Prescribed Fire Insurance from Conservation United: Enabling Safer, Smarter Land Stewardship
Prescribed fire—also called controlled burning—is one of the most powerful tools available for restoring ecosystems, reducing catastrophic wildfire risk, improving wildlife habitat, controlling invasive species, and enhancing pasture and forest health. When applied under carefully planned conditions, it mimics the natural role fire has played in many landscapes for centuries.
Yet even the most experienced burn bosses and land managers face real liability exposure. Weather can shift, equipment can fail, smoke can drift, or a fire can escape its intended boundaries. Standard general liability or farm policies frequently contain “hostile fire” exclusions that can leave practitioners unprotected precisely when they need coverage most. That gap has historically limited how widely prescribed fire can be used.
Conservation United closes this gap with a specialized Nationwide Prescribed Fire Liability Insurance Program built exclusively for the conservation, forestry, agricultural, and land-management community.
What Sets Conservation United’s Coverage Apart
Unlike conventional insurers that often exclude or severely restrict fire-related activities, Conservation United’s program is designed around the realities of intentional, prescription-driven burns. Key elements typically include:
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General Liability covering bodily injury and property damage claims arising from prescribed fire operations, including defense costs and settlements.
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Professional Liability (Errors & Omissions) protecting against allegations of negligence in burn planning, prescription writing, or execution—especially valuable for consultants, burn bosses, and contractors.
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Pollution Liability addressing smoke drift, ash, or related environmental claims.
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Additional options such as workers’ compensation, commercial auto for equipment transport, tools and equipment coverage (drip torches, PPE, ATVs, etc.), and surety bonds.
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Flexible limits, often available up to $10 million through umbrella/excess options, with no hostile-fire exclusions that void coverage for controlled burns.
Policies can be structured as annual coverage for frequent practitioners or more limited options for occasional users. Master policy arrangements are also available for prescribed fire councils and associations, simplifying coverage for member organizations and training events while often improving pricing through pooled risk.
The program serves a wide range of clients: private landowners, ranchers and farmers, land trusts, nonprofits, restoration contractors, universities, municipalities, forestry professionals, and prescribed fire councils. Because Conservation United focuses exclusively on the conservation sector and works with multiple A-rated carriers, coverage is available nationwide and quotes can often be turned around the same day—critical when burn windows are short.
Practical Benefits Beyond Protection
Having the right insurance does more than transfer risk. It supports access to cost-share programs (such as certain NRCS EQIP or CSP opportunities), strengthens applications for grants and contracts that require proof of liability coverage, and gives landowners and boards greater confidence to approve burns. For agricultural producers, it can remove barriers that standard farm policies create around controlled burning of pastures and rangeland.
Conservation United also emphasizes responsive service, including a stated goal of answering customer service needs (certificates, changes, claims questions) in two hours or less with knowledgeable staff rather than automated systems.
Getting Started
If you are planning prescribed burns—or would like to expand their use—specialized coverage removes a major obstacle. Contact Conservation United for a customized quote. Be prepared to discuss your typical acreage, frequency of burns, experience level, locations, and any contractual insurance requirements. Same-day quotes are frequently available.
Prescribed fire remains one of the most cost-effective and ecologically sound tools for reducing wildfire risk and restoring healthy landscapes. With the right insurance partner, land managers can apply it more confidently and more widely. Conservation United’s nationwide prescribed fire insurance program is purpose-built to support exactly that work.
