Ploughing and tilling · damage to cables · wearing parts
Insuring a soil cultivation machine
A plough, cultivator or seedbed combination works below ground, and that is exactly where what you cannot see lies: someone else's drainage, cables and pipes.
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.
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A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
Soil cultivation implements are towed machines without their own drive. They are insured as an attached implement with the tractor, or as an object in their own right on the plant and machinery policy, with own-damage cover for sudden damage and liability cover for what you strike in the ground.
The claims profile differs from that of self-propelled plant. The machine itself rarely suffers a total loss. What becomes expensive is a drainage run that is hit, a fibre-optic cable pulled through or a gas pipe. Those costs fall under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code and are recovered by the network operator, including the hours of outage.
On the public road, separate rules on lighting, marking and escorting apply to wide implements. The combination of tractor and implement falls under the compulsory insurance requirement of Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM). You will find the general structure of the cover under the plant and machinery insurance.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
For third parties
Liability
Damage you cause to others with the machine.
Cables and pipes
Damage to crops or buildings
Injury to bystanders
The machine itself
Own-damage cover
Damage, theft and usually inherent defect as well.
Theft and vandalism
Fire and storm
Inherent defect and operating error
Around the work
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.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
What lies in the ground is not yours
Subsoiling, spading or ploughing strikes drainage pipes, water pipes, data cables and sometimes a gas pipe. The excavation notification to the Land Registry is not optional for mechanical soil cultivation below the usual depth. If it is missing, the network operator accuses you of acting carelessly and the insurer may limit the cover. Keep the notifications and the service location data for each plot, even if you have worked the plot for years.
Damage from obstacles and shear protection
A boulder, an old concrete post or a forgotten manhole bends a plough beam or cracks a frame. Machines with a shear bolt or stone protection limit that damage. If the protection fails because too heavy a bolt has been fitted, it is no longer a sudden event but a consequence of your own intervention and refusal follows. Photograph the obstacle and the position of the machine before you pull free.
Shares, tines and discs are wearing parts
Plough shares, cultivator tines, discs and rollers wear out in normal use and are insured on no policy. Likewise, deformation caused by consistently excessive forward speed or by working in ground that is too wet counts as foreseeable loading. What is covered is breakage caused by an impact from outside. The difference has to be clear from the damage report, so have the dealer describe the damage before anything is replaced.
Contracting work and work for third parties
If you work someone else's land, the care, custody and control exclusion comes into play: the plot and the crops in your care are items in your care, custody and control and are excluded or restricted on many liability policies. Damage to the adjoining ditch or to the neighbouring crop falls outside that and is covered. For staff you deploy, Article 6:170 of the Dutch Civil Code also applies to mistakes made by employees.
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.
Working width and weight of the implement. These determine the replacement value and the traction needed; wide combinations carry more transport and obstacle risk.
Working depth. Subsoilers and spading machines reach the zone where drainage and cables lie; shallow working reduces the risk.
Soil type and stoniness. Heavy clay and stony plots put more strain on frames and protection devices than light sandy soil.
Your own business or agricultural contracting. Work on third-party plots increases the liability risk and touches on the care, custody and control provision in the policy.
Transport on public roads. The number of journeys, the width and whether an escort is used. This belongs with the combination behind the tractor.
Year of construction and state of maintenance. An older implement with worn bearings and expired protection devices leads more readily to disputes about inherent defect.
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.
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.
If the drainage lies in someone else's plot, that is damage to a third party's property and it falls under the liability cover. If the pipe lies in your own land, there is no liability and you pay for the repair yourself; own-damage cover only covers the machine. For plots you lease or have in use, the care, custody and control provision in your policy plays a part.
Do I have to make an excavation notification before I plough?
For normal topsoil cultivation that is usually not necessary, but as soon as you work deeper than the usual cultivation depth or take on new plots, a notification is sensible and sometimes compulsory. If it is missing when a pipe is damaged, the network operator accuses you of carelessness and the insurer may increase your excess or refuse the claim. Keep the confirmation with your plot records.
Is a bent plough beam covered by own-damage cover?
Yes, provided the deformation results from a sudden impact with an obstacle. Bending caused by prolonged overloading, by working in ground that is too wet or by too heavy a tractor counts as foreseeable wear and is excluded. The shares themselves also remain outside the cover. So have the damage recorded by a repairer before you have the implement straightened.
Is the implement insured on the tractor's policy?
For legal liability on the road, usually yes: the attached implement shares in the cover of the towing motor vehicle. Own-damage to the implement itself is not. For that, the implement must appear separately on the policy schedule with its own value. Do not forget separate front-mounted units and seed drills, because these are regularly overlooked when registering equipment.
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.
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