Hobby farm insurance

9 posts
Wed, 07/25/2012 - 12:49 #1

Member for

12 years 4 months
shauna
Last seen: 03/08/2018 - 21:05
Joined: 07/25/2012 - 12:25

Hobby farm insurance

Hi

I wonder if anyone can advise me what insurance I would need for my property. I have 10 acres in the Adelaide Hills with circa 200 olive trees grown for oil. At the moment we are running this as a hobby farm ourselves (although we just used a pruning service) with no employees. There is some equipment, tractor, electric harvesters and a trailer. There is also a dam on the property and the entire property fenced.

We live on the property and of course our house and contents are currently insured - through AAMI.

An insurance broker we spoke to said we should have farm insurance as well as public liability insurance - however he is after all a salesman so I was looking for some independent advice. By the way the quoe we had was for just under $3,000 a year seems expensive?

thanks

Shauna

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Thu, 07/26/2012 - 11:02 #2
charlie
Last seen: 12/26/2018 - 09:21
Joined: 05/31/2011 - 09:44

Hi Shauna,

Welcome to Farmstyle and thanks for the question. Insurance premiums tend to be high for hobby farms, with the premium decreasing as the farm increases in size (over 20ha). If you are selling products from your farm I would definately look at public liability insurance as this will cover not only personal injury or accidents (if your livestock stray onto the road and cause an accident) but also product liability. Product liability will provide cover you in the instance where a product you sell causes injury or sickness (check your policy for details).

In regard to general farm insurance it will depend on what you are comfortable with. You can mix and match to determine the level of cover you require. Cover may include some or all of the following:

  • Fencing
  • Plant and equipment
  • Transit
  • Theft
  • Breakdowns

As an example of mixing and matching, on the home farm we don't usually have fence insurance but if it is a season with a high fire risk we have it included in the policy. For further information and to get a quote visit https://www.farmstyleinsurance.com.au/

Charlie

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Tue, 07/31/2012 - 15:57 #3
nil_17
Last seen: 08/02/2012 - 08:53
Joined: 07/31/2012 - 14:49

We have 11 acres in Tasmania and found our insurance to be around $1500. That covers house and contents and public liability I think. We only have stock for our own use though, we don't 'farm' it for an income, more of a lifestyle for us, and space for the kids.

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Tue, 07/31/2012 - 16:17 #4
shauna
Last seen: 03/08/2018 - 21:05
Joined: 07/25/2012 - 12:25

Thanks for your answers. Can anyone advise about the public liability aspect - we do not have stock and no employees is PL Insurance really necessary?

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Wed, 08/01/2012 - 11:30 #5
charlie
Last seen: 12/26/2018 - 09:21
Joined: 05/31/2011 - 09:44

Hi Shauna,

Regarding the public liability insurance, do you produce and sell olives, olive oil or any other products from the farm?

Regards,

Charlie

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Thu, 08/02/2012 - 13:03 #6
shauna
Last seen: 03/08/2018 - 21:05
Joined: 07/25/2012 - 12:25

Hi

Yes we produce Olive Oil that we sell to friends and family - no sales outside of that areas yet but maybe in the future.

Shauna

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Tue, 08/21/2012 - 16:25 #7
charlie
Last seen: 12/26/2018 - 09:21
Joined: 05/31/2011 - 09:44

Hi Shauna,

If you have home and contents insurance you may not require additional public liability insurance (depending on if you selll farm products). Most home and contents policies have a standard public liability cover of $20 million. Each insurer's policy is different with regard to the land area they will cover around the house. Some will cover up to 10-15 acres others as little as 5 acres. You will need to check with AAMI as to the area they will cover. If your land area is too large and not covered by your home and contents policy you will need to consider additional public liability cover.

If you are selling olive products for money you will require additional public / product liability cover - as any business does. Personal Liability cover (under home and contents) will not cover any liability when farm products are produced and sold for monetary value.

Something else that you may want to consider is the risk of fire. If a fire was to start on your farm and cause damage to other farms you may be liable for the damages. A public liability insurance policy would likely cover this risk.

You should discuss these matters in detail with your farm insurance broker / adviser to ascertain the level of cover you require.

Regards,

Charlie 

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Wed, 09/19/2018 - 14:32 #8
DazandGlor
Last seen: 09/20/2018 - 16:19
Joined: 09/19/2018 - 14:28
We have a 25 acres hobby farm near lismore/nimbin. We have a few cows to keep the grass down and some chooks for our own use. We just received our farm insurance and its over $2500. It includes a $250 broker fee. We like to pay monthy so need and insurance company that will allow this. I am sure there is other companies out there that do hobby farms our size. Any advice is welcome - thank you
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Fri, 11/11/2022 - 12:27 #9
admin
Last seen: 11/29/2024 - 11:40
Joined: 02/28/2011 - 14:19

Hi GazandGlor,

I know its an old post but just jumping in to let you know that Farmstyle Insurance has recently launched an insurance product just for small farmers.

You can find out more and get a quote at
https://www.farmstyleinsurance.com.au/

It's been co-designed with the assistance of hobby farmers here at Farmstyle Australia, please DM them if you have any questions or require assistance.

They also have a pay by the month option.

Thanks,
Charlie

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