It's a hobby. The liability isn't.
A few animals, a spare paddock, a gate people wander through. None of it feels like a business, and to you it isn't. But the moment someone gets hurt on your land, or your stock ends up somewhere it shouldn't, the law treats you as the owner who should have managed the risk. Your home and contents policy usually stops at the back fence. This is the cover that picks up where it leaves off.
Where a hobby farm owner gets exposed
The risk on a hobby farm isn't the size of the operation. It's the animals, the visitors and the boundaries. A friend's child on a fence, a horse you're agisting for a neighbour, stock that finds a gap in the wire at night. Any one of them can turn into a liability claim, and "it was only a hobby" is not a defence a court has to accept. All scenarios below are illustrative examples.
The visitor who got too close
A friend brings their kids up to see the animals. One climbs the yard rail, a horse startles, and the child comes off and breaks an arm. The parents argue you invited them onto the property and didn't keep them safe around large animals.
The animal that got out
You're agisting a couple of horses to help out a neighbour. One finds a weak spot in the fence overnight and gets onto the road. A driver swerves, hits it, and is injured, then claims against you as the person responsible for the animal and the land it escaped from.
The damage next door
Your stock pushes through a boundary fence and gets into the neighbour's crop before you notice, trampling and grazing a season's worth of feed. They bill you for the loss and the cost of repairs.
The cover owners assume their home policy already gives them
"The home policy" and "it's only a hobby"
Two assumptions cost hobby farm owners the most.
First, the home policy. Most home and contents and standard landlord policies cover liability for domestic use of the property, not liability arising from livestock, agistment, or land being used as a working paddock. When the claim involves an animal, insurers often point to exactly that gap.
Second, "it's only a hobby." The size of the operation doesn't change your legal position as the occupier. If someone can access your land and gets hurt, invited or not, the duty of care sits with you, whether you run two animals or fifty.
Common questions
Isn't my home and contents policy enough?
Usually not once animals or agistment are involved. Home policies are written around domestic use of a property; liability tied to livestock or land used as a paddock is commonly excluded. It's worth checking your wording before you assume you're covered.
I've only got a couple of animals, is it really worth it?
The number of animals doesn't scale down your legal exposure the way it scales down the work. A single incident with a visitor or a straying animal can run well past what the annual premium costs.
I agist a few horses for some extra income, am I still covered?
Agistment is a recognised land-use option when you quote, currently up to 100 animals. If you're taking on more than that, or the agistment has grown into a business in its own right, talk to us first so the cover matches what you're actually doing.
How many animals does the cover extend to?
The agistment option covers up to 100 cattle or horses. Above that, it's a different conversation, so give us a call.
I sometimes sell eggs or produce at the local market.
That's a market-stall use, which is a separate land-use option in the quote flow. If you're doing both, mention it when you speak to us so nothing's left out.
Does it cover my house and sheds?
No. This is public liability cover, which responds to claims made against you by other people. The buildings themselves need property cover, which we can sort out separately.