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Farm Insurance in Newfoundland and Labrador: Protecting Family Farms for Generations

By September 8, 2025Commercial Insurance
Farmer driving a green tractor with equipment across a field at sunset, symbolizing the hard work and dedication of family farms in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Home » Blog » Farm Insurance in Newfoundland and Labrador: Protecting Family Farms for Generations

For nearly 50 years, Wedgwood Insurance has been protecting farms across Newfoundland and Labrador. From the fertile fields of Goulds to the rolling pastures of Cormac, we’ve built deep knowledge of the unique challenges that local farmers face. And we’ve built trust with families who depend on their farms not only as a business, but as their homes and legacies.

Running a farm is deeply rewarding, but it isn’t easy. Between unpredictable weather, market swings, and the never-ending list of daily tasks, there’s no shortage of risks. That’s why farm insurance isn’t just a safety net; it’s a lifeline that keeps your farm, your family, and your future secure.

Key Types of Farm Insurance Coverage

Farm Property Insurance

Protects your barns, silos, sheds, and grain bins from perils like fire, theft, or severe weather. You can also add business interruption coverage to help with mortgage payments, employee wages, and other costs if you’re forced to pause operations.

Machinery, Tools, and Equipment Insurance

Modern farms depend on tractors, harvesters, and irrigation systems. Farm equipment insurance offers additional coverage when breakdowns, theft, or damage threaten productivity.

Auto Insurance

On-road vehicles need their own policies, whether used for business or personal purposes. We’ll help you tailor coverage for both.

Livestock Insurance

For farms with livestock, animals are among your most valuable assets. Livestock insurance protects against accidents, disease, theft, or extreme weather, even when your animals are in transit or at shows and fairs.

Commercial General Liability Insurance

Farms are busy, and accidents happen. CGL coverage protects against financial losses from injuries, property damage, or lawsuits. You can also add product liability, recall coverage, and pollution liability to guard against specialized risks.

Crop Insurance

Federally supported and provincially administered crop insurance programs cover losses caused by weather, pests, or disease. This ensures family farms can stabilize income even in difficult seasons.

Cultivating Peace of Mind

At Wedgwood Insurance, we know what’s at stake because we’ve worked with Newfoundland and Labrador’s farmers for nearly five decades. A single storm, fire, or lawsuit could undo years of effort, but the right protection helps ensure your farm can withstand the unexpected.

Talk to a local broker who understands farming in Newfoundland and Labrador. Let’s safeguard your farm, your family, and your legacy together.

How can farm insurance protect you?
Use the yellow hot spots and explore how farm insurance can help protect against common risks.
Farm
ATV / Utility Vehicles
Risk Factor

Utility vehicles or ATVs designed for use on farms can increase liability. This is mainly because these vehicles are known to be associated with high-risk behaviors, such as operating the vehicle without the use of protective equipment.

Solution

If you routinely ride your ATV or utility vehicle, be sure to always use good judgment and wear proper protective equipment, such as a helmet. Additionally, avoid behaviors that are known to increase risk of injury, such as riding on roads that are intended for automobiles.

Products Liability Exposure
Risk Factor

Say, for example, that the beef produced from the cows raised or kept on a farm causes illness in a consumer when it’s eaten.

Solution

To combat this risk, add an endorsement that modifies your insurance policy to protect you from these potential mistakes.

Foreign Object Ingestion Coverage
Risk Factor

Equipment used on a farm has a high risk of mechanical breakdown. For example, a farmer's combine or chopper could ingest a rock causing equipment failure.

Solution

Add Foreign Object Ingestion coverage so the repairs on your combine or chopper will be covered on your policy. Ask your agent if your policy has this coverage since it is not "automatic" on most farm policies.

Coverage for Peak Season
Risk Factor

During harvest, a farmer often stores grain in grain bins, and this grain usually sells within a few months. Coverage is needed while the grain is on-site, but it could get expensive to fully maintain this coverage during the rest of the year when no grain is present on the farm.

Solution

Cover the grain under peak season. This option tailors your coverage to provide increased amounts of insurance during the months in which you have grain on your farm. This type of coverage can be applied to any harvested crop, not just grains.

Pollution
Risk Factor

Pollution is an increasing risk that can occur due to the improper storage or application of pesticides and fertilizers, runoff, and above ground or underground storage tanks.

Solution

It is difficult to control pollution risks on your farm, but it is not impossible. You can protect yourself against this type of risk by obtaining environmental insurance that provides protection for both bodily injury and property damage caused by a farm pollution incident.

Umbrella
Risk Factor

What happens when your farm faces a large liability loss that exceeds the basic limit of your standard policy?

Solution

A commercial umbrella insurance policy increases your liability limits by adding protection over and above your current farm policies - providing real financial value, as well as priceless peace of mind. Commercial umbrella insurance is available either by an endorsement to your farm policy or as separate coverage.

Care, Custody, and Control
Risk Factor

If you're caring for livestock owned by others on your farm and an unfortunate event occurs causing the death of some or all of this livestock, you may be held responsible.

Solution

To protect yourself and your farm from this type of risk, add care, custody, and control to your insurance policy as an endorsement.

Custom Farming / Business Activity
Risk Factor

Does your farm provide services for others? If so, you may be held responsible for the business activities related to these services.

Solution

To protect yourself from any type of incident relating to these business activities, add an endorsement for custom farming to your insurance policy.

Field Crops
Risk Factor

There are many uncontrollable factors that affect the growth of field crops, such as weather. Are you prepared for what might happen if your crops are devastated by an uncontrollable incident?

Solution

You can protect your livelihood and investment from this type of unavoidable risk with the addition of multi-peril crop insurance.

Property
Risk Factor

If you have a barn or farm structure, a loss to these structures can be catastrophic, potentially putting the farm out of business.

Solution

Be sure you have adequate property coverage to protect your farm from potential catastrophic loss.

Glass Coverage
Risk Factor

If your tractor, combine, harvester, or other farming equipment has cab glass, that glass could break. It can be an expensive repair and cause your equipment to be unavailable for an extended amount of time.

Solution

Be sure you have coverage to help pay for repairs or other service work for broken glass.

LET'S TALK COVERAGE

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About Wedgwood Insurance

Wedgwood Insurance has offices in St. John’s & Corner Brook and is Newfoundland & Labrador’s largest independent insurance broker. We provide straightforward home, auto & business insurance advice.

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Author Jamie Ross

Jamie Ross leads the Marketing and Communications team at Wedgwood Insurance, renowned as one of Atlantic Canada’s premier independent insurance brokers. Bringing a wealth of experience amassed over many years at some of Canada's most esteemed advertising agencies, Jamie transitioned to the insurance industry in 2017. This pivotal move has marked a period of significant professional growth and contribution to the field. A native Nova Scotian, Jamie has been a resident of St. John's, NL, since 2011, where he has become an integral part of the local community. Learn more about Jamie.

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