What is farm insurance?
Farm insurance covers what agricultural insurance on crops and animals leaves out: farm buildings and stores, tractors and machinery, stored produce, your workers, liability to visitors and neighbours, and farm vehicles. It can be one whole-farm package or separate policies, and works alongside crop or livestock cover.
What a farm package can include
Buildings and stores
Houses, barns, dairy units, stores and fences against fire, storm and burglary.
Tractors and machinery
Fire, theft and accidental damage on the farm; breakdown as an option.
Stored produce
Grain, fertiliser and cold-stored produce, including spoilage after a cold-room breakdown.
Farm workers
WIBA cover for staff injured at work, which every employer must hold.
Liability
Claims from visitors, buyers or neighbours, such as stray animals damaging property.
Vehicles and transit
Farm lorries and pick-ups, and produce on the road to market.
Farm insurance or agricultural insurance?
| Agricultural insurance | Farm property insurance | |
|---|---|---|
| Insures | Growing crops and live animals | Buildings, equipment, produce, people and liability |
| Typical perils | Drought, disease, pests, death | Fire, burglary, storm, accidents, lawsuits |
| Valued by | Vet or crop assessor | Rebuilding or replacement cost |
| Who needs it | Anyone who grows or keeps livestock | Any farm with assets or staff |
- Agricultural insurance
- Growing crops and live animals
- Farm property insurance
- Buildings, equipment, produce, people and liability
- Agricultural insurance
- Drought, disease, pests, death
- Farm property insurance
- Fire, burglary, storm, accidents, lawsuits
- Agricultural insurance
- Vet or crop assessor
- Farm property insurance
- Rebuilding or replacement cost
- Agricultural insurance
- Anyone who grows or keeps livestock
- Farm property insurance
- Any farm with assets or staff
Most commercial farms need both, which is why packages exist.
Good to know
The one whole-farm package published in Kenya combines cover for animals and crops with farm buildings, machinery, office equipment, workers (WIBA), goods in transit, loss of profit and farm vehicles, and adds deterioration of cold-stored produce after a machinery breakdown.
Source: Kenyan insurers' farm package pages, checked 18 October 2026
Insurance is exempt from VAT in Kenya, so no VAT is added to a crop or livestock premium. Fees for assessors and loss adjusters are not exempt.
Insurers say banks increasingly lend to farmers only with proof of insurance, one reason agricultural cover nearly doubled in 2025.
Source: Business Daily, 4 August 2026
Covers often missed on farms
- WIBA for casual and seasonal workers, not only permanent staff.
- Goods in transit for produce on the way to a buyer or the port.
- Liability for stray animals or spray drift onto a neighbour's land.
- Breakdown of a milk cooler or cold room, with the spoiled stock.
- Fidelity cover where staff handle cash or M-Pesa from produce sales.
How we put your farm cover together
- List the assets Buildings, machinery, stores, vehicles and the number of workers.
- Set the values Rebuilding cost for buildings, replacement cost for equipment.
- Compare package and separate policies One renewal date, or the cheapest mix: we show both.
- Add crop or livestock cover So the whole farm is protected with no gaps.
Frequently asked questions
What is farm insurance?
Farm insurance covers the business side of a farm: buildings, stores, tractors and machinery, stored produce, workers, liability to visitors and neighbours, and farm vehicles. It can be bought as one farm package or as separate policies alongside crop or livestock cover.
Is there one policy for the whole farm?
Yes. A whole-farm package combines animals and crops with buildings, machinery, workers, goods in transit, loss of profit and farm vehicles, so there is one renewal date and no gaps between policies. Other insurers sell the same covers as separate policies.
Do I need WIBA for farm workers?
Yes. Any employer, a farm included, must insure employees under the Work Injury Benefits Act. It pays for injuries at work, such as a fall from a tractor or a kick from a cow, and it can sit inside a farm package.
How are tractors and farm vehicles insured?
Tractors and harvesters on public roads need motor insurance. Machinery that stays on the farm can be covered for fire, theft and accidental damage under the farm policy, with breakdown cover as an option. Farm lorries and pick-ups go on a commercial motor policy.
Is stored grain or produce covered?
Yes, under the property section, against fire, lightning, flood and theft after a break-in. Produce in cold storage can be covered for spoilage after the cold room breaks down. Pests in store and gradual deterioration are not covered.
Is there cover for agribusinesses such as stores and processors?
Yes. Input stores, grain aggregators, millers, pack-houses and cold stores insure the same way as other businesses: property, stock, machinery breakdown, goods in transit, business interruption, fidelity and liability. Our business insurance pages explain each cover.
Will a bank ask me to insure farm equipment?
Yes, for anything it finances. Tractors and machinery on loan or lease must be insured comprehensively until the loan is repaid, with the lender named on the policy.
What does farm insurance not cover?
Typical exclusions across farm property policies are:
- Wear and tear and mechanical breakdown, unless added
- Theft without forced entry, and theft by workers
- Pests and mould in stored produce
- Buildings left unoccupied or poorly maintained
- Unlicensed vehicles or drivers
Value buildings at rebuilding cost, not market price, or a claim will be scaled down for under-insurance.
Cover the whole farm, not just the crop
Tell us what kind of farm you run and what you want covered. We build one package or separate policies, whichever costs less.
Licensed by IRA · No obligation · We reply within 1 hour
Sources (3)
- Kenyan insurers' farm package pages, checked 18 October 2026
- VAT Act 2013, First Schedule, Part II
- Business Daily, 4 August 2026
Facts and published prices checked 18 Oct 2026; last reviewed October 2026 by Naveah Capital. Rates shown are published bands, scheme figures and market estimates before levies, not a quote or a promise. Naveah Capital Insurance Agency is an IRA-licensed insurance agency in Nairobi; this page is general information, and your policy wording decides your cover.
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