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The food and agriculture business sector faces several challenges and risks that are unique to the industry. This makes finding the right insurance coverage more critical and relies on dedicated policies and carriers to ensure the proper minimization of risk to you, your business, and your employees.

Whether you’re a commercial producer or a traditional agriculture enterprise, you need insurance that fits your business. There are a number of considerations that you should make sure you’re prepared for, such as product recall coverage and protections from cybersecurity threats.

Many clients in the agribusiness space are aware of those concepts but haven’t connected the dots to recognize the threats they pose to their business. In many cases, these customers simply haven’t had a relatable experience presented to them to highlight the risks.

As the insurance marketplace continues to evolve to meet these new and emerging risks, it’s as important as ever to ask questions of your current provider to ensure you’re minimizing the threat to your business as much as possible.

Not sure where to start? Here are four questions to ask of your current carrier:

1. What’s your experience with product recall coverage? Product recall and contamination are massive issues for agribusinesses, especially growers and butchers. Having an insurance partner who has dealt with these specific types of claims before is most critical in safeguarding from potentially detrimental losses. While important to all businesses, if your annual revenue is more than $10 million, product recall coverage must be a part of your policy.
2. What’s your experience with cybersecurity liability? Cybersecurity is a growing threat across all industries of which the food and agriculture sector is not immune. Any electronic data, such as payroll or personnel information, could potentially be at risk. In addition, equipment that is connected to computer networks is at risk of suffering downtime in the event of a cyber attack. Recommended read: Why You Should Be Prepared Against Cybersecurity Threats
3. Have you placed these coverages before, and what are your channels? Currently, there are approximately 25 global recall markets in the industry today, making this a growing sector, but also putting importance on experienced partners. Recommended read: Five steps to Prepare for Hard Market Conditions for Agribusiness
4. Have we outgrown your ability to insure us? If you find that you’re bringing issues up to your insurance agent more than they’re proactively reaching out to you, that may be a sign to consider making changes to your provider. A quality insurance provider will be more of a true partner with you, making sure you’re comfortable with your risk level and work with you to determine ways to minimize your exposure for catastrophic loss. Recommended read: Five Questions to Ask When Considering Alternative Insurance Options for Your Agriculture Business

We understand that the insurance marketplace can be difficult to navigate, and there’s plenty of factors worth considering to insure you’re minimizing your risk exposure across all threats.

Contact our team if you’re ready to discuss your food and agriculture insurance coverage. We can help determine the right level of protection to fit your agribusiness.

Note: This communication is for informational purposes only. Although every reasonable effort is made to present current and accurate information, Oswald makes no guarantees of any kind and cannot be held liable for any outdated or incorrect information. View our communications policy