Farm Insurance Providers
9 rural insurers and brokers for UK farms, plus a plain guide to what cover a livestock farm needs, what is compulsory and how to compare quotes.
This page lists 9 rural insurers and brokers, each checked against its own website, then explains what cover a livestock farm needs, what is compulsory and how to compare quotes. Ask each for the same cover and sum insured so the quotes can be compared like for like.
No paid placements. Run a UK business that fits here? Email hello@farmhq.ai with your business name, area covered and website.
What farm insurance does a livestock farm need, and what is compulsory?
Only one cover is compulsory for most farms, and only once you employ someone: employers' liability insurance. Everything else is a choice, so decide it by asking which loss would put the farm out of business. For a livestock farm that usually means a fire in the buildings, a serious injury to a visitor or worker, and losing machinery or stock.
Work from your own list, not a quote form. Write down what you own, who you employ, who comes onto the farm and what you could not replace out of the bank. Take that list to whoever quotes. A policy that matches it beats a cheaper one with a gap you find at claim time. This is general information, not insurance advice, so ask your broker or insurer what suits your farm.
Do I need employers' liability insurance if I only employ family?
Often not, but the exemption is narrower than it sounds. The HSE guide for employers says you need not insure if all your employees are close relatives, as listed in section 2 of the 1969 Act: spouse, civil partner, parent, grandparent, step-parent, child, grandchild, stepchild, brother, sister or half-sibling. It adds that this does not apply to family businesses incorporated as limited companies.
So a partnership paying only a wife and a son may be outside the rule, while the same farm run through a limited company is not. One employee outside that list, such as a nephew, and you need cover. Where it applies, the minimum is £5 million, from an authorised insurer. The GOV.UK page covers England, Scotland and Wales, so check HSENI in Northern Ireland. Our guide to employing family on the farm covers the payroll side.
What do the usual sections of a farm policy actually cover?
A farm policy is built from sections, and the names vary between insurers, so read the wording.
- Public liability: injury or damage to people who are not your employees, such as visitors or contractors.
- Employers' liability: injury or illness to your staff, often a section of the same policy.
- Buildings and contents: barns, sheds, yard and what is stored in them. Ask whether the sum insured is the full rebuild cost.
- Machinery: tractors, implements and quads. Ask how it treats machinery used on the road.
- Livestock: loss of animals from named causes. Ask which causes, and how each animal is valued.
- Business interruption: lost income while you cannot trade after an insured event.
How do I compare farm insurance quotes and read the exclusions?
Compare like with like: the same sums insured, the same excess and the same sections. A lower quote usually means less cover or a higher excess, so ask for the full policy wording and read the exclusions and conditions first. That is where the usual trap sits. Check which causes are named, what conditions you must meet, whether contractors and casual labour are included, and whether a shortfall in the sum insured cuts the claim.
Business policies also put a duty on you. Under section 3 of the Insurance Act 2015, you must give the insurer a fair presentation of the risk before the contract is made: material facts disclosed clearly, and factual statements substantially accurate. Say what the farm really does, including any shop, holiday let or contracting side.
Should I use a broker or go direct to an insurer, and how do I check them?
The businesses listed above include insurers and a broker. An insurer sells its own policies; a broker arranges cover for you and may approach more than one insurer. Ask each how it is paid, which insurers it approaches and who handles a claim. Get the answers in writing and compare them side by side.
Whoever you choose, check them before you buy on the FCA Firm Checker and Financial Services Register. Confirm it is authorised for the service you want, match its contact details to what you were given, and avoid anyone marked revoked. The FCA says that with an unauthorised firm you usually cannot complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
What records help with a claim and a renewal?
A claim is only as good as your proof. Keep the policy schedule, wording and employers' liability certificate together. HSE says there has been no legal duty since 1 October 2008 to keep out-of-date certificates, but strongly advises keeping a full record, because some diseases appear decades after exposure.
For stock, a current livestock holding register shows what was on the farm. For buildings and machinery, keep invoices, serial numbers and dated photos inside proper farm bookkeeping records. Decide who else can reach those records, so a claim does not stall when one person is away. Having it to hand also speeds up renewal.
What do farmers actually ask?
Can I claim farm insurance premiums as a business expense?
For sole traders and partnerships, GOV.UK lists insurance among allowable financial costs, and you can claim only the business share of anything with private use. Limited companies claim under Corporation Tax rules. Our guide to farm expenses explains the test. Ask your accountant about your own policies.
What happens if I employ someone and have no employers' liability cover?
GOV.UK says you can be fined £2,500 every day you are not properly insured, and £1,000 if you do not display the certificate where employees can reach it or show it to inspectors. Get cover from the day the first employee starts, and keep your farm wage records in order.
Do volunteers, students and unpaid helpers need separate cover?
HSE says insurers will usually cover unpaid students, volunteers and work experience pupils under an existing employers' liability policy, but you should tell your insurer if they stay long or do work outside your usual business. Child workers have their own limits, set out in our family employment guide.
Can an insurer refuse an employers' liability claim over a policy condition?
Not on certain grounds. Regulation 2 of the 1998 Regulations bars conditions that end cover because you failed to take reasonable care of staff, broke health and safety law, or did not keep specified records. That covers employers' liability only, so read the conditions on every other section yourself.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Employers' liability insurance
- HSE: Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, a brief guide for employers
- Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, section 2
- Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations 1998, regulation 2
- Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations 1998, regulation 3
- Insurance Act 2015, section 3 (duty of fair presentation)
- FCA: How to check a firm or individual is authorised
- GOV.UK: Expenses if you're self-employed