Springfield Farm Insurance

There are more than 1,000 farms in Illinois’ Sangamon County, many of which are in the Springfield area. Approximately 91% of all farms in this county are small family-run businesses averaging a little less than 500 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 Springfield.

A local independent insurance agent can help you review policies and quotes from some of the area’s most highly rated insurance companies. This lets you be certain that you are getting the farm insurance coverage you need at a competitive price. Contact an insurance agent near you to learn more.

What Is Farm Insurance?

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. Some insurance companies call their policies “farm and ranch insurance.”

If you are looking for the best coverage for your Springfield-area farm, a local independent agent can help. These agents can ensure that the policy you are purchasing provides all the coverage you need at a competitive price.

Is Farm Insurance Required in Springfield, IL?

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

• Worker's compensation insurance is required by Illinois state law if the combined time worked by all of your farm employees exceeds 400 days. Only 27% of the farms in Sangamon County hire outside farm labor.
• Commercial vehicle insurance is required by the state of Illinois for any farm-owned vehicles that you or your workers drive outside your farm property.
• Liability insurance is typically required if you want to sell products at vendor sites like the Old Capitol Farmers Market or the Illinois Products Farmers Market.

Whether or not you are required to have it, farm insurance can prove to be a very good investment. Without a comprehensive policy in place, a major disaster like a fire or a tornado could result in your losing your farm, your home, your businesses, and your livelihood.

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

How Much Does Farm Insurance Cost in Springfield, 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:

Because no two farms are exactly the same, premiums for farm insurance coverage can vary. Requesting and comparing rates from a variety of competing insurance providers is the only way to find out what a reasonable price for coverage for your Springfield farm is.

Independent insurance agents can save you time and money by doing the comparison shopping for you.

What Does Springfield Farm Insurance Cover?

Farm insurance is a combination of home and business insurance. It provides a combination of liability and property coverage.

Farm liability coverage

Farm insurance offers liability coverage that can 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 farming business is responsible for accidental injuries, damages, or financial losses to others. 

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

• Personal liability insurance: This is homeowners liability insurance. It 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 that occur on your farm property. This is particularly important if your farm is open to the public for events or direct sales.
• Product liability insurance: This can cover third-party illnesses or injuries caused by products produced and/or 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 Springfield farm. These agents can also ensure that you are getting the coverage you need at a good price.

Farm property coverage

More than 86 tornadoes of a magnitude 2 or greater have touched down within 50 miles of the Springfield city center. One of the worst was an F4 twister that struck within the city limits in 1957. This tornado left a 4.3-mile wide path of destruction and caused about $2.5 million in damage.

Other hazards that can cause loss or damage to your farm property include accidental fires, theft, and severe weather events such as electrical storms, windstorms, hailstorms, freezing temperatures, droughts, and floods.

Fortunately, with the exception of floods, your farm insurance policy can provide coverage against each of these risks.

You can expect your farm insurance policy to cover against damage to the following:

• Your farmhouse: If you live on your farm property, your farm insurance can provide you with 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 certain contents of the other buildings on your property, including  silos, barns, stables, sheds, garages, and bunkhouses.
• Equipment and machinery: Farm equipment and machinery can be very expensive. Your insurance policy can cover the cost to repair damage to farm equipment such as tractors, balers, plows, cultivators, and sprayers, and plows, provided 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.

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What Additional Coverage Is Available for Springfield Farm Owners?

Farm insurance providers also offer optional coverage that you may want to consider including in your farm insurance policy. This includes:

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

Talk to an insurance agent near you to learn about these and other coverage options that you may want to consider including in your farm insurance policy package.

What Is Not Covered by Springfield Farm Insurance?

Farm insurance covers a lot, but it does have some limitations. Specifically, farm insurance will not cover damage to your crops or damage caused by floods. It may therefore be necessary to supplement your coverage with the following policies:

• Crop insurance: This is federally backed coverage that is designed to cover loss or damage to your crops. It can also cover against unexpected drops in commodity prices. In most cases, you will need to purchase coverage prior to planting your crops, though some types of coverage can be purchased at any time throughout the growing season.
• Flood insurance: This federally backed coverage is designed to cover against flood damage. With a commercial flood insurance policy through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), you can purchase up to $500,000 in structural coverage and $500,000 in contents coverage for your farm.  Flood 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 is fully covered against all potential risks.

What Should Springfield Farmers Know about Crop Insurance?

About 84% of all the farmland in Sangamon County is used for growing crops, with the top commodities being corn and soybeans. Because these crops are not covered by farm insurance, purchasing a solid crop insurance policy is advisable.

This insurance is designed to cover against unavoidable damage to your crops caused by severe weather events as well as against significant drops in your crops’ commodity value.

A crop insurance policy 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 different types of crop insurance. You can choose to purchase just one type or any combination of the following:

• Multiple peril crop insurance (MPCI): This can cover your crops against a wide range of hazards including floods, droughts, severe storms, insect infestations, and plant diseases.
• Crop-hail insurance: This is can 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 can 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 the right policy to supplement your farm insurance coverage.

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

When you are looking for the best and most affordable insurance to cover your Springfield farm, you can turn to a local independent insurance agent for help. These experienced insurance professionals live and work in your community, so they are familiar with the hazards you are likely to face as a farmer in the Springfield area.  

Because they are independent, these agents are free to shop around to find you the right coverage at the most competitive price. Set up an obligation-free consultation with an insurance agent in or near Springfield to learn more, and you can start comparing farm insurance quotes in no time.