Land Insurance for falling trees

[WoodyWoodyWoody]

Hello guys,

We have a non-commercial small holding with a mixture of grassland and woodlands and have recently been told that liability lies with us if any damages were caused by fallen trees.

The problem is that the woodland run adjacent to a railway line and we also have a number of trees along the edge of a main road.

We currently DO NOT have any insurance of any kind on the land.

If a tree was to fall on the railway line and we were held liable then it would wipe us out financially which is obviously not good.

My question is what sort of insurance we need and any ball park figures on price?

 

[Goweresque]

Hello guys,

We have a non-commercial small holding with a mixture of grassland and woodlands and have recently been told that liability lies with us if any damages were caused by fallen trees.

The problem is that the woodland run adjacent to a railway line and we also have a number of trees along the edge of a main road.

We currently DO NOT have any insurance of any kind on the land.

If a tree was to fall on the railway line and we were held liable then it would wipe us out financially which is obviously not good.

My question is what sort of insurance we need and any ball park figures on price?

I think you are only liable for trees/branches that fall if they are considered a prior hazard - ie ones that are dead and diseased, and the landowner has done nothing about it. Landowners are advised to regularly inspect their trees, and take appropriate action to fell/remove any that pose a risk to the public/neighbouring landowners. If they can show that they have done this, then any accident caused by falling trees/branches would not be their fault. It is likely however that should an accident happen, you probably would end up in civil court over it, as the victim(s) would be seeking recompense from someone and the only people who can decide if you had acted correctly would be the courts.

https://www.withersworldwide.com/en-gb/landowners-liability-for-falling-trees

As for insurance, I assume landowners public liability insurance would cover such events - it will cost about £500/yr, as there is usually a minimum premium, insuring an acre of land will cost the same as 100.

 

[Dry Rot]

Public liability for a small holder/farmer is surely essential, not least if stock escpes and causes an accident. Then there is employers liability if anyone else works on the holding, even if unpaid/voluntary. Yes, it horrendously expensive for a small place but worth it for peace of mind.

 

[WoodyWoodyWoody]

Hello guys,
Yes I completely agree with needing the insurance, it's something we'd thought about but never did. However, that will now change. Thanks for that link Goweresque.

Somebody saw another one of my posts on the same subject and has pointed me in the direction of NFU so I will make contact with them and go from there.
They also mentioned the importance of have detailed inspections by a seasoned tree surgeon on each tree even with the insurance to prove we have done everything in our power to ensure the trees are not a potential hazard.

Thanks for your response.

 

[Davey]

You just need a tree survey from a professional tree surgeon. He will recommend any remedial works (which you will need to have done) then get them back every year to update the report.

We had a huge oak (6ft wide) flatten a commercial property next door during a summer storm. The tree was healthy with no concerns about it so their insurance had to pick up the tap as it was classed as an act of god.

Only thing it cost us was a couple of hundred pounds a year for the tree reports.

 

[Davey]

You should however have public liability insurance for stock etc.

 

[chipchap]

In more general terms it is always wise to insure against any risk that would result in your financial ruination.

 

[Penmoel]

Try NFU Mutual they have just brought out a new SmallHolder insurance, likely to be expensive which should pick up all the liabilities you need.

https://www.nfumutual.co.uk/farming/farm-insurance/farm-essentials/

The trouble with some of their "package policies it may well charge you for a lot of covers you may never need

For a perhaps more competitive quote try Farmers & Mercantile, or Country and commercial insurance brokers, both regularly deal with small holding iinsurances, google their local office.