Liability
- Cables and pipes
- Damage to crops or buildings
- Injury to bystanders
Insuring an irrigation reel
An irrigation reel runs unattended on a field for days on end, and the most expensive thing to go wrong is rarely the reel itself but the water that ends up in the wrong place.
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- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
- AFM licence 12016589
- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
This page in another language: Nederlands
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.
- Independent advice
- Several insurers
- Switching arranged
- Help with claims
In brief
You insure the reel, the pump set and the supply pipework as plant and machinery: own-damage cover for sudden damage and theft, liability for what you cause to someone else with the installation. Because the machine runs unattended, the main factors at acceptance are the storage arrangements and the question of how long the reel stands on the land without supervision.
Water is the damaging element here. A rain gun that sprays across the field boundary or over a public road creates liability under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code: a wet road surface, a flooded cellar, a washed-out verge. That runs through the liability cover and not through own-damage cover, because nothing is broken on your own reel.
If you tow the reel behind the tractor over the public road to the next field, the insurance obligation under Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) applies to that combination. If everything stays on your own land, that obligation falls away but your liability does not. The structure of the policy is set out on the plant and machinery insurance.
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Irrigation reel: what is covered?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Own-damage cover
Damage, theft and usually inherent defect as well.
- Theft and vandalism
- Fire and storm
- Inherent defect and operating error
Extensions
What matters besides the machine itself.
- Attached parts
- Transport to the site
- Downtime and hired plant
What is covered
| Situation | Liability | Own-damage cover |
|---|---|---|
| Damage to crops, buildings or pipes and cables | Yes | No |
| Theft of the machine | No | Sometimes |
| Fire or storm damage | No | Yes |
| Inherent defect or operating error | No | Sometimes |
| Blades, teeth and tyres worn out | No | No |
| Deferred maintenance | No | No |
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.
What does your premium depend on?
- Replacement value of the reel and pump set. Reel, pump, drive and supply pipes together; declare the pipes separately, because they represent a substantial part of the value.
- Throw width and number of running hours. A greater reach means more chance of water leaving your field and more strain on the hose and turbine.
- Number of fields and distance from the yard. The more often you move, the more transport movements there are and the longer the machine stands out of your sight.
- Storage out of season. Indoors in a locked shed or outside in the yard. For theft and frost damage this is the most important question.
- Journeys on the public road. Determines whether the insurance obligation under Article 2 WAM applies and whether the combination behind the tractor has to be insured as well.
- Claims history and excess. Earlier theft or pipework claims weigh heavily. A higher excess on own-damage cover reduces the premium.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
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.
Why arrange it through Finass Verzekert?
We look at the terms as well as the premium, and stay your point of contact when there is a claim.
Independent
We are not tied to one insurer and compare on the basis of an objective analysis of several companies.
One fixed adviser
You call or email someone who knows your file. No menu options, no changing call centres.
Switching without hassle
We cancel your old policy and align the start date, so you are never a day without cover.
Help with claims
We report the claim and monitor how it is handled. In urgent cases you can reach us on the emergency line.
9.5New policy
9.8Claims handling
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.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
Days without supervision on the field
A running reel often stands alone on the land night after night, with a diesel pump and aluminium supply pipes beside it. It is precisely those loose components that disappear. The reel itself is too heavy to take. Insurers therefore ask on the application how many fields you irrigate and whether the pump set is stored indoors out of season. If practice differs from what you declared, that affects the cover under Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Water that crosses the field boundary
A badly adjusted spray arc, or a rain gun that keeps spraying when the wind turns, floods the neighbouring crop, makes a cycle path slippery or fills a crawl space. That is damage to third parties and belongs with the liability cover. There are two limits, though: gradually occurring damage is often rejected, and pure financial loss without damage to property, such as a harvest subsidy the neighbour misses out on, falls outside most policies.
Frost, running dry and the hose
The PE hose is the most vulnerable and most expensive component: kinks when reeling in, a split after being driven over, or bursting because the installation was not drained in the autumn. Frost damage after inadequate draining is treated as negligent maintenance and is excluded, as is a pump that has run dry. Only sudden, externally caused damage is covered; gradual ageing of the hose never is.
Permits and abstraction remain your responsibility
Irrigation is governed by the water authority's rules: an abstraction ban during drought, a duty to notify, sometimes a permit with a flow meter. A fine or an order subject to a penalty because you kept running during a ban is never insured; administrative sanctions fall outside every policy. Deliberately breaching a regulation also rules out cover. And if you have to shut the installation down, you bear the resulting crop loss yourself as well.
Theft and security
For higher values, insurers require a tracker and agreements on where the machine is kept outside working hours.
Wearing parts remain excluded everywhere
Blades, teeth, cutting edges, tracks and tyres are wearing parts and are not insured anywhere; only sudden damage is covered. Deferred maintenance is also a ground for exclusion. A demonstrable maintenance regime with a logbook is therefore not only good management but also strengthens your position in a claim.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Is theft of the pump set insured?
Only if you have declared the pump and the drive separately on the policy schedule. Loose supply pipes and couplings often fall under a section of their own with a lower limit. Insurers also set requirements for storage outside the irrigation season. If the set stands in the yard all year without being locked away, the theft cover may be restricted or excluded.
Who is liable for an accident on a road that has been sprayed wet?
You are, as the person responsible for the installation. Anyone who makes a public road wet or slippery acts unlawfully within the meaning of Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code and is liable for the injury and damage that follow. The liability cover on your plant and machinery policy responds to that. Report such an incident at once, because Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to report it as soon as you know about it.
Do I need insurance if the reel only ever stays on my own land?
The insurance obligation for motor vehicles does not then apply, because you do not go onto the public road. That changes nothing about your liability: water running onto a neighbouring plot or into a ditch remains your responsibility. The theft risk and fire damage to the pump also continue as normal. When it comes to it growers therefore take out own-damage and liability cover regardless of that statutory obligation.
Is a hose that has split over the winter covered?
Usually not. Splits that arise because water was left standing in the hose are seen as the result of insufficient maintenance rather than as a sudden event. If, on the other hand, a third party drives a tractor over your laid-out hose, that is sudden damage and the claim qualifies. Record the autumn draining in your maintenance logbook for that reason.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Compare plant and machinery insuranceThe main page
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- Insuring a sweeper and scrubberCleaning, batteries, work at third parties' premises
- Insuring a tractorRegistration, category T licence, implements
- Insuring a soil cultivation machinePloughing and tilling, damage to cables, wearing parts
- Insuring pallet trucks and warehouse equipmentInternal transport, racking damage, inspection
- Insuring irrigation systemsTheft, unattended, water abstraction
- Insuring an excavatorExcavation damage, KLIC notification, theft
Read more
Ready to compare?
Request a quote without obligation. We will look at which insurer best matches your activities and your risk.
Prefer to call? 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 09:00–17:00.
Claim on the road? Emergency line 06 - 55 20 40 72.
About our service
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.
This page was compiled by Finass Verzekert. Last updated on .
The information on this page is general in nature and is not personal advice.