Surfside Beach Farm Insurance

(Everything you need to know - and more)

Written by Meg Stefanac
Written by Meg Stefanac

Financial blogger and business owner, Meg Stefanac, has more than 15 years experience working in the financial services industry and enjoys helping individuals make solid financial decisions. Meg has extensive experience writing about insurance and finances and is a key contributor to TrustedChoice.com.

Updated
How to insure your hobby farm

There are more than 750 farms located in Horry County near Surfside Beach. The market value of these farms exceeds $87 million a year. The top commodities produced in this county are chickens, pigs, eggs, soybeans, corn, and peanuts. If you are among the farm and ranch owners in the Surfside Beach area, you can protect your investment with a suitable farm insurance policy.

Independent insurance agents in Surfside Beach are ready to help you find the best farm insurance policy to meet your coverage and budgetary needs. If you are ready to learn more and start comparing customized quotes for farm and ranch insurance, contact an experienced insurance agent near you.

What Is Surfside Beach Farm Insurance?

Farm insurance is a specialized coverage that is tailored to meet the unique insurance needs of farm and ranch owners. It combines protection for your home and personal property with coverage for your farming or ranching business in one easy-to-manage policy package.

Independent insurance agents can help you determine the risks you are likely to face as a farmer or rancher in the Surfside Beach area, and can then recommend the appropriate coverage to protect you against each of these hazards.  That way, you can build a complete policy package that doesn’t leave you with any unintended coverage gaps.

Surfside Beach Farm Insurance Covers against Liability Risks

Farms and ranches are businesses and therefore have a number of liability risks. That is why all farm insurance policies include liability coverage as a standard part of their coverage. This insurance can cover court costs, legal fees, and damages if you are sued for a covered event. 

The following are some examples of farm liability coverage that is available to you:

  • Personal liability insurance: If your residence is located on your farm property, you can get all the coverage normally offered in homeowners liability insurance.
  • Premises liability coverage: This can pay for damage and injuries experienced by visitors, guests, or customers if they are involved in an accident while on your farm or ranch property.
  • Product liability coverage: This can pay for illnesses, injuries, or other damage experienced by third parties due to a defect in a product that your farm produces or sells.
  • Operations liability insurance: This can pay for injuries or property damage experienced by third parties in the course of running your farm, such as if a baler is involved in an accident while crossing to the other side of a public road that runs through your property. 
  • Workers’ compensation insurance: South Carolina requires farmers who employ four or more people and pay at least $3,000 a year in payroll to cover their workers with workers’ compensation insurance. This insurance can shield you from the risk of liability lawsuits by paying for medical treatment and lost wages if your workers are injured on the job.

An independent insurance agent can help you review these and other liability coverage options that are available for you to choose from. Together, you can determine which products are a good fit for your particular farm or ranch. 

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Surfside Beach Farm Insurance Covers Your Property

Farmers who have a property close to the Carolina coast are most susceptible to property damage caused by hurricanes, tropical storms, high winds and hail. Fortunately, your farm insurance policy can provide coverage for your expensive farm assets against each of these perils.

Some of the property that your Surfside Beach farm insurance policy can cover includes:

  • Your house: If you live on your farm or ranch, farm insurance can provide you with coverage for the structure of your farmhouse (dwelling insurance) as well as for the personal property inside it (contents insurance).
  • Outbuildings: Farm insurance can cover various other buildings and structures on your property, including stables, barns, silos, garages, sheds, coops, and hatcheries.
  • Equipment and machinery: Farm insurance can pay to repair or replace your farm equipment and machinery if it is damaged by a covered event. This coverage is extended to such things as tractors, plows, balers, cultivators, and sprayers.

It is important to note that flood damage, which is a very real risk in the Surfside Beach area, is not covered by your farm’s basic property insurance. This is true even if the flood is the direct result of a covered hurricane.  In order to be fully covered, you will need to supplement your farm insurance with a government-backed flood insurance policy through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP.) 

Talk to a local independent insurance agent to learn more about how your farm’s property insurance, coupled with a flood insurance policy, can prevent severe weather events from causing you large financial losses.

Surfside Beach Farm Insurance Offers Many Additional Coverage Options

Farm insurance companies also enable you to include specialized coverage that makes sense for your particular farm or ranch when you are customizing your farm insurance policy. Some of the many coverage options that may want to consider include:

  • Equipment breakdown insurance: While property insurance covers damage sustained by your farm machinery, equipment breakdown insurance covers the cost of repairs if the machinery malfunctions. If a repair will take a long time, this insurance may even cover the cost of renting comparable equipment so you can keep your farm operations running smoothly.
  • Livestock and poultry insurance: This is designed to cover the loss of expensive farm animals in the event that they are severely hurt by a severe weather event, loading and unloading accidents, attacks by predatory animals, electrocution, and other hazards.
  • Specialized property insurance: The standard property coverage in your farm insurance policy is likely to have exclusions for some types of property. Fortunately, you can purchase endorsements to cover these items. Specialized coverage is available for things such as electric fences, feed, and irrigation systems.
  • Debris removal insurance: Severe weather events like hurricanes can result in extensive debris on your property. This insurance is designed to pay for the cost of timely clean-up. That way, your farm or ranch can get back to normal operations as quickly as possible.
  • Farm income insurance: When disaster strikes, it typically leads to much lower-than-expected profits for your farm or ranch. For many farmers, this can be financially devastating. Fortunately, farm income insurance can make up the difference between expected and actual profits if your farm’s operations are hindered by a covered event.
  • Crop insurance: This is designed to cover your losses if your crops are damaged or destroyed by a covered event like hail or floods. It can also cover losses due to sudden and unexpected drops in commodity values.

Talk to an insurance agent in or near Surfside Beach to learn about these and other coverage offerings. Your agent can help you decide which options are right for your particular farm or ranch.

Why Work with an Independent Insurance Agent in Surfside Beach, SC?

Independent insurance agents can help you build a farm insurance policy that offers suitable protection against all of the hazards that can threaten your farm’s bottom line. Also, because they are not tied to just one insurance company, they can shop around to find a policy that offers the coverage you need at the most competitive price.

Local independent agents live and work in the Surfside Beach area, so they are familiar with the risks you face as a farm or ranch owner in coastal South Carolina. Contact an insurance agent near you to learn more about your options when it comes to farm and ranch insurance.

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https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/South_Carolina/index.php
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2017/Online_Resources/County_Profiles/South_Carolina/
http://www.city-data.com