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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 your own premium with the calculator.
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
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
Irrigation is the only form of plant and machinery that runs for days on end while nobody is watching. The reel stands in a field, the pump stands by a ditch or well, and the distance between them runs over land that is often not yours. Insurers therefore assess this risk not as machine use but as an item standing unattended outdoors, with all the consequences for the theft and storage conditions.
The second distinctive feature is that the risk lies not in the machine but in the water. A badly adjusted spray arc can make a provincial road wet and slippery, flood an adjoining plot or wash away a neighbour's newly sown crop. That is pure liability under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code and has nothing to do with your own-damage cover.
On top of that comes the permit side. Abstracting surface water or groundwater is subject to the water authority's conditions and in dry periods an abstraction ban may apply. If you keep irrigating while that ban is in force, you are deliberately acting against a regulation and that affects your position in a claim. We take that situation into account in the declaration for your plant and machinery insurance.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Liability
Third-party liability for plant and machinery
Damage you cause to others with the machine.
Compulsory on public roads
Also during work
Cables and pipes separately
The machine itself
Own-damage cover
Damage to the machine, the body and the attachments.
Fire and storm
Theft from the site
Overturning and collision
Extensions
Extensions
What you add separately.
Inherent defect and machinery breakdown
Transport to the site
Hired plant
What is covered
Situation
Third-party liability for plant and machinery
Own-damage cover
Damage to a building or a parked car next to the site
Yes
No
Theft of the machine from the building site
No
Provided that
Fire and storm damage
No
Yes
Inherent defect in the hydraulics or the engine
No
Provided that
Damage to the item you are working on with the machine
No
No
Wear and deferred maintenance
No
No
Mobile plant is a motor vehicle within the meaning of the WAM and needs third-party liability insurance on public roads; non-mobile plant does not. Damage to cables and pipes is generally only covered if the excavation notification has been made and the trial trenches have been dug. The item you work on with the machine falls under the care, custody and control exclusion.
This overview is general in nature and is not personal advice. What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) of the insurer; you receive both before you take out cover. Taking out cover without advice? Then read what execution only means for you.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
Days unattended in an open field
Reels, pump units and generators stand unsupervised and can be taken away with a tractor in a matter of minutes. Insurers therefore ask where the installation stands at night, whether the field can be locked and whether it has a tracker fitted. If you declare a yard while the reel stays in the field, the risk declaration is not correct and after a theft the insurer can rely on the duty of disclosure in Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Water that ends up where it should not
The largest claim in irrigation is not damage to the machine. A badly adjusted spray arc that keeps a road wet leads to slipperiness and collisions; water running onto an adjoining plot damages someone else's crop. That falls under liability, not under own-damage cover. Set the throw distance to match the field boundary and take the wind into account; where you work alongside a public road, a generous margin is no luxury.
Permit, flow rate and abstraction ban
Water abstraction carries conditions from the water authority as to location, flow rate and period. In dry summers a ban often follows. If you keep going while that ban applies, you are demonstrably acting contrary to a regulation and an insurer can refuse cover for the damage that results. Keep your permit and notifications digitally, together with the date on which you shut the installation down.
Frost, draining and the pump running dry
A pump that keeps running without water suffers damage that insurers treat as inherent defect or operating error ; that is only covered if you have that extension. Frost damage to water left in hoses and pipes usually falls outside it, as does gradual corrosion of the reel. Drain the installation before the winter and record that in a maintenance logbook for each unit.
What does your premium depend on?
Replacement value of the reel and pump unit — Reel, generator and pump are valued separately; declaring only the reel leads to underinsurance.
Storage situation outside the season — A locked shed weighs differently from permanent storage along the edge of a field.
Security and tracking system — A tracker or marked serial number affects whether theft is taken into cover at all.
Location of the plots — Irrigating alongside a public road or next to buildings brings more liability risk than a remote plot.
Number of running hours per season — Intensive use in short periods loads the pump and drive more heavily than occasional use.
Contracting work for third parties — If you also irrigate other people's fields, damage to their crop comes into play and the liability question changes.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is why comparing pays off.
How we arrange it
You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, your risk and your wishes.
We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.
Customers rate our service on four aspects: personal service, service delivery, availability and the outcome. The reviews are collected and published by NH1816 and come from customers who have actually taken out a policy with Finass Advies B.V. or reported a claim.
Only with own-damage cover and only if you have declared the actual storage situation. If you say the installation stands in a locked yard while it stays for days on end in an open field, the actual risk differs from what is insured. At higher values insurers make a tracking system a condition; without that system theft is often excluded.
Who is liable if irrigation water makes a road slippery?
You are, as the person who set up and adjusted the installation. That is liability under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code and falls under the liability section, not under own-damage cover. The insurer looks at the throw distance chosen, the wind direction and whether you adjusted the spray arc after a change of wind. Warning signs do not remove liability, but they do help in the assessment.
What if I keep irrigating during an abstraction ban?
You are then acting contrary to a water authority regulation. The fine for that is never insured. If damage connected with the abstraction arises in that same period, for instance subsidence or flooding at a neighbour's, the insurer can hold the deliberate breach of the ban against you. So always record when you shut the installation down.
Is a pump that has run dry insured?
That depends on your cover. Damage because the pump keeps running without water is assessed as inherent defect or operating error and is only insured if you have included that extension. Gradual wear of the impeller and bearings falls outside it in any event. Frost damage to water left in hoses is generally excluded as well, because it could have been prevented by draining.
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
You will find our licence, KvK and Kifid details and our complaints procedure at the foot of every page.
