Insuring agricultural contents through Avéro Achmea
On a farm, the business contents are fixed inside the shed: feeding system, ventilation, climate computer and milking robot. Their failure is not only material damage, because there are animals inside.
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In brief
On a farm, the dividing line between business contents and building runs differently from an office. The milking installation, feeding system, fans, slats, cubicle partitions and the climate computer count as fixed business equipment and belong to the business contents cover. The shell of the shed sits on the buildings insurance for livestock and crop farming. Finass compares the offering of more than thirty companies objectively; Avéro Achmea is one of them with a pronounced agricultural book.
The largest loss pattern in this sector is fire, with lightning strikes and power surges as a common cause. A strike nearby knocks out the climate computer, the milking robot and the concentrate feeder at once through the cabling. Surge damage is not included on every variant and often calls for a separate clause, with requirements for earthing and surge protection. Insurers also set requirements for alarms in the event of ventilation failure and for periodic testing of the emergency generator.
Animals are not business contents. Death through suffocation, heat or a fire does not fall under this policy but under livestock insurance, and the effect on your operations under an agricultural business interruption insurance. If livestock escape and cause damage to someone else, that is liability: Article 6:179 of the Dutch Civil Code in principle places it with the keeper of the animal, even without any fault, and that claim belongs on a public and employers' liability insurance.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare business contents insurance.
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What to look out for
Four subjects that determine the payment on a farm.
Self-heating is usually not an insured cause
Hay, straw and silage brought in too damp can heat up and ignite spontaneously. Almost every policy excludes damage to the heating batch itself, and sometimes the exclusion goes wider. Measure the moisture content when bringing the crop in, keep an eye on the temperature of fresh batches in the first weeks, and store roughage in a separate compartment or outside the shed where possible.
Shed climate, alarms and emergency power
When ventilation fails, every quarter of an hour counts. Conditions usually require an alarm system with remote signalling to a telephone that is answered, plus an emergency generator that is started periodically and whose test is recorded. If that is missing at the time of the failure, it affects not only the loss of animals but also the assessment of the damage to the installation itself.
Feed, crops and manure are separate items
Roughage, concentrates, fertiliser, crop protection products, harvested produce and packaging materials together form the stock item and are valued at cost price. Standing crops stand apart from this and call for crop or hail insurance. For growing under glass there is the greenhouse crop insurance. Spoilage through the produce's own loss of quality is covered nowhere.
Four things that are not included
Animals, tractors and self-propelled plant (these run through a plant and machinery insurance), mechanical and electrical failure from within (see the machinery breakdown insurance) and asbestos. The last of these arises with old corrugated roofs: after a fire, the extra removal of asbestos residues generally falls outside the clearance costs. Damage caused deliberately is excluded under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code.
What does your premium depend on?
- Sector: dairy, intensive livestock, arable or glasshouse horticulture
- Value of the fixed business equipment: milking robot, feeding system, ventilation and climate control
- Construction type and compartmentation: distance between sheds, machinery store and house
- Electrical installation: inspection frequency, earthing and surge protection
- Storage of roughage and fertiliser: place, quantity and separation from the shed
- Alarms and emergency power: remote signalling, response and test records
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered in terms of business equipment
| Situation | Basic | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| A fire in the machinery store in which the feeding system is lost | Yes | Yes |
| After a break-in at the shed, the milk meters and the concentrate feeder have gone | Provided that | Yes |
| Intruders come onto the yard at night and wreck the weighing unit | No | Yes |
| A forklift smashes the cubicle partitions to pieces while manoeuvring | No | Provided that |
| The milk tank cools less well because the compressor has worn out after ten years | No | No |
| The pipes in the milking parlour freeze during a power cut in a period of frost | No | Provided that |
Theft is almost always assessed on signs of forced entry and on the securing of the buildings named on the policy schedule.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
My milking robot has failed because of a fault. Is that covered?
Not under the business contents cover. That pays for damage from an external peril such as fire, storm or a lightning strike. A defect arising within the machine itself is machinery breakdown and calls for separate cover. If the failure is caused by a power surge after a lightning strike, the position is different, provided surge damage is included on your policy.
Animals have died because the ventilation failed. What does this policy pay for?
The damage to the installation, if the cause is covered. The animals themselves fall outside and belong on livestock insurance. The loss of your production on agricultural business interruption cover. With such claims, insurers look closely at the alarm system and the emergency generator, so record test rounds and fault reports in writing.
What happens to my asbestos roof after a fire?
Clearing rubble falls under clearance costs, but asbestos removal is a separate process with its own rules and costs. Most conditions exclude those costs or set a limited maximum for them. Know in advance which roofs on your yard contain asbestos and discuss whether additional provision is possible for them.
Can I put tractors and implements on the same policy?
No. Motor vehicles and self-propelled plant are excluded on every business contents cover. They belong on plant and machinery insurance, and as soon as they go onto the public road the compulsory insurance requirement in Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) also applies. Towed implements and non-self-propelled machines can appear on the business contents item; have it recorded for each machine where it belongs.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
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