New Englander Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 On the pole barn thread the subject of insurance came up and one poster said everything is now under insured, which I agreed with. I figured it deserves its own thread as I'm curious as to what others are doing. Below is what I posted as a response to that thread: It's a problem for sure. I had the insurance guy out and he started looking over my two outbuildings and said that it's almost impossible to quote replacing a 19th century post and beam bank barn and the contents. My shop and the contents are way under insured. The replacement costs are almost impossible to estimate. Over 50 years of tools I couldn't even begin to list. The house may be ok unless it and contents are totally destroyed. I know it's a problem but there are few who will write policies in my area. I'm still on a farm policy even though we quit some years ago. So what are you folks doing/paying? I'm with Farm Family. They've got everything including vehicles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmall1066 Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 It’s all a joke! We had a storm come through back on Memorial Day evening, not sure if it was straight line winds, or tornado?! We had some buildings damaged, broken rafters, tin peel up, wall of a shed disappear, and a house pushed off the foundation a little, and a 4x8 sheet of 5/8” plywood go through a wall of the house. Insurance adjuster came out, looked everything over, said yep, house is totaled, and a few buildings are going to hit the cost of repair, they’ll be paid out in full, so pretty much totaled. When it was all said and done, they figured all the depreciation off from the year the buildings were built, and here’s how much we’ll pay. So even though the adjuster said, buildings had enough damage to be paid out in full, it didn’t happen. We even asked about the inflated prices of lumber, and tin, and the cost to build a new building, shouldn’t our buildings be worth more because of inflation? Nope, doesn’t work that way. My one shed needs roughly $48,000 spent on the roof. I got paid $15,000. Guess I don’t get a roof, cause I can’t come up with $33,000 out of pocket just like that! Shortly after everything was said and done, we got letters from our insurance companies talking about the inflated prices, and to speak with your agent about replacement cost increases. But didn’t want to hear about when the storm came through! Typical insurance!! We need our monthly premium, and you should cover xyz, and now you need a claim paid out, oh we don’t cover that, and we can only cover part of that, and that wasn’t insured properly, so we’ll only give you 1/3 of what you deserve! Insurance is a joke!!!!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reichow7120 Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 Insurance adjusters ( or agents) will crawl over 100 virgins to screw a customer. 2 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acem Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 I have almost no insurance. Only liability on my vehicles, the minimum on my house to satisfy my bank andtheminimumrequiredcrop insurance. I don't trust insurance companies. When I was an engineer for Potlatch they had health, dental, etc insurance. They were self insured. They just paid the bills themselves. Saved them alot of money. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray54 Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 3 hours ago, acem said: I have almost no insurance. Only liability on my vehicles, the minimum on my house to satisfy my bank andtheminimumrequiredcrop insurance. I don't trust insurance companies. When I was an engineer for Potlatch they had health, dental, etc insurance. They were self insured. They just paid the bills themselves. Saved them alot of money. Not saying you are wrong, no liability on the farm? Livestock in the road, moving machines on the road etc ,etc. With all the big wild fires and the buildings burned many companies left California in the home owners insurance. So far my agent ( I wish to leave 75% of the time) has found fire insurance on my house that is still reasonable. But barns nobody has been willing to touch in almost 10 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandhiller Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobfly Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 I pay for replacement cost insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzldenny Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 When our truck was totaled they offered me 3000 for my full coverage. I refused to sign off. We went round and round for months. They hated having the claim open and kept calling for me to settle. I kept emailing them sales for the same model used trucks I had with twice and three times as many miles for $36000. Told them to find me a comparable truck for 3000 and I'd sign off. Four months in I emailed them a truck for $24500 with twice as many miles and they sent me the check for $24500. I dealed and bought the truck for $18000. Stand your ground and enlist a lawyer if need be. The more paperwork they do the more money they lose. You can squeeze them. You might not come out as well as we did but the loose ends might get close enough to tie... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Englander Posted February 6 Author Share Posted February 6 My kid has USAA and it payed twice on his car after being sideswiped and hitting Bambi. They make you go to their shop for a BS low estimate then you bring it to a good shop and it ends up costing 3 times the original estimate but they pay, no problem. I guess they're trying to get you to go to the cheap shop but you've got to be smart enough not to. I'm more interested in the building insurance issues. I carry liability as well in addition to an umbrella policy, so I'm not really worried about someone hurting themselves or climbing on a tractor in the field and falling off or getting cut playing on an attachment. I'm told that's called an attractive nuisance that it's possible to be liable for. I try not to leave anything out anyway. I've heard there's policies for hobby farms or other larger than normal residential that may offer coverage I need without being listed as a farm, cause we're no longer. I would not go bare on liability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbyfarm Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 @New Englander I've seen homeowner type policies that as an example say covers home at 350000 and out buildings up to x. Those would scare me if I was concerned about out buildings. Our farm policy lists each building individually with a defined value which would be the payout in the event of a total loss. Patial loss would be what it costs to fix it. All of our equipment is the same. The values on both buildings and equipment are agreed upon. My concern for ourselves would be we haven't increased those values. I don't want to pay more. The company who insures us is rather local and does not offer coverage in New England. They are outstanding and I would recommend them if you were here. They cover everything from a homeowner to the bto farm and business person. Basically I have my equipment and toys insured for what I paid for them. I just sold a manure spreader for double what I had in it. Had it been stolen wrecked etc i wouldnt be able to replace it with what the insurance would give me. Unprecedented times on these values. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldiron29 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 New England, I had Farm Family now American National Last year they told me the special home policy's were being discontinued. I have one in VT. and NY. two different agents same American National. Both came out to look and see what they could up date me with Both property's have barns and out buildings. They said they could write me as small farm policy's and worked with me on final value's They gave there book calculated value and I gave what I would cover or not. Alot of equipment is cover as extra like tractors must be listed with serial# and value. So barn contents cover small tools and power tools chainsaws air compressor, Lists like contents of house. So you have building value and content value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirt_Floor_Poor Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 We have Farmers Mutual here (Missouri). In spring 2016 or 2017 we had baseball size hail. It totally destroyed the roof and west side on a 60x120 Morton building that was built in 2010. I called Morton and asked for an estimate. Insurance paid the Morton estimate, no questions asked. We got an Amish crew to do it for about half of that estimate and kept the extra. We had tremendous damage at our church from the same storm. Insurance paid everything with money left over because I got the same Amish crew to do a lot of the work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaredT Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 We own a business, have the farm and personal buildings and vehicles. We have always found that full coverage seems to pay out better in bad situations vs reduced coverage of any kind. We have had to increase liability and values a lot over the last few years. Our agent is quick to point out insufficiency in coverage but not push increases on us. We have never had a problem with coverage in the event we need them. The newer buildings have replacement cost on them. Our newest shed built last year was valued $75k over what it cost to build it. if it was a total loss, it would be covered for whatever it cost to build it again. Our grain dryer was around $10k when we purchased it, it cost about $600/yr for coverage for an additional $300 a year we have replacement cost insurance, meaning that a new dryer like it costs $130k and that is what they will cover. Replacement cost eliminates the depreciation that insurance adjusters seem to use to their advantage like stated above. As we improve each of the buildings on the property we make the call to increase the value on it. All of our buildings are individually valued on our policies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmall1066 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 5 hours ago, sandhiller said: Spot on!!!👍🏻 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acem Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 6 hours ago, ray54 said: Not saying you are wrong, no liability on the farm? Livestock in the road, moving machines on the road etc ,etc. With all the big wild fires and the buildings burned many companies left California in the home owners insurance. So far my agent ( I wish to leave 75% of the time) has found fire insurance on my house that is still reasonable. But barns nobody has been willing to touch in almost 10 years. No farm liability insurance. I didn't have health insurance for over 20 years but do now. I feel dirty because it's government subsidized. Crop insurance is subsidized too. Thx-Ace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Englander Posted February 7 Author Share Posted February 7 My airplane and antique motorcycle are agreed value, no questions asked. The airplane is a bit of a problem because it's appreciating and I've increased the amount twice already and will again when it comes time for renewal. I'm really going to have to shop for the homestead. Property values here have skyrocketed and replacement costs with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Englander Posted February 7 Author Share Posted February 7 When I had the avionics shop we went bare on the equipment but paid through the nose for liability. When an airplane crashes, no matter if pilot error, the family gets an ambulance chaser and they go after everyone. The manufacturer of the plane, engine, installed equipment, the FAA, everyone who worked on it, even the guy's flight instructor! Of course they want the ones with deep pockets to settle and that's where they concentrate. It's why planes cost so much. Anyway, that's another topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzldenny Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 Our farm insurance company was bought out this year so we had to re-up with the new company. We dropped coverage on the smaller equipment like hay wagons and manure spreaders etc so we could up the coverage on the buildings and more expensive equipment and keep the premium increase to a minimum. Easier to find a running gear and build a new flat rack than find the money to build/rebuild a shed or barn. Double and triple check coverage values when the paperwork comes back. Ours came back wrong a few times. Still not correct. Thankfully I took a picture of what we had written down with the agent at the kitchen table for values and can keep resubmitting it. Good help is no longer hard to find but seems non existent. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acem Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 My wife's sister lives on an acre in rural Missouri. She got chickens. Progressive dropped her because she now had a farm. She said she just had 12 chickens, not a farm They told her they were gateway animals! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray54 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 1 hour ago, acem said: My wife's sister lives on an acre in rural Missouri. She got chickens. Progressive dropped her because she now had a farm. She said she just had 12 chickens, not a farm They told her they were gateway animals! As long as the gateway is closed........................no problem. It is open gateways that cause trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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