirming that prairie hail insurers paid about three-quarters less this year than last to settle their customers’ hail claims.

Total crop hail claims for 2009 were about $76 million, down from last year’s record-high $241 million.

The Association said that nearly $264 million was collected from producers in premiums, for an industry-wide loss ratio of about 29 per cent. That is compared to 2008’s loss ratio of 118 percent.