Forestry is an industry that’s home to a lot of risks. The natural world operates at her own pace and on her own terms. Further, the onset of climate change is making things different for the growth of trees.
Companies working in the forest industry need to take precautions to ensure that their business functions aren’t open to more risk than they have to be. That’s why forestry insurance is an important thing to consider.
We’re going to look at information about forestry insurance policies today, giving you some insight into what they are, what they offer, and more. Hopefully, the information below gives you some direction on what to look for when you’re looking for insurance.
Let’s get started.
What Is Forestry Insurance?
Forestry insurance is a type of coverage that protects you from damages on almost everything associated with the forestry industry. Further, it has the potential to cover a number of businesses and contractors that depend on forestry aspects for their livelihood.
You might have a loose association with forestry practices or your entire livelihood might be dependent on the health and existence of tree production. In either case, forestry insurance is an important thing to keep in mind.
Note that the insurance can extend out to the machinery, employees, buildings, transportation, and other factors of your business. It’s not just the actual trees that you’re protected for, it’s everything that goes along with your business.
Forestry, as you know, is an industry that involves a number of pieces of the supply chain. Those things are all essential, delicate, and you add the fact that you’re moving organic material through the chain to make it even more delicate.
It’s a challenge. Even if your company doesn’t exist in a state that poses a high risk for fire damage, this insurance is still essential. More and more, we’ve been seeing forest fires in areas that don’t pose a high threat.
The climate is changing, and the state of our forests is becoming more uncertain. Protecting yourself, if only for the risk of forest fires, is a big help to your peace of mind as a business owner.
Coverage Options
When you start to break down the potential losses involved in forestry, you realize that there are dozens of things to account for. Forestry insurance, in most cases, seeks to address all of those areas and provide some sense of compensation as a result.
To start, there are a number of coverages for your property. All of your business and personal property associated with the business get coverage. Your inventory, whether it’s tree-based materials or something else that your business requires, will be covered as well.
You might have to pay for rentals and other machinery in the wake of a disaster as well, so those costs should be taken care of as well. Then, there’s the fact that you have to go through extra expenses to cover all of the areas that need attention.
You’re losing profit against what you would normally earn during a normal season as well. You might also experience crime or interference with your crop, so there should be coverage for that as well.
There’s a good deal of danger involved in forestry as well, so there are coverages for casualty and other health-related issues if you should need them.
Something to Note
Note that not every insurance policy includes all of the factors listed above. Some might include a few of those factors, while others will have even more comprehensive coverage.
Typically, you can opt for particular sections of coverage as you feel you need to. That gives you an affordable way to piece together a plan that works for you and your business.
The more comprehensive your coverage, though, the better you’ll feel if anything does go wrong. When looking through options, make sure to think through any potential natural disasters that could come through your region.
Fires are one that sticks out as an obvious choice. You should also think about drought if you’re in a region that’s susceptible to it. In the years to come, the environment might change even more and you could see drought when your area has never experienced it before.
Further, there are pests, diseases, and different issues that can sweep through a forest and kill a lot of the ecosystem. There are protections available for these things, and it might be wise to consider them to save your business.
Contractors and Consultants
There are a few unique factors that contractors and consultants should think about as they look for insurance.
For one, you should seek out professional and general liability insurance policies. This protects you against clients or companies who would blame you for an error and try to sue you for the damages.
There are cases where we all make mistakes or give the wrong advice sometimes, and it’s unfortunate that we must take the brunt of an honest error. There are also times where the other party has a piece to play in the bad situation, using your advice incorrectly or messing with things in a way that leads to damages.
There’s still a potential that they could sue you successfully in those cases, and it’s important to be protected against those factors. There is any number of other situations in which someone kind finds a reason to sue a contractor as well, and it’s wise to have some monetary protection against those situations.
Protecting yourself from all possible factors may not always be possible, but you can do a good job of covering most of the bases before anything does happen.
Want to Learn More About Forestry Insurance Policies?
Hopefully, our look at forestry insurance was helpful to you. There’s a lot more to learn if you’re looking to tailor coverage to your particular business, though. We’re here to offer more information on the subject if you need it.
Explore our site for more ideas on how to protect your forestry business.
