NFU Mutual welcomes warning to farmers on insurance

Martin Malone, NFU Mutual Manager for Northern Ireland (pictured) said: “Mr Haslett’s accident sadly shows just how dangerous slurry fumes can be. As the main insurer of Northern Ireland’s farms, we are all too aware of recent deaths and serious injuries resulting from slurry fumes inhalation. We hope Mr Haslett’s recovery continues and welcome his call for farmers to consider personal accident insurance to help them in the event of a serious accident.

“Before looking at the protection available for farmers themselves, it’s important to be clear what insurance for the farm can cover.

“When arranging insurance for the farm itself, the main considerations are protecting the buildings, equipment and livestock; protecting against the risk of claims from third parties through liability Insurance, and consequential loss insurance to keep an income flowing following an incident like a major fire.”

Mr Malone gave the following advice:

Liability insurance when a farm is held to be legally liable for damages, injuries or even deaths involving third parties or employees.

Liability insurance for farms comes under four headings:

Public liability insurance provides protection against claims from third parties such as members of the public who are injured – by incidents such as falling into an inadequately covered pit.

Product liability insurance covers claims for damage or illness caused by the farm’s produce. Because of the risk of very large settlements following fatal accidents or life changing injuries, NFU Mutual provides £10m cover as standard for product and public liability farm insurance.

Employers Liability Insurance protects people – including unpaid help like family members and volunteers to casual or temporary workers at the farm.

Environmental Liability Insurance protects farms if their activities or waste results in an injury or pollutes property or the environment.

As well as protecting the farm itself, it is just as important to consider protection for the farmer and family members.

There are two types of protection to consider:

Personal Accident Insurance

Personal Accident Insurance provides to help cover costs while unable to work following an accident. It is designed to help cover additional costs following accidents such as a broken leg which require several hospital visits and inability to do manual work for a few months.

NFU Mutual Group Personal Accident cover is designed to protect employers and their employees. It pays out a regular sum for a period selected by the [policyholder of up to 104 weeks.

Cover is available for accidents resulting in:

- Death

- Loss of Limbs, Sight, Speech or Hearing

- Permanent Total Disability

- Temporary Total Disability

- Temporary Partial Disability

- Illness causing Temporary Total Disability, so long as the claim is made within 104 weeks of the illness being diagnosed

Cover includes:

- Hospital benefit of £25 per day during in-patient treatment, up to £1,000

- Professional counselling, up to £5,000

- Medical treatment we believe will aid recovery.

Cover excludes:

- Pre-existing health conditions

- Illness appearing within 21 days of the start of the cover being taken out

- Accidents resulting from hazardous sports (snowboarding, mountain climbing, etc.)

Income Protection Insurance

Income Protection Insurance provides Longer term protection in the form of a regular monthly benefit if, because of illness or injury, you are unable to work, resulting in a loss of earnings. Policyholders choose a ‘deferment period’ i.e. how soon the monthly benefit payments start after you become incapacitated. This can be either 4, 8, 13, 26 or 52 weeks. The longer the deferment period, the lower the premium.

Monthly benefit is normally limited to a percentage of your pre-tax annual income prior to becoming incapacitated.

You can choose how long you are covered for, i.e. how long the payments last for when in payment i.e. to age 60 or 70. You can also choose whether the income payments increase when in payment (to offer a degree of inflation protection) or remain fixed.

“If you are concerned that you may not have good protection in place for yourself or family members, NFU Mutual local agents can provide more information about what the different types of protection cover provide – and premium costs,” he added.