Disclaimer: Product, coverage, insurance terms, definitions and other descriptions are intended for informational purposes only and do not in any way replace or modify the definitions and information contained in individual insurance contracts, policies, and/or declaration pages from Nationwide-affiliated underwriting companies. Such products, coverages, terms, and discounts may vary by state and exclusions may apply.
We have had many people ask us about farm pollution. Everyone who asks us has one thing in common, they know they need it but don’t understand all of the parts that go into it. That is because there are lots of things that make up farm pollution and it isn’t always the easiest to understand!
There are three parts of farm pollution liability that you should be concerned with.
Part 1 - Chemical Application, Storage, Non-Auto Transportation
Part 2 – Limited Farm Pollution Liability Coverage
Part 3 – Farm Environmental Damage Clean-up Cost Coverage
If you have a Nationwide Farm Policy you may purchase all or any combination of these, but you must have Part 1 or Part 2 in order to get Part 3.
There are lots of options on what limits you can get with us. The limits available are: $25,000, $50,000, $75,000, $100,000, $300,000, $500,000 and $1 Million. Most farm companies only allow up to $100,000. We have the ability to raise that limit to $1 Million.
To make this informational but not overwhelming, we are going to break down each part for you individually in three different posts. So let’s start with Part 1!
Part 1 – Chemical Application, Storage, Non-Auto Transportation.
This part provides a limited exception to the pollution exclusion in the Farm Policy for Bodily Injury and Property Damage claims. This does not include clean-up expense and must be a "Covered Farm Chemical Application Incident".
What does that mean? A "Covered Farm Chemical Application Incident" means the following: Bodily Injury and Property Damage as a direct result of the accidental discharge, dispersal, seepage, migration, release or escape of "pollutants" during a lawful and proper application of "farm chemicals" governmentally approved for application on, at, or from any premises to which this coverage form applies:
1.) to crop ground by means other than aircraft
2.) by spraying immediately in and around your residence premises
3.) that are stored, other than in an underground storage tank or container of any kind, in a lawful manner
4.) while being transported in other than an "auto
The option for spraying away from the premises is only offered in unique circumstances. This is used for farms with multiple entities, insured on separate policies but it is not intended for Custom Spraying operations
Now that you have read all the information behind Part 1 think about it. Let’s provide you with a real world scenario to help make sense of it. The chemical you are applying to your field accidentally drifts and kills the prize winning roses of your neighbor. Without this part of pollution coverage you would have no way to take care of this issue.
If you still have questions regarding anything to do with chemical application, storage or non-auto transportation, let us know. We want to walk you through all of this so you understand.
Stay tuned for Part 2 to follow!