Livestock buildings · ventilation · slurry storage
Buildings insurance for livestock farming and indoor cultivation
A livestock building is not a shed with animals in it. Ventilation, slurry storage and a roof full of installations put the chance of fire and the consequential loss in an entirely different league.
- Several insurers compared objectively
- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
- AFM licence 12016589
- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Gebouwenverzekering voor veehouderij en teelt in gebouwen.
The calculator and the quote form below are in Dutch. Prefer to do this in English? Email info@finassverzekert. nl or call 072 - 509 24 56 and we will take it from there.
Work out for yourself what it would cost.
Enter your details; you will receive a proposal within one working day.
- We compare the offerings of several insurers
- An adviser checks whether the cover suits your activities
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
In a livestock or growing building the fire risk is higher than in an ordinary industrial unit: a great deal of electrical equipment in a damp, dusty environment, heating equipment above bedding, and installations on the roof. Insurers therefore almost always set requirements as to inspection of the electrical installation, lightning protection and the positioning of heat sources. Those requirements appear as clauses on the policy and are a condition of cover.
The second peculiarity is that here the building and its contents are inseparable. If the ventilation fails there is no damage to the building, but there is an acute emergency for the animals. Failure of climate control systems, livestock mortality and culling after an animal disease do not fall under buildings cover; they are separate sections or fall outside insurance altogether. For those, look at the wider agricultural package.
Finass arranges this cover and compares several insurers objectively. The choice follows from your type of business, the construction of the buildings and whether the prevention conditions are workable. Contamination of soil or surface water after a fire or a leaking slurry store is a separate product — see the environmental damage insurance — and the general explanation of the cover is set out on the hub page.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare commercial buildings insurance.
What to look out for
Four points that cause problems with livestock and growing buildings time and again.
Electrics, heat sources and the inspection regime
Dust, ammonia and damp attack wiring and switchgear faster than elsewhere. A clause requiring a periodic inspection of the electrical installation is standard here, often supplemented by requirements on heat lamps, heaters and the distance to combustible material. If defects listed in the report have not been put right, that is an independent ground after a fire for limiting the payment.
Animal disease and culling fall outside
An outbreak of an infectious animal disease, the compulsory cull and the vacancy that follows are not a covered event on a buildings policy. Separate livestock insurance exists for the animals themselves, and for notifiable diseases there is a government scheme with its own conditions. Do not count that compensation as insurance cover.
Slurry storage, tanks and soil damage
Leakage from a slurry cellar, a silo or a lined lagoon rarely damages the building, but it does damage the soil and groundwater. Remediation costs and liability towards third parties belong on environmental damage insurance. The buildings cover pays at most for repairing the structure. Damage from self-heating in stored hay or straw is also excluded on most policies or subject to strict conditions.
Asbestos, solar panels and roof structure
Many older livestock buildings have a roof that contains asbestos or that is now covered in solar panels. After a fire, the additional cost of controlled remediation and disposal rises steeply and is often limited or excluded. Panels are not automatically included on the buildings cover; record whether they fall under the building and see the cover for solar panels.
What does your premium depend on?
- Type of business and species: a poultry house is weighed differently from a cubicle house
- Construction type and roof covering: timber trusses and insulation material determine how a fire develops
- Distance between buildings: buildings that adjoin each other increase the maximum loss
- Electrical inspection and lightning protection: whether a report exists and how recent it is
- Rebuild value including installations: feeding, ventilation and slurry systems count
- Solar panels on the roof: number, positioning and whether they are included
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered on livestock and growing buildings
| Situation | Basic | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| A lightning strike tears open the roof of the young stock building | Yes | Yes |
| A storm pulls the profiled sheeting off an open barn | Provided that | Yes |
| An overturned feed mixer pushes in the wall of the cubicle house | No | Yes |
| Pigs die after the ventilation fails during a heatwave | No | No |
| The concrete floor of the building has been attacked by years of exposure to slurry gases | No | No |
| The rubble from the burnt-out building has to be removed before rebuilding can start | Provided that | Yes |
Clearing-up costs have a limit of their own, separate from the rebuild value, and on a large livestock building that limit is reached sooner than expected.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Is the livestock included on the buildings policy?
No. Live animals are not part of the building. Mortality from fire, suffocation or ventilation failure is insured on separate livestock cover, with its own conditions on alarms and standby power. Check that this cover ties in with the buildings policy, so that after a fire there is no gap between rebuilding the shed and the loss of the animals.
What if the ventilation fails because of a power cut?
Buildings insurance does not pay for that. There is no damage to the building. Failure of the climate control system is a separate section and insurers impose requirements: a working alarm that actually reaches someone, a tested standby power supply and a demonstrable maintenance regime. Without those provisions the risk is usually not insurable.
Am I liable if one of my animals causes damage?
Yes, in principle. Article 6:179 of the Dutch Civil Code places liability for damage caused by an animal with its possessor, even without fault: think of livestock that escape onto the road. That is a liability claim and not damage to a building, so it belongs on public and employers' liability insurance with an agricultural section.
Does the policy cover the removal of asbestos after a fire?
Usually only in part. Clearing-up costs are often covered up to a percentage stated in the policy, but the additional cost of controlled asbestos removal and the remediation of surrounding land regularly falls outside it. Ask about this explicitly and have the arrangement recorded in writing. With an old corrugated sheet roof this is one of the largest cost items after a fire.