Coverage for a farm that raises crickets for fishing bait also appeared among the unique risks that Scottsdale reported to NU, and more traditional farming cropped up among the entries for Burns & Wilcox.

John Kelb, senior underwriter from Burns & Wilcox subsidiary Illinois R.B. Jones, explained some basics of seedman's E&O–for claims related to seed performance and resulting economic loss.

Lloyd's has been writing this since 1955, and R.B. Jones has been placing the coverage with Lloyd's for at least the eight years that Mr. Kelb has been with the firm.

With potential claims running the gamut from labeling issues to disease control, he said that germination deficiencies–the failure of seeds to emerge–are among the most common. Describing one recent claim, he said a sorghum variety was grown too high in the mountains of South Africa, noting that it hadn't been tested for that area.

The largest claims can climb into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, he said, adding that specialized applications for coverage are rigorous. A requirement that potential insureds attach seed tags–or labels–to applications has brought some unusual submissions, he said.

“I've had instances where people have…included an actual bag, and some of those are a pretty good size,” he said.