If you are a Canadian farmer, you know the risks associated with pollution. Many farmers work with a broad range of chemicals, which are found in herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, and insecticides. As the owner of a farm, it is your responsibility to protect your assets. How do you do this? By obtaining and carrying pollution insurance coverage.
What Is Farm Pollution Insurance?
Pollution insurance is a type of liability insurance. This coverage is highly recommended for farmers who work with chemicals. It is also recommended for businesses that deal with hazardous waste. Pollution has been associated with the death and injuries of humans and animals and property damage.
What Does Farm Pollution Insurance Cover?
Pollution insurance covers property damage, bodily injury, and cleanup expenses associated with chemical spills. The coverage in your farming insurance policy kicks in when an accidental fuel or chemical spill occurs, leaving mild to severe damage. Cleaning up a chemical spill can be rather expensive. And, this is not to mention potential property damage, bodily injuries, and health care expenses.
Pollution insurance also covers property damage and bodily injury related to dust pollution. Wind gusts between 15 and 20 miles per hour can lead to dust pollution. Dust contains tiny particles that can easily be inhaled by humans and animals, leading to respiratory illnesses. Studies reveal that dust in agricultural settings can contain chemicals (organic and non-organic), metals, soil, soot, and acids.
Remove And Restore
As mentioned above, cleaning up a small-, medium-, or large-sized chemical spill can cost thousands of dollars. While chemical spills can lead to mild to severe damage, the cleanup must meet the Canadian Environmental Protection regulations. Medium- to large-sized chemical spills must be cleaned up by a company that specializes in chemical removals. These companies must meet the EPA’s chemical cleanup standards. So, you will not be able to approach the cleanup as a DIY process.
The removal team will perform the cleanup according to the EPA guidelines. Once the process is complete, you will be required to hire a restoration company to restore the damaged property to its original state. This service is also expensive, costing anywhere between $8 to $18.50 per square foot.
General Farm Liability Insurance
It is recommended for all Canadian farmers to obtain and carry general farm liability insurance. This type of insurance will protect you and assets from third-party claims and lawsuits caused by property damage and bodily injury.
General farm liability insurance kicks in when someone is injured while visiting your property. If it is determined that the accident is related to normal farming operations, the insurance will cover the individual’s health care expenses. It will also cover property damage sustained during the accident.
Unexpected Pollution Incident
Pollution insurance only covers pollution incidents that are determined to be “unexpected”. This is generally the case with chemical and fuel spills.
Additional Coverage Recommendations
Building a policy for your farm will begin with basic liability insurance. To customize the policy to fit your risk exposures, you will be required to add additional coverages, such as property and pollution. If you have more questions about farm insurance, you can contact ProfessionalsCoverage.
Depending on what you specialize in, you may need to add poultry, heat prostration, farm livestock, farmer’s market, and farm equipment coverage to your basic liability farm insurance policy.
Contact Us Today!
To obtain a free quote and more information about pollution insurance contact ProfessionalsCoverage. We will connect you will a certified insurance agent operating in Canada. Our goal is to help Canadian farmers obtain a liability insurance policy that meets or exceeds their risk exposures.
Ready to get a Farm Pollution Insurance Quote? Apply now!
Other types of coverages farmers often explore:
You can view some examples coverages offered to different type of farming businesses by going to this link.