Farm Insurance and Agricultural Equipment Guide

Anyone who owns or rents a farm or a branch of any size or description, and effectively runs it as a commercial business, needs to have specific areas of insurance directly tailored to their needs.

A farm is essentially a mix of a home and a business, both in terms of buildings, plant and machinery, agricultural vehicles and in terms of workforce.

Specific risk assessments ideally need to be done on all areas of the business, in order to establish levels of risk and which ones are and are not covered by an insurance policy.

This is a general guide to some of the principles that may be helpful when assessing the need for farm insurance.

Farm Insurance – Buildings

As a farm or a ranch is both a home and a business, all buildings and all land including all outbuildings, whether used or not, and any area of land connected with the property at all needs to be included.

Farm Insurance – Crops

Some type of crop insurance may be essential. Check if there are any government schemes available first, and that check what type of risks your policy will cover you against, i.e. hail damage. This is one example

In a lot of insurance policies will offer some type of cover for damage of crops prior to harvesting, which effectively cause severe business interruption. Many policies will exclude cover once crops have been harvested and for various other reasons.

Farm Insurance – Engineering Insurance

Insurance against damage to plant and machinery is essential. Levels of cover differ.

There are normally limitations are stored is determined as plant. A pressure plant is normally defined as a plant that contains a boiler plant, a plant subjects to steam pressure and a plant used to contain fluids under pressure.

Make sure that storage tanks are also included. Also crucial to make sure that clearing up and spillage costs are included, as well as that of debris removal.

Farm Insurance – Deterioration of stock

This area of agents is designed to cover the value of stock that is damaged by risks such as a breakdown in a refrigeration unit or a temporary loss of access to public utilities such as water/electricity or gas resulting in damage to stock.

Makes sure the sums insured for the saleable value of the stock, otherwise under insurance will apply.

Farm insurance – livestock insurance

This type of insurance cover is normally restricted to two main areas, that of death or slaughter on humane grounds, when caused by an insured peril or theft.

The insurance company will normally insist on a strict ‘poultry warranty’ in the policy which stipulates checks on conditions in which poultry are kept, such as electricity supply, extraction systems, temperature variation and mains alarm systems and standby or backup generators.

Farm Insurance – Livestock in Transit

This is designed to cover the cost of livestock fatally injured in any motor accident.

There are likely to be local/national rules concerning the transportation of livestock, and you must make sure these are adhered to. Also make sure that insurance policy covers subcontractors, veterinarians fees and debris removal.

Farm Insurance – Livestock Herd Diseases

This is normally designed to cover you if livestock to be humanely destroyed as the direct result of a specific disease.

The diseases will normally listed or spelt out in the policy, and often include Tuberculosis, Brucellosis and Foot and Mouth.

Farm Insurance – Business Interruption

Any of the losses covered under a farm insurance policy can have a serious knock-on effect in terms of not simply making a business unprofitable, but of interrupting or stopping the business functioning at all for periods of time.

The insurance should provide some cover for this, but will be very specific in terms of what it deems business terminology

Farm insurance – Contractors All Risk Insurance

This area of the insurance policy is designed to give you maximum cover where you are effectively operating as a contractorEither on your own property, or on soils as property or anywhere within the specified geographical limits of the policy.

Farm Insurance – Goods in Transit

This is separate to livestock in transit, and is designed to provide cover for any goods that you may need to move around the locality or nationally, by the doing it yourself or with a subcontractor or haulier.

This area of insurance can be extremely expensive, simply because it is notoriously high risk. The insurance policy is likely to specify exactly what it considers to be high-risk items, and impose strict limits on the value and number of such items can be carried.

There are also likely to be stringent comments regarding security and anti theft measures regarding the goods.

Farm Insurance – Liability Insurance

The type and levels of liability joint required will vary significantly depending upon the nature of the farm and its business. There are a few general areas should be considered.

Farm Insurance –Employer liability.

It is important that as an employer you are fully aware yourself of any local national legal requirements concerning health and safety conditions at work, and make sure that these are fully implemented.

There are quite often specific conditions relating to a farm, as opposed to an industrial complex, and it is crucial is understood. On top of this, as an employer you will need to have specific employers liability insurance.

Make sure all employees including family are included and covered, as well as any subcontractors you might use.

Farm Insurance – Public and Products Liability

Public and product liability insurance often goes together.

The important thing to realise with product liability pretty is that you need to have it in relation to any goods that you have any connection with irrespective of whether you actually produce them are not.

This means that you need products liability insurance in relation to any goods that you store, repair, label test or process or you transport.

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