Forestry Insurance

locky76

Hey folks, we're after buying some forestry and I was wondering do people boither with insurance...
Needless to say I'll be getting public liability insurance which is very reasonable, €100 for 20 acres.
But the crop loss and reinstatement insurance seems quite expensive at €650, this will cover a crop loss of €65k and a reinstatement cost of €65k...
I would be interested in getting peoples opinion on this.

Jack180570

locky76 wrote: »

Hey folks, we're after buying some forestry and I was wondering do people boither with insurance...
Needless to say I'll be getting public liability insurance which is very reasonable, €100 for 20 acres.
But the crop loss and reinstatement insurance seems quite expensive at €650, this will cover a crop loss of €65k and a reinstatement cost of €65k...
I would be interested in getting peoples opinion on this.

Oh yes you should insure... if plantation burns down you will be liable for the cost of replanting it and if you don't the Department can look for repayment of grants and premiums. .. so yes you should insure...

Regarding the quote. .. it does appear expensive. ..should be around 0.3% of the risk insured...
This is a general cost and can vary significantly if land is unenclosed or if there was a previous claim.

Forestry insurance policies vary greatly an you should seek honest professional advice. At least one of the major insurance companies is selling a truly awful policy. .. buyer beware.

John Kelly of

I have about 25 acres of sitka spruce about 10 years growing very well. Could anyone give an idea of how much I should be insuring this for? Should I be insuring it at all at this early stage?
thanks in advance for any advice

Jack180570

John Kelly of wrote: »

I have about 25 acres of sitka spruce about 10 years growing very well. Could anyone give an idea of how much I should be insuring this for? Should I be insuring it at all at this early stage?
thanks in advance for any advice

I just got my renewal for 11.02ha of pure SS planted in 1995.
Insured for recon cost of €52,345 - costing €168.57
Insured for capital value of €73,622 - costing €237.09
Includes fire fighting costs of €216,000
No public liability included as I have that with FBD in the farm insurance

So to answer your question on what value to insure, above is insured for Capital Value of €2,700 per acre... this is possibly slightly high but is a very good plantation of YC 22. Now a very important point here... IF it burns I will get paid what I insured it for. With another very big Irish company, they WILL insure it for that value BUT... if it burns down THEY WILL INSPECT IT AND PLACE THEIR VALUE ON IT AND THEY WILL PAY ON THE BASIS OF WHAT THEY THINK IT WAS VALUED AT/WORTH.

As a comparison a brother of mine has a plantation in Frenchpark and his quote is as follows:
I just got my renewal for 15.27ha of SS/NS and a bit of SS/LP planted in 1996.
Insured for recon cost of €70,318 - costing €314.20
Insured for capital value of €55,842 - costing €249.52
Includes fire fighting costs of €216,000
No public liability included as I have that with FBD in the farm insurance
Capital Value insured is €1,470 per acre

So as you can see the values and the costs vary significantly
IMHO the most important thing to do is to buy the RIGHT policy

John Kelly of

Thanks Jack.
Which company are you using?
Also is public liability really necessary, what do you think could happen in the spruce forest?

Jack180570

John Kelly of wrote: »

Thanks Jack.
Which company are you using?
Also is public liability really necessary, what do you think could happen in the spruce forest?

No worries...
Its through mid western forestry, they planted the forest and I have kept the insurance with them... It used to be underwritten by Aviva but they have pulled out of the market and its now underwritten by RSA.

Re the PL... I insure all my forestry for PL because if anyone did wander into the forest and fell or whatever I could be sued. With people having more free time they are walking into forests, especially ones that are roaded or thinned and if they fall you could be sued so yes i would say you should insure it. I have that insurance with FBD because I have the farm with them and their PL policy is ok and not too expensive.
At the end of the day you have to shop around but also read the small print and make sure that you are covered for the things you need to be covered for.
For example I recently had a mishap with an expensive integrated microwave oven and contacted my insurance company under my house policy. The policy is for around 200k inc contents and cost around 400e, which sounded grand...
Only to be told that there was a 250e excess and that I would lose my NCB which meant that if I claimed i would lose 370e so i best not claim i was advised by the claims handler (microwave replacement is 570).
Then I am watching tv and see another insurer giving the same level of cover (200k value, 250e excess and same 20% NCB) BUT was only costing 202e.
My point.... I was sold a 200e policy for 400e by my current insurer, not nice.

So... please dont assume that insurers are out for your good... they are out to make profit and it doesnt seem to bother them to be selling cheap policies for expensive prices... Relevance to forestry insurance... there are companies selling forestry insurance which LOOKS cheap but you are not insured for what you think (with my insurance if it burns down i get paid the figure i insured it for, with at least one other major company you are being insured UP TO THAT FIGURE) also with my insurance company the sum insured includes both the replanting AND maintenance for 4 years to forest service standards... the other company just covers the cost of replanting)... finally my insurance company covers me for 200k of FIREFIGHTING costs... the other one is something like 10k of FIRE BRIGADE CHARGES... when is the last time you saw a fire engine quenching a forestry fire??

John Kelly of

Ok thanks again