Do You Need Chemical Overspray Crop Insurance?
It's hard to control things that might go wrong with your farm's crops. So, you may have taken out business insurance with crop coverage. This protection can be helpful if you lose part or all of a crop in certain circumstances.
However, some farm insurance policies also include a chemical overspray benefit. This may be part of the core policy or offered as an add-on. How does this feature work and is it worth getting?
What Is Chemical Overspray Insurance?
Crops can get damaged in various ways and can be covered by various kinds of insurance. So, for example, a basic policy may cover you against fire; more advanced coverage may add weather events like hail or storms.
In some cases, insurers also include events that might damage a crop through third-party actions, like chemical overspray. This insurance protects you if a crop or its yield is damaged by chemicals like pesticides or herbicides.
For example, you might be able to make a chemical overspray claim if a neighbouring farmer sprayed something on one of their fields and the spray was blown over to your crop. If your claim is valid, your insurer would pay for your losses if the crop failed completely or didn't give as big of a yield as it should because of the effects of the chemicals.
Is Chemical Overspray Insurance Worth Having?
It's important to note that chemical overspray insurance typically only works on crop damage caused by a third party. If you accidentally overspray into one of your own fields when you're treating another field, then your own action isn't likely to make for a valid claim.
So, your primary concern here isn't what you might do but what your neighbours might do. For example, if the next farm to you isn't likely to spray chemicals that will harm your crops, then you may not need this benefit. However, if there is a chance that one of your neighbours might use chemicals that could affect your crop, then this coverage might be useful. If there was an overspraying accident, then your crop investment would be at least partly covered.
Additionally, it's important to understand exactly what will be covered and excluded. For example, overspray benefits may only work with ground-sprayed chemicals. Air-sprayed products might be excluded from coverage.
To find out exactly what is on offer, talk to your insurance provider or broker. They can explain more about overspray cover and help you decide if you need it.
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