> In today’s down turn of the industry following the collapse of the “manuka gold rush”, you can’t give away hives.  
> (They burnt 2000 hives a few months ago because they could not find a buyer)

The factoid above completely changes my view of the scenario.

The beekeeper at issue here might have made a very rational choice - rather than taking an reimbursable loss on unneeded equipment that could not be sold at any price, he "suffers" a loss due to the "disease outbreak", which may be covered by his insurance. 

The woodenware is an asset (in fact, supers of drawn comb are the one asset a beekeeper has that does NOT depreciate in value in normal times), and most ag policies cover "asset losses", when those assets are central to producing the crop.

Not a storm, flood, or fire, but instead, the action of the state to control a disease... very convincing, as the state itself will fully document the "loss" for the beekeeper.

But one never knows, do one?

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