Protect Your Farm With Farm and Ranch Insurance

Insurance has grown wider in scope and service. Insurance came into existence with the introduction of Marine insurance but then it grew wider with life, motor and property insurance. Later on came the farm and ranch insurance, insurance that protects the safety and security of your crops and farms. People living farms and ranch depends upon their farm for daily food and shelter. Insurance means not only providing security but also sharing the risk with other policy holders. Farm insurance includes the safety of your farm against all kinds of risks and perils.

Additional Insurance Policies for Farm & Ranch:

Farm and ranch insurance even includes some kind of additional insurance policies like personal liability insurance and umbrella liability insurance. The personal liability insurance is all about covering the injuries and damages of a person, who has visited your farm or ranch. Personal liability insurance in farms also help in protecting the risk against the incident where you have unknowingly or accidentally hurt or damaged someone's property in your farm or ranch premises. The umbrella liability insurance policy includes major kinds of risks and perils that are predicted in your farm. So, both these kinds of policies are especially meant for protecting your farm and ranch security.

Some other kind of additional policies to be taken for farm and ranch are workers compensation insurance policy and property auto insurance policy. It is obvious to use tractors and other equipments to plough the field of your farm and hence, property auto insurance policy can benefit you during the time of any accidental loss or damage to your vehicle in the farm. Workers compensation policy can help you in giving financial security to the worker, who is employed in your farm for farming in your absence.

Farm and ranch insurance policy has many kinds of laws and rules applied as per the contract done; hence you can choose the kind of contract that suits your farm and ranch safety. Insurance is one of the best services that any company can offer you or your property, so you should not ignore or avoid it. Getting responsible towards your profession and farm is must for getting into long term success and planning. Thus insure your farm and ranch against the various kinds of perils, risks and incidents by taking farm or ranch insurance policy.

The Truth About Farm Insurance

Insuring a farm is similar to insuring a business because the equipment and multiple buildings will need to be covered in addition to the residence. There are many misconceptions about what is included in this type of coverage and what the insured is protected against. The following is a basic overview of the truth about farm insurance and all that it includes.

Insurance for a farm or ranch includes coverage for the home and personal property like appliances, furniture, electronics, and clothes. It also covers farm structures and buildings as well as farm personal property. The insured can designate specific farm personal property to insure or the coverage can encompass the personal property used in the farming operations.

This coverage also provides payment for specific types of loss when the home is either damaged or uninhabitable due to a covered reason. Coverage for farm machinery, structures, and buildings may be expanded to include additional losses due to accidents such as building collapse. The liability coverage include in the policy protects the farm owner against bodily injury or property damage liability due to a covered incident.

The specific dangers covered by this policy include theft, vandalism, fire, lightening, windstorms, hail, smoke, and explosions. Livestock are covered if they are attacked by wild animals or dogs, shot, electrocuted, or if they drown. Medical payments are covered for individuals who are accidentally injured on the premises. This does not include the insured, his or her family members, or any employees of the working farm.

The truth about farm insurance is that it covers not only the main residence, but other structures. It also provides protection for personal property, farm machinery, livestock, and visitors to the premises. This insurance is both broad and flexible, due to the optional additional coverage that the farm owner may purchase.

Why You Should Insure Your Horse and Farm

Just as you protect your home and its assets, there are many reasons to insure your farm and its property. While horses represent loved animals among many owners and their families, they can also be large financial investments. From illness and injuries to liability issues, below are the different types of equine/farm insurance and a few reasons why you should consider investing in them to protect your horse and farm:

Equine Health Insurance helps finance surgeries and other major medical expenses. Like their riders, horses can also suffer from unexpected medical issues, and the cost of surgery can be unaffordable. Horse medical insurance will help you avoid a financial burden in the unfortunate event that your horse becomes challenged by medical issues or requires major surgery.

Equine Mortality Insurance can help you cope with the death or theft of a loved horse. The emotional burden that results from the loss of a loved animal is difficult enough to handle alone, so having to worry about suffering a significant financial loss as well will only make matters worse. Although your horse and its sentimental value may never be replaced, horse life insurance will help ease the pain by reimbursing you for the death or theft of your horse.

Farm Liability Insurance is needed to reduce liability risks involved in your horse operation. An equine liability policy is required for activities like boarding, training, horse shows, and riding instruction. Regardless of whether you offer daily riding lessons or occasionally care for a friend's horse, it's important to protect yourself with farm or equine liability insurance.

Farm Property Insurance covers your barn, sheds and machinery associated with the farm. Although farms are often connected to homes, a standard homeowners insurance policy doesn't always cover a barn and its contents. Consulting your independent insurance agent to ensure that your barn and its assets are protected is a great place to start.

Loss of Use Insurance protects against your horse's loss of value. While many people consider their horses valuable friends regardless of their skill levels, a disabling injury suffered by a horse intended to perform in horse shows or races can be financially troubling. Loss of use insurance will protect your horse in the unfortunate event that he/she suffers a disabling injury.

Whether you purchased a pony to fulfill your daughter's birthday wish, or invested in a skilled horse to compete with, there are many reasons to protect yourself and your horse with insurance.

State Farm Insurance

The Beginnings

State Farm insurance began in 1922, the invention of a man named George J. Mecherle. Mecherle thought that he could come up with a better insurance company than the rest, offering better coverage and great rates. So he did. Something about Mecherle's vision was right - more than eighty years later, State Farm Insurance is still going strong.

"In just over 80 years, State Farm Insurance Companies® has grown from a small farm mutual auto insurer to one of the world's largest financial institutions. But despite State Farm's growth, Mecherle's original philosophy of insurance coverage at a fair price coupled with fair claim settlement has remained."

State Farm web site, May 2006

State Farm, Today

With 25 operations centers in 13 zones, these days State Farm employs 79,200 people, including 16,700 plus agents. State Farm actively services 71.6 million insurance policies in the United States and Canada. Many awards have been received by State Farm for their equal opportunity employing methods, and for the number of jobs the company has created. State Farm strives to give back to the community, participating in many programs to further education and safety, including awarding grants and scholarships.

The Future of State Farm

"Our vision for the future is to be the customer's first and best choice in the products and services we provide. We will continue to be the leader in the insurance industry and we will become a leader in the financial services arena. Our customers' needs will determine our path. Our values will guide us."

- State Farm web site, May 2006

What State Farm Offers

State Farm can take care of all your insurance needs. They offer most types of insurance coverage. All the usual suspects of auto, home, life, renter's, and supplemental medical insurance are available through State Farm. Other insurance offerings include condo, long-term care, and Medicare supplement. The State Farm web site is very user-friendly and easy to use. Using the web site, consumers can obtain a quote on any type of policy named above, or find an agent, both within minutes. Answering a few quick questions will lead you to a free online quote, and a search feature makes finding an agent simple work.

You can also reach State Farm agents through online insurance quote web sites. This offers you the ability to compare rates from State Farm and from other independent agents or companies. Inquire with the site in question about the companies that will be providing a quote.

"State Farm's mission is to help people manage the risks of everyday life, recover from the unexpected, and realize their dreams."

- State Farm web site, May 2006

Other Services

Not only does State Farm provide you with quality insurance, but the web site is a wealth of tools and information. A helpful learning center exists online for any who would like to learn more about retirement planning, college planning, savings strategies, prevention and safety, or life stages such as having a baby, marriage, or buying a home. There's even a "kid's stuff" section. Consumers can learn about reasons to have car insurance and what insurance policies do for you, and what they can mean in your life.

Trust

State Farm is truly one of the oldest names in insurance, and theirs is a name you can trust. If State Farm did not provide excellent customer service and satisfaction, there's no way there would still be going strong. Often, it's much cheaper to buy all your insurance plans through one carrier than through several different companies. State Farm can provide for all your insurance needs, without making you spend a fortune. Isn't it better to use a company you know you can depend on?

What Your Farm Insurance Should Cover

Agricultural insurance or farm insurance saves farmers and those engaging in agri-business from losses sustained by natural catastrophes. Policies under this insurance are structured to protect the basic needs of the homestead. This is particularly important for small farmers because their farms are both home and business for them. Once the farms are damaged or destroyed, the farmers will be left with no home and money. Farm bureau insurance may save them, but there is nothing like a full coverage agricultural insurance.

What are the things that should be covered by a good farm insurance policy? There are several, and a perfect insurance covers them all. However, it is common for most insurance packages to cover only two or three out of the several conditions. The best solution for farmers is to determine what they most need and get the insurance which covers this particular need. It can be crop insurance, homestead insurance, or vehicle insurance. To give you a clue about the possible conditions an insurance provider might offer, below are some ideas of the possible insurance coverage.

You are more valuable than your farm so make sure that you get an insurance with provisions for farm liability. These provisions protect you from injuries sustained during farm work like falls, burns, or even pesticide poisoning. In addition, these provisions protect your property from damage as long as the damage was sustained in the course of farm work or natural disaster. These farm insurance provisions protect your property in cases like fire, flood, or hurricanes.

Farm property provisions cover damages to selected properties like livestock. This is particularly important for farmers and farms residing in hurricane, tornado, and landslide-prone areas. Statistics show that a large percentage of the casualties during these calamities are mostly livestock like horses and cows, which do not have evacuation options. A type of farm bureau insurance usually covers this risks.

Some farm insurance policies have provisions for the specific protection of the homestead and everything within it. These provisions protect the farmer from losses sustained due to house damages like leaks and theft. If your farm stands on the far side of the town where there are few neighbors to watch over your property if you're away, you might want to consider adopting this condition.

Farm vehicles and equipment are put to rough work regularly. Therefore, they are prone to breaking down. This translates to large expenses for the farmer. If you want to avoid this scenario, consider including this condition in your insurance policies. Better yet, consider getting a comprehensive farm auto insurance to protect yourself from financial damage due to broken machines and equipment. Farm insurance is an asset, but only if you know how to choose them wisely.

Choosing the Best Farm Insurance for You

Farmers, like car owners and home owners, should insure their farm and its property. The right farm insurance will cover your farm operations to make sure you do not lose your farm an accident. There are several types of insurances in the market, and you will need to choose the one that suits you best. The insurance should be able compensation in case thieves raid your farm or your crops are damaged through natural disaster.

Types of farm insurance

Peril farm insurance covers your farm property against risks such as floods, theft, lighting as well as hail. It takes of care risks that are out of your control and which can usually cause massive loss. It can also cover your livestock against perils such as electrocution and drowning. The insurance company is going to compensate you in case you lose farm products or livestock due to these perils.

The farm insurance should also cover your farm equipments and machinery. When you buy this insurance, you should expect it to cover everything that is used in running your farm including the machinery. It should pay for machinery repairs and other damages. Crop insurance, on the other hand, is meant to protect you against crop failure. Since crop production is reliant on weather conditions, you can not predict your harvest. You should therefore insure your crops to make sure you get compensated in case you get a poor harvest because of poor weather conditions. The premium charged by the insurance company will depend on the revenue you expect to get from your harvest.

It is also important to know about liability insurance and how it works. This insurance covers you and your employees against any accidents that nay occur in the farm. Consumers are also covered under this insurance so in case one of your customers gets sick after consuming products from your farm, the insurance will pay for the damages. Auto farm insurance covers your farm car as well as property that may be damaged during transit. The driver is also covered in this insurance. You may also want to take farm insurance cover to protect you against loss of income in case your livestock are stolen or a fire destroys everything in your farm. The insurance company will determine your compensation based on your previous earnings and how much you have paid as premium.

How to get cheap farm insurance

The cost of farm insurance can vary from one company to another. It is therefore important to shop around and compare prices so you can get the best deal available. You can do your search online or contact several companies by checking their phone number on the yellow pages. Your relatives and friends can also recommend you to a cheap insurance company.

Finding the right farm insurance can be a great investment since you will be assured of compensation in case of loss. Look for an insurance that covers all property in your farm including crops, livestock, machinery, employees and vehicles. In conclusion, choose an insurance that suits your budget.

More Than Just Accidents and Tools

Insurance is something of a contentious issue at the moment, particularly in regards to the current economic crisis which is causing many of us to cut back on cover we do not consider essential. However, with an increase in thefts and burglaries in rural areas of the UK, farm insurance is becoming more of a necessity - and companies are highlighting the customisable nature of their cover in a sector where each customer has different priorities.

Public Liability

Despite the specific individual needs of each farmer and their business, public liability cover is often considered a necessity when it comes to taking out insurance for a working farm or farmland. The reason for this is simply because if anything should go wrong (i.e. damage, injury or worse) involving a member of the public and for which you are held responsible, the cost can be ruinous and without insurance you may be forced to sell your business to satisfy the claim made against you.

Employers' Liability

Employers' liability cover is a legal requirement if people work for you, though the law does not state that you must have cover for yourself or a member of your family. However, employers' liability is there to give you piece of mind and financial security should an accident happen that is your responsibility.

Property

Insuring your property against theft and damage is where farm insurance starts to become more tailored to your specific priorities, and the term "property" can mean anything from buildings, through machinery and vehicles, to animals (see below). With property insurance it is very much up to you to decide which property to insure and for what range of perils e.g. fire or flood.

Livestock

Livestock is a very customisable insurance sector and it depends on what risks you want to insure against. Farm insurance cover options include fire, lightning, accidental injury, death, straying and disease. Various additional risks can be insured against including, for example, the loss of value in a bull if it proves to be infertile.