Farm with Small Retail - where Can I Put It?

Aram Fingal

Guru
100+ Post Club
So here's a risk I didn't think I would have this much trouble placing:

Primary home, RCV just over $1 million (nicest farm house I ever saw)
They have about 40 animals during peak season, mostly sheep, a few goats and a couple of pigs. Off peak they have about 20. They have a small orchard and vegetable garden.

The problem is they also have a small retail setup in a garage that's been converted in to a studio. Primarily what is sold here is wool products from the sheep, mostly just yarn that the wife spins and dyes herself. They do also sell fruit, nuts and veggies from the property. Their animals are taken off the property by a USDA approved company that slaughters, processes and prepares the meat, which is then returned to them and they sell it out of the retail as well. They do about $32,000 per year out of the retail operation of which about $7,200 is from the produce and meat. The rest is from the wool.

No one seems to want this. If they're OK with the farm, they don't want the retail. If they're OK with the retail, they don't want the farm.

Anyone have any suggestions for a company to place this with? The risk is located in WA.
 
They turned it down because of the retail. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Really? Seems strange, couldn't you just write a GL for the retail exposure? I know they don't have an endorsement that can be added to the policy, but I recently quoted an orchard with retail apple sales, below the state minimum threshold of 28,800 a year in sales, and they had no problem quoting it with me.

Given, different areas, different underwriters = different rules
Maybe Firemen's Fund or Travelers?
 
Any chance you could write two policies and have Nationwide exclude any coverage for the sales side if the business. Then find a carrier who will write the meat and wool sales?

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Might try Ace Agribusiness. We write a lot of farms through them and they write commercial agriculture as well.
 
American National would do great with the risk. .not sure if you have access to them through a broker or not, but worth a shot. ..
 
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