For most of us, renewing our insurance every year, be it for the car, the home or the farm, is not a task we look forward to. The majority of people will do a quick search for the cheapest policy rate we can find in a bid to have this annual task out of the way for another 12 months.

However, when it comes to farm insurance, farmers should be aware that this is one of the most important purchases they will make all year.

While a competitive price is important, understanding the policy you’re buying and what exactly is covered by the farm insurance policy is critical, now more than ever.

Since the end of milk quotas in 2015, the majority of dairy farmers have expanded herd sizes with many farmers increasing above 120 cows now forced to hire one or more employees on the farm to help with the increased workload.

Many beef finishers are also dependent on farm employees to manage a busy workload, while tillage farmers will also hire seasonal labour during harvest time.

Even for smaller farms, where the farm owner does the majority of the work, need to ensure they have the right cover

For these farmers, taking out a comprehensive employers liability insurance policy is critical to ensure all staff working on the farm are covered in case of any claims relating to injury or disease. For instance, FBD provides employers liability cover for up to €13m in claims.

And it’s not only farmers directly employing someone that need to be cognisant of having the right cover. Even for smaller farms, where the farm owner does the majority of the work, need to ensure they have the right cover.

Many farmers will call in help (usually family members, friends or neighbours) for bigger jobs such as making silage or the annual herd test. It may be just for one or two days in the year but having the right cover in the case of an accident to these people is critical.

Accidents

It’s not something we like to think about but farm accidents do happen and they’ve been getting more serious year after year.

“What we’ve noticed in FBD over the last number of years is that accidents on farms are getting more and more serious in nature and can often be fatal,” says Stewart Gavin, agri-underwriting manager with FBD.

The farming sector continues to be a black spot for workplace-related deaths and accidents.

“We have seen some serious incidents in connection with farm outbuildings construction, machinery and livestock-related accidents,” says Gavin.

Despite continued farm safety advice and campaigns, the farming sector continues to be a black spot for workplace-related deaths and accidents.

So far this year, there have been 14 fatalities on farms north and south of the border, with 12 farm tragedies recorded in Ireland and three farm deaths in Northern Ireland this year.

“One of the biggest concerns for us is the age profile of people involved in farm accidents,” says John Cahalan, chief commercial officer with FBD.

A farmyard is a very dangerous place

“The age groups that are particularly vulnerable when it comes to farm accidents are children and the elderly. There’s been three child fatalities on Irish farms already this year,” he said.

“At this time of year, farmers need to be especially vigilant and careful on their farms with children at home for the summer. A farmyard is a very dangerous place often filled with large machinery. It has to become almost mandatory that we keep children away from farmyards because they are especially vulnerable,” added Cahalan.

Family

Unsurprisingly, a significant number of the farm accidents in Ireland relate to family members.

As such, it is important for farmers to ensure that family members are properly covered by the farm insurance policy as soon as they set foot on the farm.

FBD’s standard employers liability covers all family members once they reach the age of 14 to work on the farm without any requirement for the farmer to declare or name their family members specifically in the policy.

Livestock-related accidents have risen in recent years.

However, this may not be the case with other farm insurance policies and farmers should check that family members are adequately covered under any policy. Family farming is the backbone of Irish agriculture so this must be a key consideration for farmers when taking out farm insurance.

Overall, Ireland’s farm safety record needs to improve as far too many people are lost to farm accidents every year.

We’ve also seen an increase in accidents and farm deaths related to bulls in recent years

“My message to farmers would be to slow down just a little bit.

“I know farmers are under pressure with weather and there’s a panic to save silage or harvest crops when the weather allows but that’s when accidents can happen,” said Pat Gilligan, FBD’s head of sales for the midlands and northwest.

“We’ve also seen an increase in accidents and farm deaths related to bulls in recent years.

“There are more bulls on dairy farms than ever before and many farmers may have a false sense of security when they’re out among their cows at this time of year. I would ask farmers to take a step back and reassess the changes on their farm on a regular basis,” added Gilligan.