Most farmers, of all shapes and sizes, both live on and run their business from their agricultural property. Therefore, there is a fine but distinct difference between your personal property and commercial property. Commercial property might include barns, storage sheds, silos, garages or other buildings. Your agricultural insurance needs to offer appropriate coverage for these items, so that you can pay for the necessary repairs following events like fires, vandalism or severe weather. 

Still, property insurance alone cannot be your first line of defense against the problems that impact your farm buildings. The buildings cost money to construct, and you probably store your fair share of valuable items inside them. Therefore, you need to reinforce these properties to keep them more secure. In the end, this might help you cut your chances of having to file an insurance claim. 

Why Building Security Matters 

Think of how much it cost you to construct a barn, silo or equipment garage. You don’t want to watch that investment be destroyed in a tornado or go up in flames in a fire. And to make matters worse, you certainly don’t want someone to enter these buildings and damage them or steal the items inside.  

In the end, losses like these could hamper your farm’s operations, cause a massive financial loss and ultimately impact your personal security. While your agricultural insurance can be a resource during your recovery, you don’t want to put the property in harm’s way, regardless. 

The more insurance claims you make on your property policy, the higher an insurance risk you will become to your carrier. This could put you at higher risk of claim denials, policy cancellations, reduced coverage eligibility and higher premiums down the road. To mitigate this potential roadblock, consider implementing a strong risk management and security strategy throughout your property. That way, you’ll know that you have done everything you reasonably can to protect your property. 

Getting Property Security Right 

Farm building security is multi-layered and involves both maintaining your property and making sure you have a strong security apparatus in place. 

Primarily, you should never neglect to maintain these buildings, as deterioration or damage could create numerous hazards. Therefore, making repairs regularly will help you increase the overall soundness of the property and keep potentially unwanted guests from entering. 

Furthermore, by instituting a security system not only on office areas, but also throughout the property, you will be able to consistently monitor the comings and goings of others and conditions on the property. Along with burglar alarms and cameras, systems like fire or carbon monoxide detectors can immediately notify you of a problem on some part of your land, and you’ll immediately know what to do to get the problem under control. 

Still, don’t hesitate to work with your farm insurance agent to ensure you have the best possible property coverage for you. We know you can’t prevent every accident, which is why you should be able to rely on a reliable benefits package to help you pick up the pieces if the worst does happen.