First Acre Insurance, a farm-focused company created from mutual insurers has added more broker partners across the Canadian provinces it serves.
“We are excited to expand First Acre and offer farmers seeking different agricultural insurance solutions a leading resource,” says Robin Shufelt, CEO of First Acre Insurance. “Our team has diligently developed a forward-thinking company that anticipates and adapts to changes in both the agriculture and insurance industries.”
Why it matters: The ever-evolving changes within agriculture over the last several decades have outpaced coverage options in the agriculture insurance sector.
Read Also
Premier Equipment acquiring Green Tractors
Premier Equipment is acquiring Green Tractors, creating a 20-location John Deere dealer which will be the largest in Ontario.
First Acre Insurance, a joint venture between the long-standing agricultural insurers Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group, in Lindsay, Ont. and Red River Mutual, from Altona, Man. officially launched in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta in February 2024.
First Acre’s agricultural insurance software-as-a-service platform integrates risk technologies, incorporates data, and translates it into risk ratings, providing accurate quotes and underwriting exceptions in real-time, as well as automatic renewals.
“Historically, managing insurance policies has been challenging for farmers and brokers,” explained Shufelt, noting how complex the agriculture business is. “Our goal is to simplify the process by offering real-time issuance of documents and invoices, making it quicker and easier for brokers to do business with their farm clients.”
Input from farmers and brokers informed the platform’s development, which is geared to manage agricultural and commercial properties differently.
In March 2024, Shufelt told The Canadian Underwriter that the value-added tools help assess risk, whether for real-time machinery values, mapping farm diagrams, or geocaching bins for insurance, allowing producers to better understand what is covered and to what extent, thereby limiting uninsured losses without concerns about coinsurance.
“Leveraging additional solutions like agreed value really gives farmers an advantage when it comes to business planning, profitability and longevity,” she added.
