California Farm Insurance

02/01/2022 Update! Important to California Farmers and Ranchers. Click Here for email bulletin from the California Fair Plan

We are pleased to announce that in accordance with Senate Bill (SB 11), effective February 1, 2022, the FAIR Plan will begin offering coverage for farm buildings and business personal property. Coverage for buildings and property involved in commercial agriculture was previously limited to wineries but has now been expanded to include commercial farming and ranching.

Attached is a bulletin providing further information on the newly available coverage for farm buildings, including information on how to submit applications for farm properties and a list of structures and property available for coverage.

effective February 1, 2022, the FAIR Plan will begin offering coverage for farm buildings and business personal property. Coverage for buildings and property involved in commercial agriculture was previously limited to wineries but has now been expanded to include commercial farming and ranching.

This includes coverage for the following:
• Barns used for farming operations, packing houses and crop storage
• Greenhouses
• Supply shelters and buildings housing equipment
• Livestock barns and shelters
• Gift shops and farm offices
• Brooders
• Non-owner occupied dwellings used as housing for farm employees (tenant-occupied
dwellings not occupied by employees should be covered under a separate Dwelling Fire policy)
• Machinery and equipment in the open (if permanently affixed to the land)
• Corrals, pens, and fences (excluding field and pasture fences)
• Chutes and feed racks
• Silos
• Bulk tanks and bins
• Farming equipment and machinery
• Finished product ready for sale (packaged and unpackaged)
• Feed and fertilizer

Coverage for an owner-occupied dwelling located on a farm property should be written under a
separate Dwelling Fire policy. This policy should also include household personal property and
other structures on the premises used only for personal use.

Eligible farm risks should be submitted under a commercial application. Each individual building
for which coverage is needed should be scheduled separately on the application. A diagram of the
property showing all buildings on the property, whether covered or not, should be included with the application. A template for the diagram is attached below and available
through our broker portal.

Additionally, if coverage for sprinkler leakage is requested, a copy of a recent main drain test
must be provided.

After receipt and initial review of an application for a farm risk ensuring eligibility and that
all information needed to rate and underwrite the risk has been provided, an inspection report will
be ordered to confirm conditions and eligibility and to determine the appropriate brush/wildfire
charge. The inspection will be completed and reviewed by underwriting before a quotation for
coverage is issued. Most inspections will be returned two weeks from the date requested.
Applications for these risks should be submitted with sufficient time to allow for this inspection
process.

Please note that farm buildings do not qualify for replacement cost coverage unless the building is
well maintained. A farm building with signs of deterioration (peeling paint, evidence of rot,
lifting or warped siding etc.) on more than 10% of the siding, or lifting, curling or loss of
granular material on more than 10% of the roof surface does not qualify for replacement cost
coverage.

Coverage remains unavailable for the following:
• Farm or agricultural products at any stage of processing (not including finished
products) such as
o Grain, hay, straw, and other crops (in ground, harvested or acquired)
o Livestock
• Orchards, fields, and soil
• Underground irrigation equipment
• Field and pasture fences
• Portable buildings or structures
• Farming vehicles, including those used for harvesting and other farm operations
(tractors, combines, hay balers, etc.)

For Farm and Ranch Properties not located in the Wildfire Zones of California we continue to offer the Traditional Farm and Ranch Insurance Packages and Monolines

Our Companies

Here is partial list of some 150 individual Insurance Carriers we write with. This list pertains to those we submit applications with for the Agricultural Sector.

ACE Agribusiness
ACE / Penn Miller
ACE / Rain & Hail
Allied / Nationwide Insurance
Liberty Agribusiness
Chubb
Fairmont
Firemen’s Fund
American Bankers Insurance Company
American Reliable Insurance Company
American Modern (small niche hobby farm)
Capitol Indemnity
Colony Insurance
Great American Insurance
Golden Eagle
Hartford Livestock
Markel Insurance Company
Travelers Insurance Group
United National
Mesa Insurance

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