MGT Insurance Company has filed a new commercial earthquake program in California, establishing rates and rules for the earthquake portion of its Farmowners product ahead of the program’s planned launch in the state. The filing is scheduled to take effect September 1, 2026.

According to the filing, MGT’s Farmowners program has already been approved in California but has not yet been implemented, leaving the insurer with no farm policyholders in the state. The standalone earthquake filing follows what the company describes as common California practice of submitting earthquake rates separately from property and farm coverage.

The program adopts ISO’s Commercial Lines Manual, Division Five – Fire and Allied Lines earthquake rules and loss costs, applying a company loss cost multiplier of 1.33 across California. Because the Farmowners program has not yet launched, the filing has no impact on existing policyholders and serves as a prerequisite for offering earthquake coverage when the program goes live.

MGT’s Farmowners program targets hobby farms and small- to medium-sized agricultural operations, with eligibility extending to farms generating up to $60 million in annual gross farming receipts. The underwriting appetite includes field crops, fruit and nut growers, apiaries, aquaculture, nurseries, vegetable producers (excluding leafy greens), livestock operations, and equine businesses, while excluding risks such as feedlots, dairy operations, poultry confinement, marijuana cultivation, petting zoos, guided hunting, tobacco farms, and large-scale agritainment exposures.

Bottom Line: The filing signals that MGT is one step closer to entering California’s farm insurance market.