Insuring a farm presents a unique set of challenges for the agent. Since the typical farm incorporates complex personal and commercial property and liability exposures, the agent must be sure that they are all covered properly. Insurance Services Office's farm property and farm liability forms not only contain the coverages needed by most farmers, they also make for a handy “risk assessment questionnaire.” By following the coverages in the forms, the agent can know, with a good degree of certainty, that he or she has asked the right questions.

What follows is a checklist for both the property and liability exposures of the typical farm insured.

Farm Checklist

General Information

Named Insured:

D/B/A:

Address:

Exact Physical Location:

City, State:

Phone:

Named Insured is a:  _____Individual      _____Partnership    _____Corporation

                                 ____Limited Liability Corp.       _____Joint Venture     _____Other

Who Operates the Farm:

Type of Farm:

Total Acreage:

Custom Farming:

Revenue from Custom Farming:

Is Applicant Owner or Tenant:

Type and Number of Livestock:

Major Crops

Off Premises Exposures:

Seed Raised for Sale to Others:

Number of Employees:

Equipment to Insure:

Property Exposures

Protection Class:

Distance from Fire Department:

Water Source on Premises:

Farm Dwelling:

     Age:

     Construction:

     Updates:

     Lightning Rods:

     Deadbolt Locks:

     Replacement Cost or ACV:

Other Farm Buildings

     General Condition:

     Age:

     Updates:

     Fire/Lightning Protection:

     Heated:

Property Insurance

For a checklist of coverages for the dwelling, see Homeowners Insurance Survey.

Coverage E—Scheduled Farm Personal Property

1.     _____ Grain, threshed seeds and beans, ground feed, silage, and manufactured and blended livestock feed in buildings or structures or in sacks, wagons or trucks.

2.     _____ Grain in stacks, shocks, swaths or piles in the open—fire and lightning, vandalism, vehicles, and theft ONLY.

3.     _____ Hay, straw and fodder (fire or lightning, windstorm or hail, vandalism, vehicles and theft only):

____a.    In buildings or structures; and

____b.     In stacks, windrows or bales.

4.     _____ Farm products, materials and supplies shown in the Declarations.

5.     _____ Poultry (excluding turkeys unless specified):

____a.  In the open; or

____b. In any building designated for poultry in the Declarations.

6.     _____ Trays, boxes and box shook.

7.     _____ Computers and related software used principally as aids in farm management.

8.     _____ Miscellaneous equipment, usual or incidental to the operation of a farm, including machinery, vehicles, tools, and supplies. See FP 00 10 09 94 for list of items not covered here.

9.     _____ Borrowed farm machinery, vehicles and equipment.

10.     Farm machinery, vehicles and equipment which are individually described and specifically covered in the Declarations—on or away from the insured location.

11.     _____ Livestock on or away from the insured location.

12.     _____ Bees.

13.     _____ Worms.

14.     _____ Fish.

15.     _____ Other animals.

16.     _____ Portable buildings and portable structures owned by the insured.

Coverage F – Unscheduled Farm Personal Property

This coverage requires 80 percent co-insurance.

1.     _____ All items of farm personal property on the insured location, except for items specified as not covered.

2.     _____ The following items of farm personal property away from the insured location:

____a. Grain, ground feed, fertilizer, fodder, hay, herbicides, manufactured and blended livestock feed, pesticides, silage, straw, threshed beans and threshed seeds. See policy for exceptions.

____b. Livestock. See policy for exceptions.

____c. Farm machinery, equipment, implements, tools and supplies, except those items specified as property not covered, or items in the custody of a common or contract carrier.

Coverage G – Other Farm Structures

1.     _____ Farm buildings and structures other than dwellings, including attached sheds and permanent fixtures.

2.     _____ Silos described in the Declarations or on a schedule.

3.     _____ Portable buildings and portable structures.

4.     _____ All fences (except field and pasture fences), corrals, pens, chutes, and feed racks.

5.     _____ Outdoor radio and TV equipment, antennas, masts, and towers.

6.     _____ Improvements and betterments.

7.     _____ Building materials and supplies.

Covered Causes of Loss

Unlike the commercial property program, all three causes of loss—Basic, Broad, and Special—are incorporated into the farm property policy. The coverage desired for all farm property is indicated on the declarations.

Suggested Farm Property Endorsements

The following is a list of suggested farm property endorsements:

1.     _____ Coverage for borrowed equipment (if using a non-ISO form that does not contain this coverage)

2.     _____ Spoilage Coverage – Perishable Farm Personal Property (FP 04 24 09 03)

3.     _____ Coverage G – Barns, Outbuildings, and Other Farm Structures – Blanket Insurance (FP 04 28 09 03)

4.     _____ Actual Cash Value – Dwelling and Appurtenant Private Structures (FP 12 10 01 98, for older farms where the replacement cost of the dwelling greatly exceeds the market value)

5.     _____ Mobile Agricultural Machinery and Equipment Coverage Form (FP 00 30 09 03

6. _____Livestock Coverage Form FP 00 40 09 03)

Farm Liability Coverage

In order to complete a farm package, liability coverage must be added on the Farm Liability Coverage form FL 00 20 09 03.

It is important to ask what else the farmer does—in addition to farming—that may create a liability exposure for him. The following list is meant as a suggestion of things to ask:

1.     _____ Are snowmobiles or all-terrain vehicles allowed on the property?

2.     _____ Is hunting permitted on the property?

3.     _____ Are there motorbike tracks on the property?

4.     _____ Are members of the general public allowed on the property to pick fruits and vegetables?

5.     _____ Are horses boarded or ridden on the property?

6.     _____ Is the farm a dude ranch?

7.     _____ Are any of the following activities done on the property?

_____ mining _____oil drilling _____ fishing

8.     _____ Is the property of others stored on the farm?

9.     _____ Does the farmer weld or perform mechanical work for others?

10.     _____ Does the farmer do any snowplowing for others?

11.     _____ Are products such as Amway, Tupperware, and Avon sold on the farm?

12.     _____ Does the farmer operate a roadside produce stand?

13.     _____ Is there an airstrip on the property?

The other large liability exposure for the farmer is pollution. Farming, by its very nature, involves pollution because of the use of pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides, with the resulting run-off of these chemicals into the aquifer. The agent should check for manure pits within twenty-five feet of the property line, wells, lakes, or streams; and the existence of underground tanks. The tanks should be surveyed to check their condition, and they should not expose lakes, streams, or rivers to pollution.

Other Liability Exposures

1.     _____ Use and storage of: flammable or combustible liquids, fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and anhydrous ammonia;

2.     _____ Crop dusting.

3.     _____ Welding.

4.     _____ Fencing.

5.     _____ Storage of animal waste.

6.     _____ Irrigation systems and wind generators.

7.     _____ Hay storage.

8.     _____ Open burning.

Suggested Farm Liability Endorsements

As mentioned earlier, a major concern for the farmer is the exposure to liability from the release or discharge of pollutants. The farm liability coverage form excludes most pollution liability. This coverage may be added by endorsing the CGL form with the Broad Farm Premises Liability form, FL 04 13 10 88. If the farm liability is provided in this manner, there is coverage for pollution resulting from normal and usual farm smoke, chemicals or liquids.