Farm Insurance

As any farmer knows, a farm is a business. Farm insurance could include financial protection for damage to your farm buildings and their contents against such things as hail, fire, lightning, and windstorm. The building protection is much more limited then the coverage you would buy for your farmhouse. Your home policy would be similar to that of someone who lives in the town or city.

A farmer usually has an investment in machinery and equipment that also needs to be protected from the same perils as the buildings. As well, this machinery could overturn or have a collision. Vandalism is another coverage a farmer needs to consider.

The farm policy will also have contents in the buildings from tack to chemicals. Often insurance is put on bales of hay that are subject to fire damage. The livestock can be insured as well and have special limitations of coverage. In some operations there can be specialty equipment such as a dairy farm.

Each farm type has certain risks that need to be addressed. If you have a well-run operation with good safety measures in place then you should be able to find more then one insurer to offer you rates. Certain types of operations such as hogs or poultry can have limited markets.

I own an acreage. Does that mean I need farm insurance? Again, insurance is complicated. If you own a pet horse or donkey then you will find some insurers will give you regular homeowner insurance and rates. Usually you will be considered a farm if you raise some animals or if you have some buildings on the property other then your home.

Just because the insurance company considers you a farm for your property insurance it does not always follow that you will get farm rates on your automobile insurance. Some insurance companies will not allow an off the farm occupation when extending farm rates. Farm rates are very low. The reason why is that farmers do not travel around a lot so the risk is less then a person living in a city or town.

Your farm insurance will provide liability protection in case someone is injured on your farm. This protection can extend to your personal acts or your farming practices. If you raise beef for market then there could be a concern about the quality of the meat. Garden markets also provide food directly to the public so you need to consider how this process is managed.

You don't want to forget about hail and crop insurance. If you keep bees there is also insurance available for losses to the hives. Once again we see that there is no quick answer to insuring your business of farming. Find a well-qualified adviser to work with you. The end result will be a strong continuing operation that is prepared to handle losses that cannot be avoided.