Staying Safe and Looking after Number One

As we all know farmers are totally reliant on their own good health to keep the farm running – whether it is the actual physical work or the ability to concentrate on the mountains of paperwork we all now face.

Whilst we are fit and healthy we all believe we are invincible, but that can change in a matter of seconds. So what happens if you are suddenly unable to carry out your work?

You would have to find someone else to cover your work, whether it is feeding animals, clearing paperwork, or simply being there to organise and run the farm. To pay a replacement to do your work would be necessary and expensive.

Can you insure against this?

The good news is yes you can. The two types of farm insurance cover often neglected which should be considered are:

Personal accident and sickness cover

Probably the best solution for self-employed farmers and often available under a business combined policy. These optional covers are based on a set sum of money per week with payments dependent upon you being viewed by your GP as unable to carry out any work or unable to carry out certain parts of your work. The latter would result in a lower payment. There is normally a waiting period of 7 days until payment would begin but the payments would continue typically for up to 52 or 104 weeks. You would need to decide how much income you would need to receive per week to pay someone else to do your work. A good starting point would be around £500 per week and although this would not really be enough to pay a full-time contractor, it would at least be a major contribution.

Private health insurance

It is a sad fact that our NHS is under strain and the fact is that farmers need to get back working as quickly as possible so the speed of treatment and cutting waiting times for operations to a minimum is crucial. Traditionally farmers have not been offered private health insurance by the main farm insurance providers and their agents so you will need to find a farm insurance broker who can offer advice in this area. We are helping lots of farmers with this cover and are finding the cost is often far less per month than pet or bull insurance.

Remember, you are the most important person on the farm so your protection is key to the survival of your livelihood.

Get in Touch

For more information on how to keep yourself and your farm safe, contact Farm and General and our team of farm insurance specialists will be happy to help.