Farm insurance built around how your property actually works

Three things moved at once. Catastrophe losses got more frequent, global reinsurance got dearer and rebuild costs climbed, which lifts your sums insured even if nothing on the farm changed. Then there's your postcode: updated flood mapping, cyclone zoning and bushfire ratings have hit some districts much harder than others.

Standard home-and-contents policies exclude business and farming activities. If you run any farm operation, your homestead, outbuildings, machinery, stock, fencing and farm liability need to be assessed and covered under a dedicated farm or rural insurance policy. Do not assume an existing home policy extends to the farm.

You do not need farm income to insure a hobby or lifestyle farm. The key underwriting factor is the total replacement value of structures and plant, not turnover or whether the property is run commercially. Declare all buildings, fencing, equipment and animals. Eligibility varies between insurers, and farm income is generally not the deciding factor for cover eligibility.

Standard crop insurance covers specific named perils: typically fire and hail. Drought is generally not covered under standard crop policies. If drought risk is a concern for your operation, speak to us about what options exist in the current market, which may be limited. Speak with one of our brokers for the latest information on what's available.

Bushfire and flood cover are available under farm property policies, but underwriting varies significantly by location and risk profile. Properties in high-BAL bushfire attack level zones or areas with property-level flood risk data flagged by insurer modelling may face sub-limits, exclusions or capacity constraints. This is exactly the kind of coverage detail that requires broker experience rather than a direct quote.

The appropriate public liability limit depends on the nature of your operation, your exposure to third parties and any contractual requirements (such as those imposed by suppliers, processors or agistment arrangements). Common limits in the agricultural sector are $10 million and $20 million. We can discuss options that may be worth considering for your specific operation.

We work with multiple insurance companies and underwriting agencies. We do not publicly disclose the specific names on our panel, as appetite and capacity change regularly and we approach the market fresh for each client. Our role is to find the right markets for your property type and location.

North QLD and WA operations attract cyclone-zone loadings.

To provide a quote, we typically need: property address and land size, type of farming operation, a list of structures with approximate floor areas, a list of major plant and machinery, current sums insured if you have a policy and your renewal date. The more detail, the more accurate the options we can present.