How To Choose the Right Farm Insurance Policy
A farm represents a massive investment in terms of both money and labor. This makes it a natural asset to insure. When you purchase farm insurance, though, you'll want to make sure your policy is the right size. Look at these four items before determining if a particular policy will be right for your farm.
Home and Contents
It's common for policies to include coverage for a house and its contents. This effectively acts as a form of homeowners insurance. An insurer benefits from expanding the policy and premium to include more at-risk items, essentially creating a larger risk pool. Farm owners benefit because it allows them to bundle and save.
Make sure the policy is appropriate. For example, you don't need home and contents coverage if you're insuring farmland that doesn't have a house. You also want to be aware of the reverse, making sure the policy does include home and contents if you live on the property.
Supporting Buildings
Farms frequently have equipment sheds, silos, and even garages. The structures are usually seen as separate insurable components. The upside is that you don't have to insure something you're confident you can quickly rebuild, such as a small shed. Conversely, you'd probably want to insure anything big.
Notably, you should take protective steps to ensure that your policy will pay off in the event of an incident. For example, there should be access roads close to the buildings to allow fire department vehicles to get there. Similarly, you may need to build ponds close enough to supply water to fight a fire. It's wise to discuss these requirements in the early stages of writing a policy.
Machinery
A machine like a combine is one of the bigger investments you have to make when buying farm equipment. While farm insurance tends to cover things based on actual value rather than new replacement cost, that can still be hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Note that you can decide whether you'd like a blanket policy for all equipment on a farm or individual pieces. Insuring individually is generally cheaper, but that will leave you self-insured on some items. It's a good idea to check the book prices for items before making this decision.
Liability
As with any business, there are public-facing liability risks. If a service technician comes to your farm and experiences a slip-and-fall accident, you may have the same legal exposure that a grocery store would with a customer. Full liability coverage protects you against a victim's claims for medical costs, pain and suffering, and lost wages.
Visit websites like http://www.wrg-ins.com/ to learn more.
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