If you live out in the country or in a more rural area, there’s a chance you might get into some farming related activities. Homeowners policies cover your liability for the land that you reside on, but once you get into business or farm related activities, you can end up with policy coverage exclusions that could leave you without insurance when you need it most. Growing hay for sale or leasing out farm land to others are some example activities that most likely would not be insured activities under a standard homeowners policy.
If you think you might possibly need a farm policy… you probably do! Farm policies can insure your home just like a homeowners policy would, plus can get you coverages you might need like:
- Farmowners Liablility for liability from farm related activities. This could be things such as growing/selling hay, selling eggs, cultivating blueberry bushes for profit, or renting farmland to a farmer for their use. A homeowners policy would exclude liability for these types of activities but a farm policy would not.
- Farm Outbuilding Coverage to insure barns and outbuildings that are used for farm purposes. Most homeowners policies contain exclusions for buildings with farm or business use, so while you might think you’re covered, you likely might not be.
- Farm Equipment Coverage to insure tractors, harvestors, or other equipment used in your farming operations. Home policies will cover lawn tractors, but often as you get into larger equipment, you no longer have any coverage.
Beyond the farm policy, you could also be getting into other areas where other types of insurance might be needed. If you have people working for you, even part time, you could be exposed to liability for injury to those workers, meaning you need workers compensation insurance. Or if you have larger, heavier trucks being used on your farmland, you might need a commercial farm automobile insurance policy.
If you’re in doubt about what you need, or already have farm insurance but want to be sure you’re covered properly, be sure to talk with your agent. Or, we’ve insured area farms for decades-- contact us at Hardt Insurance or at 269-637-1181 to discuss things further and see if you could benefit from a farm insurance policy.