Will Farm Insurance Cover Tractors and Vehicles?

Standard farm insurance will cover public liability, as well as your property, equipment and outbuildings. But what about your tractors and vehicles – will they be protected in the event of fire or theft?

Yes – as long as you declare them on the policy, and pay the premium. Farm machinery and equipment, including tractors and vehicles, will have cover under normal farm insurance policies.

Different requirements apply if you use your vehicles on the road. You should always declare all the equipment and machinery you have on your policy to ensure any claim is successful.

In this article, we’ll answer these questions:

• Is my trailer insured under my farm insurance policy?
• Do I need car insurance for my tractor?
• Are my farm vehicles insured for agricultural contracting?

Once farm insurance starts straying into vehicle insurance territory, things can get a little confusing. If you’re not sure what kind of coverage you need, just pick up the phone and give us a call – we’re happy to help!

Vehicles for use on a public road

If you ever plan on driving your tractors and ATV’s on a public road, you need to take out vehicle insurance just like everybody else. Agricultural vehicles include tractors, forage harvesters, combine harvesters, diggers, loaders, quads, gators and forklifts are all suitable for road use, and therefore must have insurance to protect other drivers in the event of an accident.

The minimum cover you need to drive on the roads in Ireland is Third Party Only. This protects the other party in the event of a collision or accident, but it won’t insure you or your tractor.

So, as with any roadworthy vehicle, it’s always a good idea to get extra coverage for peace of mind. Tractor insurance – be it third party, third party fire and theft or comprehensive – is available from many different providers. You can also use this cover to insure any implements you attach to your tractor.

And of course, quads, ATV’s, tractors and everything else you drive on the road is subject to the Road Traffic Act. This means you must adhere to the rules of the road when you’re driving on a public highway.

If you have a number of farm vehicles, you can look for an agricultural fleet policy. Like an employers’ fleet policy for taxi drivers or delivery companies, a fleet policy insures many vehicles at once. And if you own other vehicles such as private cars, commercial vehicles or bikes, it may be possible to include these within your agricultural fleet policy.

Horseboxes and other equipment

Normally when you buy agricultural vehicle insurance, your provider will include attachments as standard. It’s called Unspecified Third Party trailer cover, and it is automatically included on the policy once you have noted some agricultural vehicles to be insured.

This includes horseboxes, tractor implements and other attachments, as well as combine harvesters, protecting you against accidental damage and theft. These items will also have cover when you detach them from your vehicle and put them in storage. Many policies will have an inner limit, so it is important to check with an adviser that you have adequate cover.

Many policies will also include agricultural GPS equipment in their cover, as well as goods in transit.

Drivers and farm vehicle insurance

All agricultural vehicles cover is on an open driving basis once you are aged between 17 and 75 years of age, with either a full license or a learners permit. This means that if you have a learner driver in your family, it’s really easy to help them gain named driver experience which will help them save money down the road.

Drivers aged over 75 can be added as a named driver easily, usually with no additional cost.

Do you use your vehicles for occasional agricultural contracting? Agricultural vehicles will not only have cover for your own farm use, but also agricultural contracting use as long as you earn less than €15K per year for it.

It’s absolutely in your best interest, and others’, to make sure your farm vehicles and machinery have as much coverage as you can afford. Talk to our farm insurance experts and we can help you find the most efficient coverage for your situation.