Libertyville Farm Insurance

Libertyville area farms make up part of the nearly 31,000 acres of farmland in Illinois’ Lake County. Approximately 94% of all farms in this area are small family-run businesses averaging 100 acres per farm. Whatever the size of your agribusiness, a solid farm insurance policy can provide coverage against the various hazards you are likely to face as a farmer in Libertyville.

A local independent insurance agent can help you review policies and quotes from a selection of the area’s top-rated insurance companies. This lets you be certain that you are getting suitable farm insurance coverage at a competitive price. Contact an insurance agent in or near Libertyville to learn more.

What Is Farm Insurance?

Farm and ranch insurance (or, simply, farm insurance) is a combination of homeowners insurance and business insurance that is designed to meet the unique coverage needs of farm and ranch owners. 

If you are looking for coverage for your farm, an independent insurance agent can help you be certain that the policy you are purchasing provides all the coverage you need as a farmer in the Libertyville area and that it is offered at a competitive price.

Is Farm Insurance Required in Libertyville, IL?

Farm insurance may be required by your lender if you are still paying for your farm property or if you have taken out a business loan. Otherwise, while a farm policy itself is optional, some of the coverage it can provide is sometimes required. 

• Worker's compensation insurance: This coverage is required by state law if the combined time worked by all of your farm employees exceeds 400 days. Only 26% of the farms in Lake County hire farm labor.
• Commercial vehicle insurance: This coverage is required by the state for any farm-owned vehicles that you or your workers drive outside your farm property.
• Liability insurance: This is typically required by farmers markets if you want to sell goods at them. The Main Street Libertyville Farmers Market requires you to affirm that your farm is covered by liability insurance when you are applying for a booth.

Whether or not you are required to have it, farm insurance is a very good investment. Without a comprehensive policy in place, a major disaster like a fire or a tornado could result not just in your losing your farm, but also losing your home, business, and livelihood.

Talk to a local independent agent to learn more about the benefits of having farm insurance coverage.

How Much Does Farm Insurance Cost in Libertyville, IL?

Premiums for farm insurance can vary significantly from one farm to the next. Some of the many factors that go into calculating farm insurance costs include:

• The size and value of your farm
• The size and value of your farmhouse
• The number and types of outbuildings on your farm property
• The annual revenues generated by your farm
• The value of your farm machinery and equipment
• The types of crops you grow and/or the kinds of livestock you raise
• The number of farmhands you employ and the number of days they work per year
• Whether your farm is open to the public
• Your farm’s claims history

Requesting and comparing rates from a variety of competing insurance providers is the only way to determine what a reasonable price for coverage for your Libertyville farm is. Independent insurance agents can save you time and money by doing the comparison shopping for you.

What Does Libertyville Farm Insurance Cover?

Farm insurance is a combination of home and business insurance, and just as with those traditional policies, it provides a combination of liability and property coverage.

Farm liability coverage

All farm insurance policies offer liability coverage to protect your personal interests as well as your farming business. Farm liability insurance is designed to pay for court costs, legal fees, and damages if you or your farm or ranch is sued for a covered event. 

The following are some of the many types of liability coverage that your insurance agent may recommend including in your farm insurance policy package:

• Personal liability insurance: This can cover you and members of your household if you are unintentionally responsible for injuries or property damage to others.
• Premises liability insurance: This can cover third-party injuries sustained in accidents on your farm property.
• Product liability insurance: This can cover third-party illnesses or injuries caused by products produced and sold by your farm.
• Commercial vehicle liability insurance: This can cover third-party damage or injuries if you or one of your employees causes an accident while driving a farm-owned vehicle.
• Worker's compensation insurance: This shields your farming business from potential liability lawsuits related to worker injuries by covering your employees’ medical expenses and time off work if they are injured while doing their jobs.

Independent insurance agents can help you decide which of the many available liability insurance products are a good fit for your Libertyville farm. These agents can also ensure that you are getting suitable coverage at a competitive price.

Farm property coverage

Almost 70 tornadoes of a magnitude 2 or greater have touched down within 50 miles of the Libertyville city center. Among the worst was an F4 twister that struck about five miles from the city in 1972. This tornado caused approximately $2.5 million in damage.

Other hazards that can cause loss or damage to your farm property include accidental fires, theft, ice accumulation, and severe weather events such as electrical storms, windstorms, and hailstorms. Fortunately, your farm insurance policy can provide coverage against each of these risks.

Farm property that your insurance policy can cover includes:

• Your farmhouse: If you live on your farm or ranch, farm insurance can provide the same kind of coverage for your home as you would expect from a traditional homeowners insurance policy.
• Outbuildings: Farm insurance can cover the structure and contents of the other structures on your property, including silos, barns, stables, sheds, garages, and bunkhouses.
• Equipment and machinery: Farm insurance can cover the cost to repair damage to your farm equipment and machinery, including tractors, balers, plows, cultivators, sprayers, and plows, as long as they have been properly maintained.

Talk to a local independent insurance agent to learn more about how farm insurance can cover your farm’s valuable property.

Save On Farm Insurance

Our independent agents shop around to find you the best coverage.

Request a quote

What Additional Coverage Is Available for Libertyville Farm Owners?

Some optional coverage that you may want to consider adding into your farm insurance policy includes:

• Specialized property insurance: Some property, such as fencing, animal feed, and irrigation systems, is specifically excluded from regular farm property insurance coverage. An independent agent can advise you if you need to purchase special endorsements with your policy in order for all of your farm property to be suitably covered.
• Livestock insurance and poultry insurance: This is designed to cover losses related to livestock deaths and illnesses caused by hazards like fires, severe weather events, predatory animals, loading and unloading accidents, and electrocution.
• Debris removal insurance: This is designed to cover the cost of timely cleanup of debris on your farm property if it was caused by a covered event like a storm or tornado. That way, you can quickly return to normal farming operations.

Talk to an insurance agent near you to learn about these and other coverage options that you may want to consider.

What Is Not Covered by Libertyville Farm Insurance?

Farm insurance does have its limitations, so it may be necessary to supplement your coverage with additional policies. Specifically, farm insurance will not cover damage to your crops or damage caused by floods.

That is why your local insurance agent is likely to recommend that you also purchase the following policies:

• Crop insurance: This federally backed coverage is designed to cover loss or damage to your crops and can also cover against unexpected drops in commodity prices. In most cases, you will need to purchase coverage prior to planting your crops.
• Flood insurance: This federally backed coverage is designed to cover against flood damage. A commercial flood insurance policy enables you to purchase up to $500,000 in structural coverage and $500,000 in contents coverage for your farm.  These policies do not go into effect until 30 days after they are purchased.

When you work with a local independent insurance agent, you can rest assured that your farm or ranch is fully covered against all potential risks.

What Does Crop Insurance Cover?

Crop insurance is designed to cover against unavoidable damage to your crops as well as against significant drops in your crops’ commodity value. Coverage can be purchased from any insurance provider that has been approved by and is working in conjunction with the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC).

There are three types of crop insurance. You can choose to purchase just one type or any combination:

• Multiple peril crop insurance (MPCI): This is designed to cover your crops against a wide range of hazards including floods, droughts, severe storms, insect infestations, and plant diseases.
• Crop-hail insurance: This is designed to cover your crops only against hail damage, which can be unforgiving. Although this insurance is much less expensive than MPCI, its coverage is very limited.
• Crop revenue insurance: This is designed to cover against lower-than-expected revenue due to a low crop yield or an extreme drop in the price of the commodities your farm produces.

A local independent agent can provide more information about crop insurance and can help you find suitable coverage to supplement your farm insurance policy.

What Is the Best Way to Get Farm Insurance in Libertyville, IL?

When you are looking for the best insurance to cover your Libertyville farm, you can’t beat the personalized coverage you get when you work with a local independent insurance agent.

These experienced agents live and work in your community, so they are familiar with the hazards you are likely to face as a farmer in the Libertyville area.  Because they are independent, they are free to shop around so they can find you the right coverage at the best price.

Set up an obligation-free consultation with an insurance agent in or near Libertyville to learn more and to start comparing farm insurance quotes.