Liability
- Cables and pipes
- Damage to crops or buildings
- Injury to bystanders
Insuring a sprayer and spraying machine
With a field sprayer the risk is the product itself: what drifts across the field boundary or ends up in a ditch costs more than any damage to the machine.
- several insurers compared objectively
- 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
A trailed or self-propelled field sprayer is insured as plant and machinery, with own-damage cover for the machine and liability for the surroundings. What is special here is the load you carry: crop protection products are substances whose dispersal causes damage in its own right, without any collision or contact.
Drift onto a neighbouring field, an orchard or an organic crop causes crop damage and sometimes the loss of certification. That is damage to a third party’s property and falls under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. If the product reaches surface water, an administrative dimension is added: the water board can enforce, and fines and penalty payments are never insured.
On liability cover there is almost always an environmental clause: only sudden, unforeseen contamination is covered, gradual loading of soil and water is not. The spray boom is also the most vulnerable part of the machine. The structure of the policy is set out on the plant and machinery insurance.
Independent, personal, sorted quickly
We compare your plant and machinery insurance across dozens of insurers, explain where the real differences lie, and arrange the switch from start to finish — without you having to chase it yourself.
Plant and machinery insurancePhoto coming soon
ComparePhoto coming soon
Get coveredPhoto coming soon
Sprayers: 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?
- Boom width and tank capacity. These determine the replacement value and the volume released at once in a leak or a drift incident.
- Trailed or self-propelled. A self-propelled sprayer is a motor vehicle with its own registration and third-party liability obligation. A trailed sprayer shares in the cover of the tractor.
- Crops and products used. Fruit growing with an axial fan sprayer carries a different drift risk from arable farming with a low-drift field sprayer.
- Location of the plots. Fields alongside watercourses, housing or organic neighbours increase the liability risk considerably.
- Filling and rinsing point. A liquid-tight filling point with containment limits the risk of soil contamination and counts on acceptance.
- Own use or contract work. Spraying for third parties increases the number of fields, the number of clients and with that the chance of a claim.
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.
Drift across the field boundary
The wrong nozzle, too high a boom or spraying in unfavourable wind puts the product on someone else’s crop. With a neighbouring organic crop or a sensitive crop, the loss is not only the harvest but also the loss of certification. That is property damage to a third party and covered, provided it qualifies as a sudden event. Record the wind direction, wind speed and nozzle types used for each spraying operation.
The environmental clause sets the boundary
Liability policies generally cover only sudden and unforeseen contamination. A split hose that lets hundreds of litres run into a ditch at once falls under it. Years of spraying too close to the ditch, rinsing residue away on the yard or a leaking filling point do not, because that is gradual. Cleaning up the soil beneath your own filling point is also your own loss and calls for separate environmental cover.
Fines, licences and regulations
Spraying requires a valid certificate of competence, compliance with drift-reduction requirements and with the crop-free zone. If you breach them, enforcement follows from the NVWA (the Dutch food and product safety authority) or the water board. Fines, administrative penalty payments and criminal sanctions are not insurable under any policy. What is more, damage that is the direct result of deliberately acting contrary to a statutory rule is excluded under the intent provision in the cover.
The spray boom and what is never covered
An unfolded spray boom catches the ground at a ditch, or a post while turning on the headland. Bending caused by an identifiable impact is covered. A fatigue fracture after years of vibration is not. Also excluded are nozzles, filters, pump diaphragms and hoses as wearing parts, corrosion caused by aggressive products in the tank, and damage because the wrong or an incompatible product was mixed.
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 drift damage at the neighbour’s covered?
Yes, where it concerns demonstrable damage to his crop from a single spraying operation; that is damage to a third party’s property. Insurers will assess whether you complied with the drift-reduction rules. If you cannot show the wind direction, wind speed and nozzle type, the claim becomes difficult. The loss of organic certification is treated as consequential loss and is not always covered in full.
What if product reaches the ditch?
A sudden discharge, for instance through a burst hose, falls under the environmental clause and is covered, including the clean-up costs. Gradual loading is not. The water board also enforces independently: an order subject to a penalty or a fine is always for your own account. Report a discharge immediately, both to the insurer and to the competent authority.
Is a bent spray boom insured?
If the bending is the result of a sudden impact with a post, a ditch edge or a tree, it falls under own-damage cover. Fatigue cracks in the folding hinges after years of use do not: that is wear. Have the damage recorded by a dealer, because with spray booms the argument about wear versus sudden damage comes up regularly.
Does the policy cover a fine from the NVWA?
No. Administrative fines, penalty payments and criminal sanctions cannot be insured under any Dutch liability policy. What can be covered is the civil damage suffered by third parties from the same event, provided there was no deliberate breach of a rule. Keep the spray log, the licence and the calibration records up to date; those documents determine how such a case unfolds.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Compare plant and machinery insuranceThe main page
- Insuring a soil cultivation machinePloughing and tilling, damage to cables, wearing parts
- Insuring a lifting and harvesting machineSeasonal peak, downtime, high value
- Insuring a shovel loaderSite use, tyre damage, loading damage
- Insuring an irrigation reelField set-up, theft, pipe damage
- Insuring a mowing machineVerge work, flying stones, seasonal use
- Insuring sprayers and spraying machinesDrift, environment, certification
- Insuring an AhlmannAhlmann, value over time, security, repair
- Insuring a John DeereJohn Deere, value over time, security, repair
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.