Will Farm Insurance Cover Theft of Machinery and Equipment?

Farm equipment and machinery can be very costly. But if it’s stolen from your yard, will your farm insurance cover it?

It will if it is noted on the policy. You need to tell your provider about the machinery and equipment you own, in order to get insurance for it.

Our professional and qualified staff will ask you lots of questions about your farm – this will happen when you first take out your policy, and when you renew it. We do this because we want to make sure what is owned by you is adequately protected.

In this article, we’ll answer the following questions:

• Why does my farm insurance company need to know what I own?
• Is my tractor covered by my farm insurance?
• How can I claim on insurance if my ATV is stolen?

While it can seem pedantic or cumbersome or annoying to take photos and list every single piece of farm machinery and equipment, it will make a claim very simple and straightforward if the worst happens.

Theft of farm machinery

No matter if you farm livestock or arable land, you need machinery to do so. Farm machinery and equipment are subject to a wide array of risks including fire and flood – but no risk is higher than that of theft. From tractors, combine harvesters, balers and wrappers to quad bikes and mowers, farm equipment is very expensive, and therefore very valuable.

Just last year, machinery dealers and farmers in Laois, Meath and Wexford were the target of raids. In these raids criminals got hold of over 20 John Deere tractors, combines and harvesters within a 48-hour period. In a 2019 survey by the Central Statistics Office, over a fifth (21%) of farm-owning respondents said that a crime had been committed against the farm in the past year. The crime most frequently reported was trespassing (18% of respondents). However, the next highest category of crime was theft of farm machinery (2% of respondents).

What farm machinery and equipment is covered?

Anything you declare on the policy will be covered by your insurance. This means you need to document exactly what you have, in detail, and let us know about every piece of equipment. If you don’t, then it is stolen and your insurance provider does not have a record of it, you won’t be compensated for its loss.

In the case of agricultural vehicle insurance, policies will be available to you which can cover multiple farm vehicles under one policy. Like an employer’s fleet policy, this means all your vehicles have cover for peace of mind. Some providers even offer multi-sectional discounts. If you own other vehicles such as private cars, commercial vehicles, ATV and quad bikes, it may be possible to include these within your agricultural vehicle policy.

As a reminder: any farm vehicles you drive on the road must be covered by third party insurance at a minimum. This is to keep other drivers safe.

Normally when you buy agricultural vehicle insurance, your provider will include attachments as standard. This means the cover will automatically apply to trailers. This includes horseboxes, tractor implements and other attachments, protecting you against accidental damage and theft. These items will also have cover when you detach them from your vehicle. Many policies will have an inner limit, so it is important to check with an adviser that you have adequate cover.

What to do if your equipment is stolen

We save all of your photos, chassis numbers and registration numbers so once we have them and they are noted on your policy and agreed with you, you won’t have to worry if something happens. We will have all the supporting documentation saved on our system and can send it all off for you with your claim form.

When you notice that your equipment or machinery has been stolen, you need to inform the Garda right away. They will give you a case number, which you will be able to pass onto your insurance provider.

We want to make sure you have the farm insurane cover and when the worst happens that the claims process is fast and easy. If you’re worried about farm machinery theft in your area, give us a call today and we can help make sure you’re covered with the right farm insurance policy.