What Agribusiness Insurance Covers and How It Can Help Your Business

Today's agribusiness owners have many responsibilities. Between navigating new laws, learning about the latest in technology, navigating pandemic setbacks, facing increased competition and keeping up with customer demand, insurance may very well be the last thing on their mind.

Yet agriculture insurance is arguably just as important to the financial wellbeing of your operations as your business bank account, commercial credit card or credit line. That's why it's important to learn the basics of agriculture insurance and how it can protect your business.

What is agribusiness insurance?

In general, commercial insurance protects businesses against risks leading to losses that could negatively impact finances. Agriculture business insurance was created to protect businesses that generate most of their earnings from agriculturally based activities. Some of these businesses include:

• Family farms or ranches
• Commercial grain and crop businesses
• Vineyards
• Wineries
• Nurseries
• Canneries
• Meatpacking businesses
• Seed-growing businesses

This type of insurance helps a wide range of agricultural businesses protect against losses due to unforeseen circumstances.

What does agriculture insurance cover?

Most people associate agribusiness insurance primarily with crop coverage. It's true that agriculture insurance does include crops, which can get damaged in a variety of ways. However, these policies also include other key resources that agribusinesses need in order to operate successfully, such as vehicles and equipment.

Some of the different types of agricultural insurance policies available include:

• Row crop insurance
• Trees and timber coverage
• Agricultural equipment protection—stationary and mobile
• Poultry and livestock protection
• General liability
• Farm income
• Nursery, seed and floral coverage

The right combination of insurance products helps protect your agricultural business from specific risks.

For example, agribusiness insurance could help cover the buildings, contents, real estate and personal property of an agricultural business. In addition to the equipment and commercial vehicle coverage, policies include general liability to protect your business against losses due to on-premise personal injuries or property damage or due to harm caused by your products.

When should you consider agribusiness insurance?

If your business is based on agriculture, this type of insurance could be a valuable financial asset. It's especially useful because it can be very specific to your particular situation. That helps protect your business against precise risks that might not get addressed through traditional commercial business policies.

For example, a poultry operation might consider insuring against health dangers to a flock, such as heat prostration or loss of poultry due to a power interruption that could impact your barn's heating and cooling systems. A hog or beef farm with manure piles might choose to insure against accidental leaks into a neighbor's water system.

Many types of agribusiness include specialized equipment. This equipment is expensive and often requires special financing. Agribusiness insurance can help protect your investment in this equipment should there be damages and losses due to situations such as theft or fire.

Determining the coverage you need

It's important to determine specific inclusions in your business's agricultural insurance policy. Business needs depend on several factors, such as the precise location and the region you're in. Your policy specifics also depend on the type of agribusiness you're involved in. Crop type, livestock, equipment, facilities, vehicles, and product- or service-specific risks are all important considerations.

As a busy agriculture business owner, your time is precious. An agribusiness insurance professional can point out risks, options and solutions to help save you time, protect your agriculture operation and design a customized policy just for your business.