Nationwide News: Take advantage of life insurance tailored for farmers

Shannon and Kelly Douglass own Douglass Ranch, which raises beef cattle, walnuts, sunflowers, pumpkins, corn and forage crops in Glenn County.

Several years ago, they began thinking about the need to protect their farm legacy and the financial well-being of each other and their son, Heath. So, they began shopping around for life insurance policies.

“Oftentimes, getting life insurance if you are a farmer can be a little time-consuming,” Shannon Douglass said. “And frankly, the older we get, the more difficult it is.”

But they took advantage of one of the perks of Farm Bureau membership and found an ideal plan at an affordable price through Farm Bureau’s partner insurance company Nationwide, which offers a variety of insurance options geared toward farmers and ranchers.

He’s since given up the habit, but when the Douglasses were applying, Kelly used smokeless tobacco, which can make life insurance expensive. The same is true for an applicant with a high body mass index.

Nationwide, however, offers more flexible guidelines for both of these risk factors through its Land As Your Legacy program for farmers and ranchers. When deciding on rates for someone who uses smokeless tobacco or has a high BMI, Nationwide also considers other lifestyle factors that may offset those risks.

For example, the company considers “the active lifestyle of farmers and ranchers” who have a high BMI, said Tim Kohl, Nationwide’s senior consultant of Land As Your Legacy.

“Nationwide has always had a special bond with American farmers and ranchers, beginning with our founding in 1926 by the Ohio Farm Bureau,” Kohl said. “Because of our experience in this market, we lower some of the barriers to life insurance and support active family farm and ranch operators by offering more flexible guidelines.”

“So, for us,” Shannon Douglass said, “for my husband in particular, we found that Nationwide’s life insurance was significantly less expensive than anything else we could find—we’re talking less than a third of the lowest cost options we’d seen before that.”

Now the president of the California Farm Bureau, Shannon Douglass advises members to not only buy life insurance but to buy it when they are young to lock in lower rates that can increase significantly the older an applicant gets.

“I encourage our members who have not gotten life insurance before because they felt like they were priced out of it to really take a look at the Nationwide life insurance options,” Douglass said. “It certainly should let people sleep a little easier at night, knowing that their family’s covered if something unfortunate should happen.”

More details may be found at nationwide.com/business/agribusiness/farm-insurance/ag-financial/family-solutions.