Advice for rural community at top shows

Free help and advice as well as tea and Cornish pasties will be on offer to the South West’s rural community this year, as regional insurance firm Cornish Mutual hits the road for its annual tour of the top agricultural shows.

Over the next five months the company, which has Members in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset, will be attending many of the region’s major events with a team of dedicated Insurance Inspectors. They will be available to give first-hand guidance on key issues affecting people living and working in the South West countryside.

Cornish Mutual will spend a total of 26 days at 17 shows including the Royal Cornwall, North Devon, Bath and West and Stithians Show, meeting with new and existing Members (see full list of shows below). The team recently spent three days at the Devon County Show in Exeter. This year, the company also unveils its new-look trailer and is providing insurance cover for an increased number of the shows.

Chris Ridgers, Business Development Manager for Cornish Mutual, said: “As always we’re delighted to be attending major agricultural shows across the region. As part of our involvement in the rural community and commitment to being accessible to our Members, having a presence at these shows is vital.

“A number of rural events last year had difficulty securing special event insurance at reasonable cost so we have increased the number of agricultural shows in the South West we insure to assist them in maintaining their annual activity. We like to make sure organisers have the insurance in place which best meets their needs. It is really important that they consider all the risks including personal accident cover for show organising committee members, paid employees and volunteers.

“We’re confident that our new look trailer, which appropriately displays a bright red tractor and chicken, will be hard to miss and at every event we’ll be welcoming Members in for a pasty and cup of tea.”

Chris concluded: “It’s great to be able to meet with our existing Members at these events and also offer advice to anyone interested in finding out more about Cornish Mutual. Our Inspectors are on hand to discuss all aspects of personal, business, home and farm insurance cover.”

Cornish Mutual has been providing farm insurance and holiday home insurance cover to the rural community across the South West for over 100 years. For more information visit www.cornishmutual.co.uk.

Warning over insurance cut-backs

Businesses and homeowners in the South West are being warned against cutting back on insurance in a bid to save money or risk being left underinsured should the worst happen.

“Some savings could prove to be far more costly in the long run,” says Chris Ridgers from regional insurance firm Cornish Mutual, “If you cut back on your insurance policy, when it comes to the crunch and you need to make a claim, you could run into trouble and find you’re underinsured or worse still, end up in front of an industrial tribunal.”

Some business and domestic insurance policies have legal requirements attached to them – for example, legal liability for damage to the property of others or injury to them, where compensation awards and legal fees run into hundreds of thousands of pounds – reducing cover here can be unwise. In the case of employers’ liability and motor third party insurances, there is compulsory insurance legislation to be taken into account.

Chris, Business Development Manager with the company which has offices in Exeter and Truro, adds: “The best advice is to check your cover and policy details carefully, get a second opinion if necessary and make sure you look at all your options. The important thing is not to leave crucial cover to lapse and make sure you have everything you need but are not underinsured – check the level of insurance purchased.”

This comes as homeowners are also being urged not to forgo home and contents insurance, especially holiday home insurance in the south west following recent Government figures showing a four per cent rise in home burglaries during the last quarter of 2008.

Nick Starling, Director of General Insurance and Health at the Association of British Insurers, comments: “Many families will be looking to trim their budgets as the recession bites, but cutting back on home insurance is a false economy. Last year, insurers paid over 6,000 claims, some £7 million, every week, to burglary victims. Without insurance, becoming another crime statistic could plunge you deeper into financial trouble, from which it may take years to recover”.

Companies could legitimately save on some insurance costs by increasing their voluntary excesses for any loss or damage, reducing cover on low-value vehicles to third party, fire and theft, getting rid of flood cover where there is no likelihood of flooding and reviewing sums insured to reflect the basis of insurance, e.g. do they need to be replaced as new or current value figures and reviewing anticipated future income and margins to reassess loss of income protection.

Chris Ridgers adds: “Make sure your insurance provider is aware of your efforts in investing in health and safety or preventing accidents and losses – this could help reduce your premiums. Ask yourself what risks you are prepared to take and what do you want to transfer to an insurer. The overriding message is to find the best way of saving money without putting the future of your business on the line.”

Insurance risks for South West holiday homeowners

Hundreds of holiday home owners across the South West could be unwittingly flouting the law by not taking compulsory insurance cover on their properties this summer.

Regional insurance firm Cornish Mutual, which has Members across Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset, says many people may be unaware employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement and holiday homeowners could face a costly claim or even a prison sentence if a member of staff is injured whilst working on or in their let property.

Latest figures* from the Health & Safety Executive show there were 28 fatal injuries to workers in the South West in 2007/08 and 2,337 reported major injuries in the region – Over two thirds (66%) were amongst workers in service industries.

Chris Ridgers, Business Development Manager for Cornish Mutual said: “Your employees may be injured at work and they might try to claim compensation from you if they believe you are responsible. It could be a cleaner who goes into the property on changeover day or a gardener you employ to maintain the property – anyone who’s working under your guidance and using your tools and equipment.”

Whilst public liability insurance is not a legal requirement, the cost of not having cover could amount to hefty claims from guests injured whilst staying in the property. With 20 per cent of all visitors to the South West choosing to stay in Self Catering accommodation**, it is important for property owners to make sure they have sufficient cover to guard against these risks.

Recent examples of claims experienced by Cornish Mutual include a guest who tripped over a step and fell onto a wood burner sustaining nasty burns and another guest who broke a number of bones after falling over a concrete mushroom in the garden. Other liability claims include damage to a property or its contents.

Malcolm Bell, Chief Executive of South West Tourism said: “We want all visitors to the South West to come to the region and have a safe and enjoyable time when they are here. There is so much to see and do in the South West and we are lucky to have some of the best self catering properties in the UK. Property owners need to make sure they do all they can to ensure their visitors enjoy their stay and this includes having adequate cover for their business.

“We would encourage property owners to take out public liability insurance to ensure they are covered should an accident happen.”

Iain and Gill Butterworth run specialist holiday homes letting agency ‘Holiday Homes & Cottages South West’, based in Torquay, Devon. Their Agency Agreement (legal contract between owner and the company) incorporates a declaration that the owner confirms that they have ‘adequate commercial public liability insurance’.

Gill added: “We recognise the importance of having insurance that is appropriate and offers the right level of cover. We, therefore, do not take on a new property before ensuring the owner has the right cover in place.”

Cornish Mutual’s Buy to Let or Let Property insurance products include holiday homes – this provides cover for buildings, contents and public and employers’ liability insurance. For more information visit www.cornishmutual.co.uk or call 0845 900 1288.

ENDS

*HSE, South West government office region (GOR), Statistics of occupational ill health, safety and enforcement 2007/08
**South West Tourism, South West Visitor Survey 2007

For more information, contact:

Melissa Ward
Cornish Mutual
01872 277151
mward@cornishmutual.co.uk
Visit the Cornish Mutual website at http://www.cornishmutual.co.uk

The importance of farm insurance

Insurance is something of a contentious issue at the moment, particularly in regards to the current economic crisis which is causing many of us to cut back on cover we do not consider essential.

However, with an increase in thefts and burglaries in rural areas of the UK, farm insurance is becoming more of a necessity – and companies are highlighting the customizable nature of their cover in a sector where each customer has different priorities.

Public Liability Cover
Despite the specific individual needs of each farmer and their business, public liability cover is often considered a certainty when it comes to taking out insurance for a working farm or farmland. The reason for this is simply because if anything should go wrong (i.e. damage, injury or worse) involving a member of the public, without insurance your business will be at risk.

Cover of Employees and Yourself
When it comes to insuring yourself and those who work for you, the law does not state that you must have cover for yourself or a member of your family. However, employers’ liability cover and personal accident cover are there to give you piece of mind should an accident happen that is your responsibility. Should you or an employee be unable to work because of an accident, then benefits will be paid should a claim be made.

Property Cover
Insuring your property against theft and damage is where farm insurance starts to become more tailored to your specific priorities, and the term “property” can mean anything from buildings, to machinery and vehicles, and animals (see below). With property insurance it is very much up to you to decide on which of your buildings (this can include your farmhouse outbuildings, barns) etc to cover, the type of cover you might need and excess levels.

Livestock Cover
Livestock (though I should specify that deadstock can also be covered by property insurance) is again a very customizable insurance sector and it depends on how much you want to spend and what type of cover you feel is most important. Consequently, livestock cover is very diverse, and you can be specific in what you want to cover your animals for, including: fire, lightning, injury, death, straying, and disease. More specialist types of livestock cover, i.e. bull insurance or horse insurance can cover other aspects such as infertility and theft of saddlery respectively.

There’s More to Beef than Aberdeen Angus

Aberdeen Angus has become a household name in the 21st Century. A few years back, in an attempt to impose a label of quality on their beef burgers, a popular restaurant began promoting the specific breed used in the production of their wares – and this was exactly what the world needed to convince them back to fast food. Subsequently, Angus beef has been advertised wherever possible as the “quality beef” and other restaurants have even changed their ingredients to keep competitive.

So what is so special about Aberdeen Angus and why is it important to know that there are more breeds of equal and better quality out there?

Scotsman, Hugh Reid, is often said to be the founder of the Angus breed after selecting black, hornless specimens (most notably Old Jock, his favourite bull, and Old Granny, a cow that lived until 35) from his herd in the mid 1800s. Most of today’s Angus cattle were descended from these two animals – and produce consistently high yielding marble meat.

However, today it is important to be aware of other pedigrees due to, amongst other things, livestock farmers insurance policies offering cover that might depend on the worth of livestock. As a consequence, it pays for new and young farmers to be aware that the purchase and insurance of Angus cattle might cost more than a breed of equal quality.

The Devon (sometimes known as the South Devon) breed of cattle, for example, is another pedigree that is well regarded primarily due to its heritage – with origins said to stretch back to prehistoric times. That said, it is only fairly recently that the Devon has been bred specifically for beef, with other types developed for milk. Like the Angus, in America the breed has been developed to be polled (hornless) – and producing excellently tender and tasty beef.

The French Limousin strain of cattle varies again – but proves that you don’t need to travel too far in order to find another quality but quite different breed. The Limousin is said to have originated in France thousands of years ago as historians have pointed out the physical similarity between today’s Limousin and the cattle drawn in ancient cave paintings. Today in France the breed is known as the “Butcher’s Breed”, and offers a high yield of beef with a low ratio of bone and fat.

Like the Devon and Limousin, there are many pedigree breeds originating from each country in each continent – and there are plenty for new beef farmers to choose from without the added popularity of the Angus.