Don’t Operate Your Farm Equipment Without Securing the Right Coverage
Your farm equipment, from your tractors to your combines, are crucial components in your farm operation and how you complete your daily tasks. You need these key parts of your farm to help things run smoothly, and you need insurance to make sure they continue to do so even when the unthinkable happens. As significant as this machinery is, it’s also a huge investment, and just like your house or a car, they need to have protection.
If your tractors and other farm equipment aren’t covered under your farm insurance policy, they should be. Adding farm tractor insurance or farm equipment insurance keeps your farm from falling into financial disaster in the event that something happens.
Why is obtaining insurance for your farm equipment so important? For one, farm equipment, especially tractors, can be dangerous. Essentially, you can consider your machines like you would your car. Would you be willing to risk getting into your car and driving around without insurance? Likely not. Most people are pretty well-versed on the risks of driving without auto insurance. Why would you do it with your machinery?
Although auto insurance is required by law, the consequences you’ll face for not having tractor insurance are mostly the same. If you damage the equipment, you’ll have to pay to fix it. If it gets stolen, you’re responsible for the replacement. If you hurt someone else while you’re driving, you’re liable for their bills. With your revenue solely placed on the yield of your crops and your livestock, there’s simply too much risk to operate any farm equipment without proper coverage.
Your machinery can also be protected in the event of damages or losses caused by the following natural disasters:
- Windstorms
- Hail
- Lightning
- Fire
- Smoke
With farm equipment insurance, you won’t have to worry about paying enormous medical bills or replacing damaged machinery. The worst thing that could happen won’t be something you’ll have to talk about, and you’ll be able to focus on making your operations more efficient with high-quality equipment.
Protect Your Farm Equipment to Protect Your Farm as a Whole
Farm equipment insurance and farm tractor insurance can work within your overarching farm insurance policy so that you have a cohesive plan that protects your farm from every angle.
How much coverage you get depends on the size of your farm. If your farm is smaller and you only have a tractor that you’re working with, you might only need a farm tractor insurance policy. If it’s small enough, it might even be better to simply add the equipment to your homeowner’s insurance policy rather than including it in a full farm insurance plan.
Obviously, the larger the farm, the more coverage you’re going to want to have. There’s no reason to leave anything to chance, so your tractors, combine, skid steer loader, chopper, self-propelled hay equipment, planters, sprayers and more should all have coverage. You can do this in one of two ways. Either list each piece of equipment individually in your policy with their value, or have a blanket policy and a total designated amount based on all the equipment you have.
If you choose to list each piece separately, it can help your coverage be more customized to fit your needs and budget. If you don’t feel that you have a lot of risk toward your farm equipment, you can adjust your policy to reflect that.
With a blanket policy, the sum is the full value of all your machinery and then a cushion is added on for when that number fluctuates. For example, if the property value changes or you add additional pieces of equipment to your policy.
You might also want to consider liability policies for your equipment to prevent your farm being wholly responsible for damages or medical bills. This type of coverage is usually better if you have additional employees working on your farm, similar to a business having a company auto insurance policy.
Other policy add-ons that you might consider are options to cover your machines if they break down, coverage for machines or equipment that you borrow from others, or protection from damages if your equipment accidentally ingests a foreign object while being used.
There are a lot of different factors that go into farm tractor insurance and farm equipment insurance, and whether you need them completely depends on your farm’s size and what you’re working with. It can get confusing fast, but you don’t have to do it alone. With an independent insurance agent on your side, you can work with someone who understands your industry and will help you identify the right policies for your risks. Don’t let your farm equipment go without key coverage. Start a conversation with us today to learn more about your options.