What Really Is A Landowner?

By: Sarah M

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3 minute read

Categories: Hunting Leases

Landowner standing in agriculture field that he inherited.

Audio summary:

The source material provides an extensive analysis of the critical issue of landowner identification and liability within the context of recreational leases, such as hunting agreements. It explains that a landowner can be a single individual, multiple people, or complex legal entities like LLCs, trusts, or corporations, emphasizing that listing the correct legal name is essential for both the agreement and the insurance application. The discussion focuses heavily on why listing the correct landowner as an "additional named insured" on a lessee's liability policy is the crucial protective measure against the serious risks associated with activities like using firearms or ATVs on the property, ensuring all involved parties are covered in the event of an incident or lawsuit.

Published: May 18, 2022

Filling out a Hunting Lease Insurance Application

Insurance applications can be confusing and daunting. You may start the application process and wonder if you are filling it out correctly or even if you have the right application at all. One of the most frequently asked questions about our hunting lease liability application is “you are asking for landowner information, is that section for the additional hunters information?” No, we are looking for who has ownership of the property or the owner of the land that has given you and your hunters permission to hunt on that property.

So, who can be a landowner? A landowner can be a single person, multiple owners (husband and wife, siblings, family members, friends), a Trust, a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC), an Incorporated Business (INC) or a Corporation. If the landowner is a Trust and there are 7 family members inside that trust, do you need to list all of them on the application? The short answer is, no. When you list a Trust it will automatically cover all those that are inside that trust, the same goes for LLCs, INCs and Corporations.

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Liability

Liability is an important issue to address in any recreational lease, but especially in a hunting lease. Tree stands, ATVs and firearms all present a risk of injury that should be handled in the lease agreement. The best way to deal with liability is to purchase liability insurance

Landowner Protection 

Typically the landowner information can be found on the lease agreement you have with that landowner. If it is not that is something that you will need to ask the person you are leasing the property from.  If you are leasing through a leasing company they will need to provide you with the name of the landowner unless their company owns the land you are leasing. Can we also list the leasing company on the insurance? Yes, we will still need the landowner information but we can also add the leasing company as an additional named insured.

So why do we require a landowner be listed on a policy? When you purchase a policy from us we want everyone associated with the lease agreement to be protected. By listing the landowner on the policy you will be extending the coverage to them by adding them as an additional named insured. This will ensure that if the landowner would be found liable (at fault) for injury to a hunter or their guest that landowner would be protected from those damages. When leasing the hunting rights to a property both the hunters and the landowner may not know all the hazards that are on that property, especially if it is a rather large property. Having an insurance policy in place to protect against those hazards is a great peace of mind tool that hunters can offer the landowner to help secure a hunting lease.

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Author: Sarah M

Sarah is the Program Manager for American Hunting Lease Association. When it comes to outdoor liability insurance, Sarah is as knowledgeable as anyone out there.

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