Mount Vernon Farm Insurance

There are more than 1,000 farms in Illinois’ Jefferson County. These farms take up almost 270,000 acres of land and produce more than $94 million worth of goods each year. As a farmer in the Mount Vernon area, you can protect the investment you have made in farming business by purchasing a farm and ranch insurance policy.

A local independent agent can help you review policies and quotes from a few of the area’s top-rated insurance companies. That way, you can rest assured that you are getting appropriate farm insurance coverage at a competitive price. Contact an insurance agent in or near Mount Vernon to learn more.

What Is Farm Insurance?

Farm insurance (which is also referred to as farm and ranch insurance) is a combination of homeowners insurance and business insurance that is designed to meet the distinctive coverage needs of farm and ranch owners. 

When you are in the market for coverage for your farm, an independent insurance agent can help. These agents can ensure that the policy you are purchasing provides all the coverage you need as a farm owner in the Mount Vernon area, and that you are getting your coverage at a competitive price.

Is Farm Insurance Required in Mount Vernon, IL?

If you are still paying for your farm property or have taken out a business loan, your lender may require you to carry farm insurance. Otherwise, actual farm insurance is optional. However, some of the coverage you may include in a farm insurance policy package could be required under these circumstances.

• If the combined time worked by all of your farm’s employees exceeds 400 days, you will be required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Only 14% of the farms in Jefferson County hire farm labor.
• If your farm or ranch property owns and operates vehicles, they will need to be covered by a commercial vehicle insurance policy that meets all of the state’s coverage requirements.
• Farmers markets, like the Mt. Vernon Growers Market at Times Square, typically require vendors to carry liability insurance.

Even if you are not required to have it, farm insurance is usually a good idea. Without a comprehensive policy in place, a hazard like a tornado or a liability lawsuit could result not just in your losing your farm, but losing your home, businesses, and livelihood.

Talk to a local independent agent for help determining your coverage requirements and finding suitable, yet affordable, coverage.

How Much Does Farm Insurance Cost in Mount Vernon, IL?

Premiums for farm insurance can vary significantly from one farm to the next. Nearly all the farms (97%) in Jefferson County are small, family-run businesses, so the average cost of a farm insurance policy in this area will be much lower than in areas where there are several large, corporate farms.

Some of the many factors that go into calculating farm insurance costs include the following.

When you request and compare rates from a variety of competing insurance providers, you are best able to determine what is a reasonable price for coverage for your particular farm. Independent insurance agents in the Mount Vernon area can save you time and money by doing the comparison shopping for you.

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What Does Mount Vernon 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 property coverage and liability coverage.

Farm property coverage

The good news is that the risk of severe weather events causing damage to your farm property is relatively low in the Mount Vernon area. This can help to keep your farm insurance premiums on the most affordable end.

Adverse events that may cause loss or damage to your farm property include accidental fires, theft, electrical storms, windstorms, and freezing temperatures. Fortunately, your farm insurance policy can provide coverage against each of these risks.

Farm property that your insurance policy can cover includes the following.

• Your home: If you live on your farm property, as most farm owners do, your farm insurance policy can provide you with the same kind of coverage that would expect from a traditional homeowners insurance policy.
• Your farm’s outbuildings: Farm insurance can cover the structure and contents of the other structures you may have on your property including buildings like barns, silos, garages, sheds, stables, and bunkhouses.
• Equipment and machinery: Farm insurance can cover the cost of repairing damages to your well-maintained farm equipment and machinery if it breaks down or malfunctions. This can cover things like plows, tractors, balers, cultivators, and sprayers.

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

Farm liability coverage

All farm insurance policies offer liability coverage to protect your personal interests as well as your farming business from potential liability lawsuits. This insurance is designed to pay for court costs, legal fees, and damages as they pertain to covered events. 

The following are just a few 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, property damage, or financial losses to others.
• Premises liability insurance: This can cover third-party injuries sustained in accidents on your farm property for which your farming business can be deemed responsible.
• Product liability insurance: This can cover third-party illnesses or injuries caused by products produced and/or sold by your farm.
• Workers’ compensation insurance: This can cover your employees’ medical expenses and lost wages if they are injured while doing their jobs.

Independent insurance agents can help you decide whether these or any other liability insurance products are a good fit for your Mount Vernon farm. These agents can also ensure that you are getting all the coverage you need at a competitive price.

What Additional Coverage Is Available for Mount Vernon Farm Owners?

Insurance companies enable you to create a farm insurance policy that is customized to your specific farm. To do this, they offer a few coverage options that may or may not be appropriate for your farming business.

Some of the coverage options you may want to consider include the following.

• Specialized property insurance: Property such as fencing, feed for your livestock, and irrigation systems are often excluded from regular farm property insurance coverage. An independent agent can advise you if you need to purchase any special endorsements with your policy in order for all of your farm property to be suitably covered.
• Livestock insurance and poultry insurance: Livestock like hogs, pigs, cattle, and chickens need special endorsements in order to be covered under your farm insurance policy. When you have these endorsements, you can be covered if your animals are killed, injured, or sickened by hazards like fire, severe weather, predatory animals, loading and unloading accidents, and electrocution.
• Debris removal insurance: If your farm is impacted by a severe storm, fire, or tornado, it can be littered with debris afterward. This coverage can pay for the cost of a timely cleanup so that you can quickly return to normal farming operations.

Talk to an insurance agent near you to learn about these and any additional coverage options that may be a good fit for your Mount Vernon farm.

What Is Not Covered by Mount Vernon Farm Insurance?

Farm insurance covers a lot, but it does have its limitation. Specifically, it will not cover the loss of your crops or damage caused by storms. Because of this, it may be necessary to purchase the following supplemental policies.

• Crop insurance: This is federally backed coverage that is designed to cover loss or damage to your crops caused by severe weather events like hailstorms and tornadoes. It can also cover against unexpected drops in commodity prices.
• Flood insurance: This is federally backed coverage that is designed to cover against flood damage to your home and farm property. 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.

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

What Should Mount Vernon Farmers Know about Crop Insurance?

Crop insurance is designed to cover against losses in revenue caused by unavoidable damages to your crops as well as against significant drops in your crops’ commodity value.

Crop insurance 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). You can choose from among different types of coverage such as the following.

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

Each type of coverage has its own rules about when in the growing season a policy must be purchased by. A local independent agent can provide more information about coverage for your crops and can help you find the coverage you want at a competitive price.

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

When you are looking for the best insurance to cover your Mount Vernon farm, don’t do it online. Instead, talk to a local independent insurance agent. You can’t beat the personal attention, sound advice, and customer service these agents provide.

Independent insurance agents live and work in your community, so they are familiar with the hazards you are likely to face as a farmer in the Mount Vernon area. Also, because they are independent, they are free to shop around to find you great coverage at a highly competitive price.

Set up an obligation-free consultation with an insurance agent in or near Mount Vernon to get started.