OSR. Is Hail insurance worth it ??

curlietailz

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Sedgefield
We've not had hail insurance, and none of us could recall the last bad hail storm that shed the rape out.

This year we copped for a sharp hail shower and I reckon it took a couple of cwt/acre off one field of rape.

So..... How many of you OSR growers have hail insurance..... Is it worth it ? And how easily can you prove hail seed loss of you are hit by a hail storm

NFU insurance.

Tjanks
 
I have insured when rape is on the most susceptible farm
1 year in 10 can get hail there

if rape gets hailed out the loss adjuster can easly tell no seed in the plant and all the plant standing except the pod and seed all on the ground

last time I insured the cost was 1 to 2% of the crop value

we had one 12 acre field that was too green to harvest so we left it a couple of weeks it got hailed out only 10 kg of seed off the whole field
wheat had 200 kg per acre loss from that storm

in the 1990s a farming friend had 2 tonne of wheat per acre lost on the floor cows were all bruised and car windows broken and broke all the roof lights on the sillage shed
 

curlietailz

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Sedgefield
Thanks for your reply.
I guess it's a risk /reward thing
1 year in 10 and 2% of the crop value means you can afford to "lose" 20% of the crop to hail once every 10 years.
Guess it depends how risk averse you're feeling
 

willy

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Rutland
I would say it is, I mean why do you spray for phoma, as that only hits once every ten years.

I like it I can sit peacefully knowing that hail isn’t knocking the osr out while on holiday a week before harvest when it normally occurs.
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
I think it cost us something like £600 to insure 50 acres of OSR. Certainly slept better knowing that £30,000 worth of OSR wasn't going to be lost in 10 minutes with nothing to show for it..

Growing just 25 acres I would probably risk it, as the loss to the business wouldn't be fatal. We have never had hail damage, but the neighbour has, and there was absolutely no seed left on the plants. It was 13% moisture and we decided to leave it over the weekend to dry a bit more. Wasn't worth combining it.
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
You can insure quite close to harvest, so if it's a bumper crop it might be worth it.

Swathing might save a bit of damage if hail strikes, as opposed to desiccated.
 

willy

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Rutland
I insured 300k this year for 5k. For me it makes sense as I’m highly geared and don’t fancy not being able to pay my mortgage because of a rouge storm. Everyone is different but definitely for me it’s one less what if.

One simple question. Could you afford to loose your osr crop. If yes then probably don’t, if no then I would.
 

spikeislander

Member
Location
bedfordshire
We do and it has paid too , and will continue to .
We spend more on certain sprays to gain a small yield gain so it makes sense to me to spend less to possibly save it all?
Brother in law lost 100 acres in 5 minutes it’s a sickening sight
 

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
Never had it but did loose over 100ac in a 30 min storm a few years ago

1.5t plus per acre became hardly worth cutting

I think the cost varies area dependant
 

rose pilchett

Member
Location
ie
Could also insure half fields and swath other half if doing reasonable acreage ? Assuming there's a reasonable swat hing contractor nearby. Hedge your risks a bit?
 

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