The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Buffy the eggs layer on August 04, 2012, 06:58:38 am
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Hi :wave:
What insurance do I need for my sheep? I'm guessing pet plan wont cover them for vets bills but what about public liability should they escape and cause an accident?
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can't help with the question but will be really interested in the replies as I need some insurance too :wave:
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NFU farm insurance includes public liability, and we can also get cover for sheep knocked down on the road - both replacement value and vet fees.
Others will know if there's any other organisation as good as or better for smallholders.
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I was going to say NFU mutual too! Hubby is tied up on the phone currently but I'll ask him if they cover public liability for escaped livestock.
I know these other people do - Cliverton Insurance [/size]www.cliverton.co.uk (http://www.cliverton.co.uk/)[/color] 01328 857921 [/font][/color][/size][/color]
and for attacks on livestock by dogs etc. (not that I can recommend them but I DO recommend NFU mutual for high quality service and lovely risk reduction surveyors ;) )
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The man from NFU sitting next to me says phone you local agent and they will help advise you :)
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I have my car ins with NFU so will call them, thanks
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NFU here too :thumbsup:
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Buffy,
This is off the sheep subject but still insurance. I notice you said you have your car insured with NFU have you checked them against other companies?
My insurance was due recently and I contacted NFU and their quote was amost £200 more than the company I am currently with. When I said I had been quoted £365 elsewhere they said they couldn't even come close. Needless to say I didn't insure with them.
Sally
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Am with NFU. They cover straying and I think my public liability is 10million.
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Agree with NFU. Our local office is brilliant. :thumbsup:
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Without wishing to sound rude - how much and covering what are people paying for insurance and has it made a difference to someone having it or not having it
thanks
BL
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We've opted out this year. To comment on the original question - you dont have to have it. But I guess you have to make an assessment for yourself the possibility/probability of one of your sheep escaping and causing an accident which you might be found to be negligent and the cause of (and therefore be sued). We see about 4 cars a day here, there are other peoples sheep all over the road and our fences are new and good, so I felt it was a risk worth taking for us. The last year we paid £450 for house and smallholding cover (NFU) - did cover liability, but not loss of stock. We took it out initially because we have a public footpath, but on reflection this year recon we could not be found negligent of anything so have similarly taken the risk with that. House insurance this year is about £200 so we've just gone with that (not NFU). As others have said they were extortionate for car ins. The other quote we had was the welsh farming union - about £300. Neither would have covered any of our various disasters over the last 18 months. There was another company we looked at, but that was even higher premiums.
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stuartbenger.co.uk do a great combined policy covers stock ,sheds ,machinery,public liability etc there is 2 silver and gold with different limits on each its underwritten by royal sun alliance. i think gold is £250 and silver is £200 per year .you must have under 50 acres .tells you all about it on there web page
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Without wishing to sound rude - how much and covering what are people paying for insurance and has it made a difference to someone having it or not having it
thanks
BL
I got a quote for public liability and product liability (for pork and lard soap)
NFU could only do it when added to a home contents policy and quoted over £600.
Cliverton Smallholders insurance did it as a stand alone policy for £240.
The policy details are the same (level of cover, inclusions etc) and as far as I'm aware Cliverton have a good reputation. I would have loved to go with NFU (especially since they're supporting the SSGF ;)) but I just couldn't justify the extra expense :(
I hope I don't have to claim :fc: but it keeps me on the right side of the law and covers me for selling to the public at markets/fairs etc :thumbsup:
HTH
Karen
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the insurance cover for livestock is a very specialised market especially if it is to cover death and infertility this is usually only for pedigree livestock and for some of the sums payed for them the premium can be quite high i will need to find out as this has bugged me for years we were with nfu for car ins then left for another company we later found out that the other company did not cover us for the trailer and even it would be doubtfull if they covered the car with the trailer hitched on nfu cover this aspect and you can increase the value of the trailer accordingly
i cant stress the importance of properly covered ins for all activity's and to find out when there is a claim that you are not insured it is to late well gone are the days when the insurance company's paid out they are looking for loopholes to leave you well and truly shafted and avoid a payout even if it is not your fault :farmer:
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I suppose at the end of the day we take out insurances for peace of mind and hope that we will never need to use them.
I am not in a position to buy in replacement sheep if all mine were stolen or to pay for damages if they caused an accident so its worth it to me.
If you feel that the risk is low and the impact would also be low then you probably dont need it.
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Exactly - its mostly public liability i'm interested in. I dread to think what the costs woukd be if they got out on the road and caused an accident.
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We are with NFU and pay £1200 a year. We will be looking around next year for quotes though because NFU locally are not impressive.
We first used them through their call centre because their public liability limit is double most of the others. As it got more complicated bits of the policy were transferred to the local office until finally we moved the whole lot last year. It then transpired that the local office and the call centre weren't even slightly joined-up and it took a lot of phone calls to make it happen. Annoyingly some of the machinery was double insured for nearly a year.
We had one claim, for water leakage after a burst underground pipe in December 2009. That was a £1500 payout but took more than six months to settle. There wasn't an argument about it, just inaction.
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If its just for a few sheep, then i doubt i would bother.
your livestock insurance will give you some public liability and cover from death by straying or lightning, theft etc.
how much are your sheep worth?
as for causing an accident, you arent resposible if the accident is caused by a straying sheep. as long as you have taken reasonable stpes to stop them escaping. the animal has its own mind and if it chooses to escape how can you be responsible for it. if on the other hand you have no fences or dont maintain them it might be a different matter.
if you have taken reasonable steps to secure your sheep and one was run over after escaping as i understand it you would be entitled to claim against the motorist! not the other way around.
we have insurance but my beasts have quite a value and cattle i think have a possibility of doing someone some damage.
dominic