Insurance Tractor Insurance

[Anonymous Poster]

Looking for opinions on tractor insurance. I bought a new 2210 and am looking to get it and the attachments insured. Is this something that can be added to the homeowner's policy or is a stand alone policy best?

 

[bigpete]

I checked with my insurance agent before I bought my 2210. My 2210 and its attachments are covered for "Replacement" costs under my current policy as dwelling "Contents." Also, I am covered for liability using my tractor on someone elses property as long as it is non-commercial use. The tractor and attachments are also covered during transport for non-commercial work or to and from the shop.

My agent used the purchase price etc. and spoke with the insuring company. In my case, with my policy and limits, I didn't need a policy rider or separate certificate and no additional premium. Having said all that, your agent is the only one who can tell you whether this is true for you and your policy. My agent followed up with a written reply to my inquiry, which is a good thing to have in your policy file at home.

 

[thcri]

Bigpete,

That is exactly what I found also. The key here is commercial use and charging your neighbors for work. If you charge your neighbors then it becomes commercial. If you go over there and just mow his lawn or move some dirt out of the kindness of your heart you are ok.

But I stress getting it in writing with your agent. Each Insurance Company out there does things different. A phone call and a letter from your agent is cheap.

Murph

 

[Casimir]

Yup. I got the same response from my homeowners insurance agent. As long as the tractor and implements are not used for commercial purposes, they are covered against fire, theft, etc. and liability when using it on my property.

Check with your homeowners' policy agent. If the standard coverage isn't satisfactory, you might be able to add a rider cheaper than a separate policy.

 

[thcri]

My agent said I could even take mine over to the neighbors and I still would be covered as long as I don't charge him and as long as the neighbor doesn't drive it.


Murph

 

[WCarlson]

I found that I could even store the tractor and/or implements at another location (for example, MMM in neighbor's barn during winter)and they would be covered under the homeowner's policy in event of fire , theft, etc.

 

[TerryinMD]

As mentioned by some of the others, you need to talk to your insurance company to find out all of the details. Other factors are the laws in your state.

For example, in Maryland with my insurance company, my tractor and the equipment is fully covered as long as the tractor remains on my property under my homeowners property. As soon, as the tractor leaves my property, no coverage!! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Period!!

I opted for a policy that allows me to use the tractor where ever I want and also allows me to make some extra money to pay for the insurance. Two things were of concern with our insurance agent. A backhoe and snow plowing. Those two items would have driven up the cost of the insurance tremendously. With that in mind, I do not have a backhoe and I do not have a plow. And even if I did, I wouldn't take them off my property!! Litigation scares the living daylights out of me!!!

Terry

 

[Soundguy]

I found similar when talking to my homeowners ins. agent. As intended for grounds maintenance, etc not comercial use... theft / fire, but not breakdowns. I did have to get a seperate rider on my trailers though.. but was very cheap... like 100 bucks a year for both my flatbed trailer and my horse trailer...

Found out something interesting as well.. at least from nationwide ins..

They also cover other vacant property you own, up to your regular home owners ins limits.... So if you have your house insured, and also own a vacant lot down the street.. it's covered automatically untill you improve it.... and incedentally.. they said a fence was an improvement...!

Soundguy

 

[Anonymous Poster]

My Erie Insurance Agent said our home owner's policy would only cover smaller lawn and garden equipment. The solution was to get a separate Inland Marine policy. I totaled the retail price of the tractor and implements, and insured for that amount. The policy was less than $100 per year. It is a good idea to make up an equipment/location/usage/theft/accident scenario list that best describes your situations and go over each situation with your agent. My agent did not like the fact that the equipment was parked across a county road that was 50 feet from the house. The conversations with my Agent made me wonder how much was his convenience verses the actual policy.

 

[thcri]

Rob,

Welcome to TBN. And thanks for sharing.

Murph

 

[ejb]

>>The solution was to get a separate Inland Marine policy

I got an inland marine policy when i bought my jd5410 with attachments...the premium was about $220 if I remember correctly...when the renewal came up in the fall, I got a letter that said they would no longer write and policies with a premium of less than $300/year so they upped the renewal premium to $300 min...I cancelled it because that would have been a 36% increase in one year...which I found unreasonable. Now I am self-insuring. Time will tell if that was the right decision or not.

Somethinbg to be aware of if you are using Inland marine.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Good point ejb. We have everything insured by Erie and I did not bother to investigate other companies.

 

[bigpete]

It's really important that everybody thinking about this topic understands that there are two very different considerations to insurance on a tractor. The first, is replacement insurance. As was mentioned, most of us could recover finacially from "self-insuring" our equipment if it were lost or damaged. Whether it's a $12,000 subcompact or $30,000 utility tractor, we could somehow find a way to put beans and bread on the table.

However, the second consideration is liability. Unless you guys are incredibly wealthy, liability self-insurance is a fallacy and could result in a loss of everything you have now, and everything you might earn in the future.

I know there are a few insurance agents here at TBN, and their sage advice would be to talk to your agent--period. Laws and policies vary so widely that no one situation posted here would ever be a safe answer. I have a little over $25,000 in outdoor power equipment, including a $13,000 sub-compact, that IS covered under my homeowner's policy for loss, damage, and liability. My use of the equipment IS covered anywhere I use it as long as it's not for profit. The accepting term in my policy and in the letter from my agent is "...non-commercial property maintenance, on or off the insured property, operated by the insured."

Don't forget, it's the liability issue that is the real "killer" here.

 

[Fireman_dcb]

I financed my JD 790. Deere asked for proof of insurance, I had to purchase "inland marina" insurance, costs about
$150.00 per year, but will cover ANYTHING I do, sink it a lake because I wanted to plow off the snow to go skating - its covered, want to roll it down the hill side over side because I wanted to find out what the max side hill grade is - I'm covered.

Take care, doug

 

[bigpete]

I financed too, and had to sign a statement certifying that I would maintain insurance, and I think JD Financial called my agent to verify the policy.

Hey, Fireman, I might recommend you visit the Safety Forum when you get a chance /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I really had to dig and ask my insurance agent the right questions to get the information I needed to determine what is covered and when, what is not covered and why, and how to get it covered. Thanks all for your comments and thought starters.

My homeowner's policy covers the tractor/attachments under the personal property coverage, and liability, without an additional endorsement. This holds true only if I don't use the tractor for commercial use (ie to make money). No problem there.

However, the homeowner's personal property coverage covers only those perils listed in the policy, such as fire, theft, hail, etc. It does not cover accidental damage, say if the tractor rolled-over into a ditch or slipped-off the trailer ramps during loading/unloading.

To get accidental damage coverage I purchased an endorsement on the homeowner’s for $120/year. The endorsement is like collision coverage for the tractor/attachments. It covers any accidental damage that occurs on my property, on other property (sans a mileage limit), loading/unloading, transporting, etc.

The mileage limit: Coverage is effective if the tractor is within 100 miles from my home. According to my agent, the insurance underwriter sets this /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif. So if I wanted to work the tractor say at a friend's house 80 miles from my house, the tractor is covered; if it was 110 miles away, the tractor is not covered. I can live with the limit. My family lives within 100 miles from my house so if they needed work done I'm covered /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.

 

[Soundguy]

""Don't forget, it's the liability issue that is the real "killer" here. ""

I upped the limits on my homeowners for that reason ( and because of my animals ) at the suggestion of my agent.

The agent brought up those same arguments...." Say you are mowing your field and your mower throws a rock and hits the neighbor.. etc.... also.... say your horse bites someone over the fence.. etc etc..

Remarkable enough... raising my policy limits from what they come basically issued at was very inexpensive...

Deffinately worth the time to talk to your agent just to be sure...

Soundguy

Like others, I get all my insurance through one insurer... Nationwide.. cars, home life, etc. They are usually pretty good to me.

 

[Hoeman00]

Back 15 yrs ago I had the D4D dozer on my farm policy for years then I got a backhoe and they wouldn't cover it (State Farm).
Their response was the hoe could dig up HI $$$$$$$$ liabilities.
So I had to go to commercial insurance so I figured might as
well do commercial work too.

 

[Mosey]

My homeowners insurance is with Secura. They said the tractor and implements are covered as long as I'm on my property or if it's on a trailer while on the road. But, if I'm driving it on the road or on someone else's property, it's not covered. It doesn't matter if I'm getting paid for the work or not.