Farm Insurance

FarmFamily · #1 01/19/15, 10:13 AM

What kind of farm insurance coverage do you have/recommend? We currently raise/sell rabbits and raise/sell dairy goats. I make/sell goat milk soap. We keep bees and plan to sell honey. We also sell excess produce. I need regular insurance coverage on the farm/barns/house as well as coverage on our farm products. We also plan to start a you-pick operation and are considering a pumpkin patch and Christmas tree farm. Recommendations?? Thanks.

farmerDale · #2 01/19/15, 10:52 AM

liability.

InHisName · #3 01/19/15, 11:04 AM

We are looking at the same thing- a friend who has goats, farm stand, petting zoo, etc- uses Liberty Mutual for on site insurance. I am going to check them out.
I would not go with Farmers'.

Gray Wolf · #4 01/19/15, 11:09 AM

I think they are only in Washington, but we have been happy with Mutual of Enumclaw.

InHisName · #5 01/19/15, 11:49 AM

Just called Liberty Mutual- they do not have a liability insurance for farms, but it may work for our situation, a farm stand at end of driveway- no on farm traffic.

Darren · #6 01/19/15, 12:01 PM

Through work I've met quite a few people who have insurance from FarmFamily. They included a business owner that rented commercial real estate, a man that had two bee hives, a man that raised trout for his pay fish pond, a maple syrup operation, a truck farmer and produce supplier to markets, several small cattle operations, a small horse boarding and rider training operation, a very large horse training facility and several people that owned property in rural area but did not farm.

Never heard any compliants.

http://www.farmfamily.com/

rambler · #7 01/19/15, 12:17 PM

You will probably be shopping with the mutual insurance companies in your area, and get all your options included so you can compare policies.

You need several types of liability coverage for your property, critters (pets and livestock), produce.

A mutual company shops around from all the big companies to put together a package that fits what you need.

A regular insurance company that handles homeowner and auto insurance tend to specialize in all the same policy to all the same cookie cutter homeowners, and won't be flexible enough to find something that works for your business needs.

'Farm bureau' will likely be mentioned at some point in this thread. They are a good company, but each state has its own individual company; in some states they really have some good farm policies, and in other states they are a homeowner only type of company. Need to look at where you are to know.

Paul

Lazy J · #8 01/19/15, 05:00 PM

We have a farm policy that covers our buildings, equipment, and the activities of operating a working farm. In addition we have a $5 million umbrella liability policy.

nobrabbit · #9 01/19/15, 07:02 PM

We do have Farm Bureau, it covers the farm itself and our livestock. Have not had any issues with them.

rambotex · #10 01/19/15, 07:35 PM

I've written Insurance for over 30 years and most of the replies here are correct. We are an Independent Agency that represents several companies including Liberty Mutual mentioned earlier. (by the way I'm in Texas)

With that said I'll start by saying that Insurance companies are more aggressive in certain States depending on their experiences with Tort law in each state. It's also easier to obtain coverage from an Underwriter when he has a single operation to analyze. the original poster would be very hard to underwrite because he wants to have a very diverse operation that not only has a premises Liability exposure for the Pick your own operation to Product Liability from food and Soap Mfg.

I agree with the poster that suggested looking for a regional carrier such as farm bureau, etc. We Write farm & Ranch Owners(FRO's) with Liberty Mutual but I'm going to assume they wouldn't offer a quote for an account with so many different operations that the original poster mentioned.

Your County Extension Agent might be able to advise you or you might contact your local Independent Insurance Agent

GeneMO · #11 01/21/15, 06:34 PM

Contact your local, county Farm Bureau office. Most counties have one if you are in an agricultural area at all.

Notice I said Farm Bureau. Lots of folks confuse them with Farmers Mutual, Farmers, and other ins. companies that have "Farm" as part of their name.

Gene

Mike in Ohio · #12 01/22/15, 11:46 AM

If you sell at a Farmers Market you may need a separate rider or policy. We ran into that when we were going to market. You also need to look carefully at exclusions - the one policy excluded mushrooms (among other things) which is one of the things we do.

You also should play around with deductibles. Raising your deductible can significantly reduce your premium.

If you are insuring your barn(s), you will need to specify additional coverage for equipment that is stored in the barn.

Mike

**highlands** · #13 01/22/15, 08:11 PM

We have insurance through the local Farm Bureau. Why we joined.

rambotex · #14 01/22/15, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by highlands

We have insurance through the local Farm Bureau. Why we joined.

That is great. The key is that you inform the Agent, preferably in writing, of your operations. I prefer to get this information from my clients in the form of a supplemental application or an email and then I will forward that to the Insurance company Underwriter. In the case of the original poster, I would make sure I had informed the Company that they raise and sell both goats & rabbits. I'd also let them know they were making and selling soap to the public for a profit along with bees & honey. I'd then ask their position on selling produce and allowing 3rd parties on the premises to harvest vegetables and trees.

So many times people purchase insurance and just assume that since they have a policy everything is covered and while that might be true, it's best to fully disclose your entire operations to the underwriter to avoid a claim being denied when you need the coverage the most

GeneMO · #15 01/23/15, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike in Ohio

If you sell at a Farmers Market you may need a separate rider or policy. We ran into that when we were going to market. You also need to look carefully at exclusions - the one policy excluded mushrooms (among other things) which is one of the things we do.

You also should play around with deductibles. Raising your deductible can significantly reduce your premium.

If you are insuring your barn(s), you will need to specify additional coverage for equipment that is stored in the barn.

Mike

Mike, not every company is that way. Farm Bureau is pretty good about allowing part time, additional income, as long as it doesn't exceed certain dollar limits. Such as fee hunting. I think fee hunting, they will allow you to earn up to $2,500 before they consider it a commercial operation.

Most of the state Farm Bureaus are separate and have their own policies and rules, so it depends. I know a little about them, I sleep with one of this states Senior underwriters and field inspectors every night.

Gene