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.
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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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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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