Getting homeowners insurance if we sell broiler chickens

[chanceosunshine]

Would they insure you if you sold the chickens off the property? Like at a farm market or if you had a delivery date where people can meet you?

I know where we buy our meat, the farmer puts our name on the animal when it goes to the butcher, then the farmer picks it up and then we drive to a designated meeting place and pick it up.

Also, what area are you in? Your mobile butcher sounds like a great service!

 

[Folly's place]

This is an older thread, and it's very true that many/ most homeowner's policies won't cover livestock, or businesses. Check your policy!!!
Some 'estate' type policies, and even some farm policies, won't cover poultry. Ignoring policy exclusions is a terrible idea, especially when it comes to liability coverage.
Mary

 

[Ascholten]

Start Farm sucks as insurance, had them for years, dropped them, because they suck. They will shaft you every chance they get, they suck.

With that being said.

It's the liability thing. NO homeowners insurance is going to cover any business activities in your home, you will need a separate policy for that. Now if it's something like, I buy candy canes in 100 lb bags and resell them in 1 lb bags, they might let you take an umbrella policy to cover it, but poultry, is a huge other world.

Salmonella, Botulism, Lysteria, YOUR chicken had the avian flu and wiped out my flock of 500k chickens, YOU didn't disclose now Im suing you..... THAT kind of thing. Then there is always the dirt bag who wants to make your business, their business. claims they got sick off one of your birds, now is suing and wants your house, property, everything. How do you protect yourself from that type of reach? If you are running it out of your house, it's VERY hard to protect yourself, even if they just sued the business,.. the 'business' is still.. your house.

You are also going to have to pass all sorts of sanitary laws too, being it's food, and poultry involved. They could say you need bonded processing equipment, bonded refrigeration, etc etc. Again this is to protect the people from some clown selling bad birds out of the back of their shed.

Even if someone does not sue you, if one of your neighbors snitches you out to the health department, that you are selling unlicensed food... good luck with that.

Aaron

 

[AgnesGray]

Start Farm sucks as insurance, had them for years, dropped them, because they suck. They will shaft you every chance they get, they suck.

With that being said.

It's the liability thing. NO homeowners insurance is going to cover any business activities in your home, you will need a separate policy for that. Now if it's something like, I buy candy canes in 100 lb bags and resell them in 1 lb bags, they might let you take an umbrella policy to cover it, but poultry, is a huge other world.

Salmonella, Botulism, Lysteria, YOUR chicken had the avian flu and wiped out my flock of 500k chickens, YOU didn't disclose now Im suing you..... THAT kind of thing. Then there is always the dirt bag who wants to make your business, their business. claims they got sick off one of your birds, now is suing and wants your house, property, everything. How do you protect yourself from that type of reach? If you are running it out of your house, it's VERY hard to protect yourself, even if they just sued the business,.. the 'business' is still.. your house.

You are also going to have to pass all sorts of sanitary laws too, being it's food, and poultry involved. They could say you need bonded processing equipment, bonded refrigeration, etc etc. Again this is to protect the people from some clown selling bad birds out of the back of their shed.

Even if someone does not sue you, if one of your neighbors snitches you out to the health department, that you are selling unlicensed food... good luck with that.

Aaron

Umbrella policies only add extra coverage dollars to liabilty you already have covered. It sits over the other policies (like an umbrella).

And small farm business is one of the few things that can be added in on a home policy with some carriers. And setting upan LLC does provide some protection for assets personally owned and may also be added to a home policy as an additional insured.

You were wise to find another option than state farm, the ratings would say.

Also, in most states, there is a 1000 bird allowance for selling birds directly on site without any permits. So any snitching neighbors will be disappointed to know I am operating within the law.

 

[Ascholten]

LLC can provide protection IF you operate it properly.
There are many things LLC operators do that are mistakes, because they don't know any better, and by filing the taxes 'together' with their personal taxes, makes them even less aware. several things that can give someone a segway into your private property.

You forgot your checkbook or credit card for your business at home, so just bought that box of printer paper with your regular credit card and put the receipt in with it, since it all goes on the same tax bill right? Besides it was only a few dollars, no biggie. THAT just merged YOU the person with YOU the LLC.

Slimy lawyers can find all sorts of hoops and loopholes to get them/their clients money out of someone, which is why it's critical to have good and proper insurance.

Please do some research or get a CPA and ask them, to make sure you do things properly to protect you from bad people.

Aaron

 

[raingarden]

What if a customer with a pre-existing intestional problem is hosptalized with Salmonella and blames it on your chicken.. Finding a little bit of Salmonella in your flock is certainly not out of the question. It could happen and the customer could win a lawsuit that ends up costing you your property. If you could buy insurance against such an outcome it would be really expensive. You may want to re-think the whole idea. Selling food comes with a lot of liability and you need to consider the potential gains versus what you have to loose.

 

[Ascholten]

People are dirt bags, they are slime they are scum and they will look for ANY way to get over on ANYone, ANYhow, for ANYreason if it wins them the trailer park lottery, aka a free ride.

The biggest thing you have to remember is.
In criminal court they have to prove you DID it, to find you guilty and punish you.
In civil court all they need to do is find that .. yes it was POSSIBLE that this happened, and that often is good enough to say GUILTY, and you are paying for it.

Look at OJ, Criminal court he walked free, Civil court, they destroyed him.
Now I don't care what you think about the man or the crime, but if you are capable of it.... look objectively at the entire situation. One court proved he was innocent, yet with a little twisting and manipulation, they got another court to say GUILTY... now cha ching it's pay day. How screwed up is the entire system where something like this can and DOES happen, every single day?

You may think your little 50lk house or business is hardly worth taking, but to some loser with no job, no money, no morals, no intention of getting a job, that pays for his weed and rent another year, hell YEAH I want that !!! and all I need to do is twist an ankle? OOOOOjhhhhh you mean like this?

Aaorn

 

[Folly's place]

A, above, exaggerates only slightly here.
It's really important to have insurance, especially liability insurance, that actually covers what you have and are doing. We have a farm policy with Hastings Mutual, with umbrella liability, that covers what we have. Travelers won't cover poultry, except 'maybe' a very few pet hens. It's funny, because that company does cover cattle and horses, with no questions about numbers, or the presence of bulls or stallions. Nutty, but was true at least last year! And horses and cattle kill people annually...
Be truthful when you contact insurers, because having a claim denied won't be good.
Mary

 

[Ascholten]

The general liability is not that expensive either. Because of some of the other things I do in my business, I need a general coverage 2 million dollar policy, it cost me like 560 dollars year / whether you get hurt on MY property, very unlikely as I typically do NOT conduct business on my site, or if I get hurt on your property or damage your property.

There are also agricultural excemptions as well. IF you are a farm, then . well, hey dummy it's a farm, things on farms can hurt you. If the barn falls on you, yeah we might be on the hook for it, but if you get stung, or bit by that snake we told you to stay out of the weeds about, or bucked by the goat you just HAD to reach over and pull his tail type thing.. YOU are the blame I am not liable. If it's like a nature walk and barnaby 'trips' over a root, well, suck it up butter cup. If he whines you immediately call an ambulance, that is the extent of your coverage obligation right there.

Talk to your insurance company, they genrally are very good about letting you know what works, what you need etc etc. Look into cottage rules too.

Aaron

 

[Folly's place]

When we had a boarder, we had added coverage. Now that no outside critters live here, that is off the policy. And we have the 'horses are dangerous' sign posted too, as needed in Michigan.
Mary