Now is the perfect time to review your farm policy with Keyser. One of the key areas to focus on is farm personal property. Farm personal property is any tangible property used in your farming operation, such as livestock, machinery, fuel, grain, and miscellaneous tools and equipment.
Two ways to insure your farm
Auto-Owners Insurance — one of our “go tos” for farm insurance — gives you two primary ways to insure your farm personal property:
- Scheduled personal property Lists each item on the policy declarations page and assigns a specific limit of insurance.
- Blanket farm personal property Does not assign a specific limit for each item, but instead looks at your entire inventory.
One advantage of insuring your farm personal property as a blanket is that you still have coverage — up to the total blanket amount of insurance — if you forget to tell us about a new piece of equipment you purchase.
If you choose to insure your farm personal property as a blanket, you will need to provide us with an inventory. Farm personal property limits under $100,000 require an updated inventory at least once every four years, while higher limits require an updated inventory every two years.
Equipment within the blanket may be insured for either named perils or special perils. Special perils will provide coverage for foreign intake, such as rock ingestion. Equipment insured on a blanket will be insured on an actual cash value basis.
Items that should be individually scheduled
There are certain items that must be individually scheduled, including:
- Combines, cotton pickers and other harvest equipment
- Irrigation equipment
- Trailers (should be covered on an automobile policy)
- Utility vehicles (If used on a farm, may be scheduled as farm machinery. Otherwise should be insured on an inland marine policy.)
- ATVs (should be covered on an inland marine policy)
- High-value livestock (consult our agency)
Having the proper coverages and the proper limits will help avoid surprises at the time of a loss. Meeting with our agency on a regular basis is the best way to protect your farm. Contact your agent or call 877.381.3570 today.