Today’s volumes of pesticides, fuel and manure combined with the ever-increasing environment regulations and sensitivity to these issues mean greater than ever risk on the farm. A hazardous materials cleanup crew, the long tail of environmental monitoring and environmental fines can be very expensive. Readily available is legal liability coverage for sudden and accidental losses where the pollutants are off your property. Escape losses that affect your own property or losses that are caused by a slow “leakage” type of situation are not covered on your typical farm policy.
The best way to avoid problems is to have a good understanding of your insurance policy.
Here are some questions that you could ask your insurance broker:
* What is the extent of coverage for environmental cleanup?
* How much environmental cleanup coverage do I have?
* Am I covered for spills from off-the-farm transportation accidents?
* What is required of me if there is a chemical spill?
* Are there any actions I might take that might void my policy?
Some farm policies do not cover any pollution losses of any kind. What’s on your policy?