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Agency Forward®
By Laramie Sandquist

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Prep for the worst: Tips to help farm clients stay ahead of natural hazard risk

September 10, 2025

A severe storm inflicting major damage to farm property is not just a stroke of bad luck. It’s the result of hazard risk and gaps in preparation coming together at exactly the wrong moment. But you can help your farm clients better weather these storms, literally and figuratively. 

Disaster is never just weather

When a derecho or tornado rips across the Midwest, the damage it inflicts to property and personal safety requires a combination of factors:  

  • Hazard risk: This is the frequency and severity of threats like storms and wildfires. 
  • Physical vulnerability: This is the resilience – or lack thereof – of the built environment. 
  • Social vulnerability: These are things like access to resources such as transportation and healthcare, community density and financial health. They often contribute to the extent of potential damage from severe weather hazard. 

As a trusted farm insurance advisor, understanding how these elements converge can help your farm clients minimize the risk of costly property losses from severe weather. 

How to prepare your clients for disaster

Fences and tree lines around fields and pastures can create a continuous path of fuel for a wildfire. These are  examples of “connective fuels within the built environment,” according to Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) Senior Meteorologist Sarah Dillingham. And it can have a major influence on a wildfire’s potential property damage and safety risk. For severe thunderstorm hazards like high winds, hail and tornadoes, choosing the right building materials and building with resilience in mind using programs like FORTIFIED can help reduce the chance your clients see damage from severe weather.  

But the built environment is just one unique hazard farm insurance clients face when disaster strikes. Consider variables like these when advising clients on how to prepare their farms for natural disasters, including having the right farm insurance in place. 

1.  Climate change hazards 

  • Rising average temperatures and prolonged droughts escalate wildfire risk. 
  • More frequent severe thunderstorms bring greater hail and wind exposure.  
  • Overlapping hazards, such as high wind and hail combined with flooding, can overwhelm even well-prepared farms, especially during active storm seasons. 

2. The “bullseye effect” 

  • As cities and communities grow larger and become more densely populated, the costs of severe weather impacts increase. The increased exposure and larger losses can lead to higher insurance costs in the future. 

3. Inflationary pressure 

  • Replacement costs for roofs and structures are rising, often outpacing coverage. 
  • Many farmers underestimate the true cost to rebuild or repair, leading to sizeable gaps. 

How to get ahead of the next big disaster

You can’t control the weather, but you can guide your farm clients to smarter choices. Here are a few ways Dillingham said farm insurance agents can help prepare clients: 

  • Educate on resilient building materials 
  • Promote preventative maintenance 
    • Encourage annual inspections, especially before storm season. 
    • Discuss how maintenance can help prevent claims. 
  • Map vulnerabilities 
    • Use data and local risk maps to show clients where their specific vulnerabilities lie — from high winds and hail to fuel loads relevant for wildfires, and even social factors. 
  • Stay ahead of price pressures 
    • Offer tips to budget for inflation impacts. 

Build your expertise as a trusted advisor

At the agency level, Dillingham recommended a few ways to help provide that service and guidance: 

  • Offer tailored insurance solutions based on property assessments 
  • Provide proactive education on loss mitigation 
  • Create ongoing updates about local hazards and regulatory changes 

Take the next step

By understanding the root causes of disaster losses and helping clients take cost-effective action, you become a trusted advisor. Stay ahead with industry updates and leverage expert insights to help your farm insurance clients prepare for when a natural disaster strikes.  

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