Bible Pork's neighbors sued them because, in their opinion, the odor produced in the hog factory was a public nuisance. They demanded that Bible stop operations and to provide other relief to the community. Bible turned to Country Mutual for coverage but it was denied on the basis that there was no occurrence and, even if there had been an occurrence, it was excluded under the pollution exclusion.

Bible turned to the courts for help.

Click here to see how the courts ruled.

The insuring agreement in most general liability policies provide coverage only for damages due to bodily injury or property damage that are the result of or that arise out of an occurrence. The term occurrence is therefore essential to coverage. If there is no occurrence then there is no coverage.

Click here to read the PF&M analysis of the ISO Commercial General Liability Policy Insuring Agreement and the definition of occurrence.

Bible Pork was a large commercial hog operation. This type of enterprise requires coverage that is a mixture of commercial- and farm-type coverages. However, many farmowner agents may steer away from larger farm operations because of an uncertainty of coverages to consider. If you would like to venture into farm-related exposures, an excellent starting place is the Coverages Applicable - Agribusiness Section. It lists a number of coverages to consider and provides a concise description of each. There are often links within that description to provide more in depth information.

Click here to review the Coverage Applicable - Agribusiness Section.

Very few agencies can specialize in only farm-related operations but many can incorporate farm-related risks into their books of business. Although most farm business is located in rural areas, farm exposures are present in (or refusing to leave) suburban areas. Urban farming is also increasing as families are discovering how to farm on less than an acre of ground.

Click here for an article from Rough Notes Magazine about an agency that works with its farm neighbors but has also expanded into commercial and personal lines.