How much land do I want?

[LMK17]

Next stop, insurance... Pretty sure buying insurance ranks right up there as one of the *most totally awesome fun things ever.* Right?? LOL

But anyway, it's a necessary evil. I'm trying to figure out our best bet- Should we get a home policy + a farm policy, or is the farm policy overkill, since we're more of a homestead? We'll be producing food almost entirely for our own use. The only thing I can imagine us selling would be extra beef since we need 4 steers/yr for tax purposes (probably would sell on the hoof to friends). Maaaybe occasional eggs, again direct selling to friends. As far as animals, we'll have goats, 4 head of cattle, bees, and chickens right off the bat, plus the family dogs and cats. Will likely add 3 pigs at some point and might branch off to equines... Again, for our own use. The current owners have a full farm policy, but they're partly a commercial operation. They direct market to a list of clients and have hosted the occasional "farm day" for their customers to come visit the place.

So what's necessary, insurance-wise? Also, care to recommend your insurance company?

 

[misfitmorgan]

I would just go normal home owners unless/until you end up getting farther into commercial then a few one off sales here and there. I just dont think it would be worth the extra expense to insure the small number of animals..they will not cover a garden either for crop loss as far as i know. We use Statefarm but i'm sure there are probly some specific to Texas that might be better.

 

[LMK17]

I'm really not worried about the loss of animals or crops. Rather, my concern is liability in the event that one of the animals hurts someone. Suppose a goat uses her horns on a visiting friend? Or a cow breaks down the fence and ends up causing a car accident when it steps onto the road? That's the kind of stuff I'm worried about. I've gotten conflicting answers regarding whether a typical homeowner's policy would cover these sorts of things.

ETA- We decided we don't need farm insurance. Armed Forces Insurance will cover us for liability in the event that a livestock animal injures someone or causes an accident, so we're going with them. OTOH, USAA told us anything caused by livestock is specifically excluded from their policies. We used to have all our insurance and banking through USAA, but their service has taken a nosedive the past decade or so.

 

[greybeard]

There are several different kinds of insurance you can purchase to limit your exposure to losses. You would have to talk to an agent, depending on your investment, to decide which fits your operation.
The Farm & Ranch amendments or rider to a homeowners policy don't usually extend to liability for damage to another party out on a public road. The rider just covers (with limitations) the loss of the animal. This is called Livestock Collision Coverage and is usually described : "The company's liability shall be limited to the market value of such animal at the time."
It's a good idea if you are going to be moving livestock by vehicle but LCC will not usually cover liability for damages caused to other people if your livestock gets out on the roadway.

If you are going to have visitors to your farm, you should have Farm Liability insurance. It's usually a stand alone policy--not a rider on your homeowner's policy. I prefer to have my residence separately insured and kept completely separate from my farm activity. I may lose my farm to a catastrophic liability accident, but I'll still have a roof over my head.

You might consider a Livestock “Care, Custody, and Control endorsement” as well.

 

[Bruce]

We use Liberty Mutual. Our barns are so old Nationwide won't insure them at all, LM has them as outbuildings. Not nearly enough to put more than a dent in replacing them if they burn. I can sell "farm products" up to some percentage of my total income. With 11 hens laying, 5 being 5 years old, I will never have to worry about hitting whatever %age that is!!

You can always get a separate liability policy, not related to the property at all. As @greybeard said, only an agent can cover all the options and get you what you need.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Statefarm's policy covers you for liability $100,000 per occurrence and $100 medical per occurrence, $1,000 for damage to others property. We also have 168k coverage for the house, 31k for the detached garage, and 115k for personal property which the agent says we can use to replace any of the outbuildings(read as barn) if they become damaged. We may end up adjusting the policy to specifically cover the barn and out buildings but they are quite old so no promises there i'm sure.

Stand alone Farm liability isn't a bad idea.

 

[Baymule]

We use Germania, it's for rural properties. Before that, when we lived in town, we used Foremost.

 

[Bruce]

Never heard of either one of those @Baymule