There are a lot of people and things that you rely on to help your farm turn a profit. Few are more important than your equipment. You rely on these essential machines to speed up your work, improve efficiency, manage your supply chain, and help out in their fair share of problems around the property. That’s why if something happens to them, you need to be able to repair or replace them. Proper agricultural equipment insurance will make sure you can do so.
Let’s take a closer look at this coverage, and how it can apply to each piece of equipment in turn, so that you can choose the right benefits for your farm.
What equipment qualifies for equipment insurance?
Agricultural equipment takes many shapes and forms. However, it is not generally insurable under a farm’s property insurance or commercial auto insurance. Equipment coverage is designed specifically to protect these items in their unique surroundings.
Items that generally can be insured under equipment coverage are:
- Tractors
- Sprayers
- Hay rakes
- Planters
- Irrigation equipment
- Office equipment
- Tools & field equipment
- Portable buildings & fences
- GPS devices
- Borrowed equipment & rented/leased equipment
When will my plan cover me?
Like all other property insurance, farm equipment coverage insures items in cases of unforeseeable, unavoidable losses. These might include things like floods, fires, severe weather, vandalism, theft and accidents. Additionally, certain policies take coverage further by insuring expanded perils, such as:
- Collisions
- Towing accidents
- Glass breakage
- Overturns
- Damage by foreign objects
Carefully review your policy terms to learn more about the perils it covers. Every policy is different.
How much compensation will I receive for a loss?
When putting together your plan, equipment might be insured on an individual or blanket level. If insured under blanket coverage, then all damage to all items will be insured up to a certain dollar amount. If insured on an individual level, then each piece will be covered under a separate value.
Standard coverage will usually only insure items for their cash value, which is their used value at the time of the loss. If you want more compensation, however, then you might be able to increase your benefits to replacement cost coverage. However, deductibles will apply to both types of benefits, and any claim that falls below your deductible value will not have coverage.
Don’t hesitate to work with your farm insurance agent to design the best equipment coverage for you. They will help you choose a policy that will include protection for essential items even in the most unique loss scenarios.