[pharnorth]

So where are the stats to show that sheep cause more road accidents than cars?  If you choose a Fiat Punto up you pay less insutprance than a Series 5 BMW based on actual claim stats. Sheep apparently have more accidents than a Fiat Punto. Bloody sheep shouldn't be allowed on the roads.

[Black Sheep]

Maybe because sheep don't have crumple zones :-)

I doubt there are any such stats... but a logical basis for lower risk never stopped an insurance company charging more for a premium before ;-)

In reality we've focused narrowly on one aspect and there will be so many different variables at play behind this. Plus whatever the underwriter thinks they can charge in what looks very likely to be a much less competitive marketplace than car insurance.

[CarolineJ]

Even odder, my sheep will be more likely to cause accidents than most because I'm a crofter and the A836 goes right through the middle of our common grazings - and yes, I did let the insurers know about this!

[Womble]

Aha!  So it's you that's putting the premiums up then Caroline? 

[harmony]

That's right Harmony, but I think you're mixing up hazard and risk here.

Of course a sheep could write off a car, or even worse cause it to crash injuring the passengers. However, it costs me £200 to insure my car (less if I only wanted third party). Surely there is more chance of me crashing my car into another car or pedestrian during my daily driving than there is of my sheep getting out AND causing an accident? I just don't get the disparity between the different premiums, that's all.

I don't think we are meant to understand insurance premiums and under writing policies. I think it is to a degree about competitiveness in the market. All we can do is get the best quote possible. For years I had a trekking centre. We had to cover for 5K minimum. We never had a claim in over 20 odd years but because of other peoples claims we had to pay the price. At one point so few companies would touch equestrian insurance there was little we could do to but except the high premiums.


If a company has just one huge claim against it the premiums of everyone will be affected down the line. Companies will know what claims they have had in the past and cost and will then work out their risk.

[Foobar]

The high cost is because they will only include it with some other insurance, like contents or farm insurance.  The PL itself is probably a lot less.  I had a smallholders quote from MVF and they broke down the costs, the "Public and Product Liability" line was £131.  Again, there is "Product" liability there too, bumping up the price no doubt, and it may even cover things like accidental pollution etc.

[CarolineJ]

Aha!  So it's you that's putting the premiums up then Caroline? 

   Not yet, but the North Coast 500 is getting quite popular with sports cars - I dread to think what the claim would be if one of my ewes wandered out in front of a Bugatti Veyron, for example...

[Badger Nadgers]

I'm on the Stuart Benger "silver" smallholder insurance.  £200ish,
http://www.stuartbenger.co.uk/download/20

[westcoastcroft]

NFU
Product liability, farms building and up to about 30k worth of stock and public liability about £200 - but only along with contents and loss for our caravan at about ~£350 - caravans in my experience ar always really expensive to insure. if anybody knows anywhere cheap to cover a residential caravan would be interested to know who?

[Penninehillbilly]

Interesting this has come up for the first time for us. Bought extra land in 2009, started keeping goats and sheep.
New quote for house from existing insurers bounced up to over £900!!!!
Went to broker who knows our situation, said the land etc should be insured and we should get the lot for less than our quote. Filled details in, waiting to hear from him
So do your smallholders insurances include your houses?