Sod's Country Farms was raising 65,000 chickens when a fire burned down the poultry house. After a detailed investigation, the cause of the fire was undetermined. To further complicate matters, Sod's Country Farms didn't even own the chickens themselves, but raised them for a vendor. They want to know if the property loss of the animals is covered-- and what policy would be most appropriate.

Notable Timestamps

[ 00:00 ] - A poultry house fire destroys 65,000 chickens, but the insured doesn't own the birds.

[ 03:30 ] - Contract Growing is common in agriculture, with farmers raising animals owned by vendors.

[ 05:20 ] - Under the ISO BOP, animals are generally excluded, but exceptions exist for animals owned by others and "boarded" by the insured.

[ 07:00 ] - Courts may rely on dictionary definitions when policy terms like "boarded" are undefined.

[ 09:00 ] - Adjusters should review the contract for risk transfer provisions, insurance requirements, and other-insurance clauses to understand responsibilities and potential overlap.

[ 11:30 ] - Standard BOP coverage can fall short for farming operations. Specialized farm policies are designed to address poultry risks more directly through scheduling and declaration-based coverage.

[ 13:30 ] - Declarations pages matter in agricultural losses. How buildings, poultry locations, and coverage types are defined can determine whether coverage applies or is excluded.

[ 15:30 ] - Valuing large-scale poultry losses is complex, involving age, weight, market timing, pricing data, and delay to market, often guided by specific policy language on cash market value.

[ 17:15 ] - Brennan summarizes the key points above.

Your PLRB Resources

Annotation: BP191 - Animals - https://members.plrb.org/documents/bp191-animals

Podcast Episode: Don't Count Your Chicken Coops Before They're Insured -
https://members.plrb.org/education/courses/dont-count-your-chicken-coops-before-theyre-insured

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