Asset insurance is essential

September 2025

YOUR FARM IS IMPORTANT TO YOU, REGARDLESS OF ITS NATURE OR SIZE. AS YOUR PARTNER IN AGRICULTURE, INSURANCE COMPANIES AIM TO OFFER ACCESSIBLE AND AFFORDABLE INSURANCE TO MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE IN HELPING YOU CREATE A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE.

Farmers today face significant challenges to protect their crops and assets. Unpredictable weather patterns, climate change and natural disasters are just a few of the many systemic risks they face to safeguard the things that keep their farm running.

Effective risk management is key. This means understanding the complexity of the industry and, with it, the need for a range of insurance solutions that adequately address enhanced production and technology.

Agricultural insurance can help farmers create a sustainable future through insurance solutions for their crops and assets.

PROTECTION FOR YOUR ASSETS
Insurance companies understand agricultural risks, which is why they provide insurance for your farm’s fixed and movable property against a number of risks:

• Property insurance for you and your farm’s movable property, buildings and contents, fences, silo bags, bunkers and goods in the open, plastic tunnels and shades, dams, poultry and fertiliser.
• Theft cover for farm shops, the contents of farm outbuildings, the contents of guesthouses and money.
• Vehicle insurance for your cars, bakkies, trucks, farm implements and fleets, and optional cover for the hiring of a private vehicle or light-duty vehicle (LDV).
• Cover against loss of use of vehicle, which includes your tractor, truck, articulated vehicle and combine harvester.
• Cover against damage to tyres of tractors, combine harvesters and agricultural implements.
• Transport contractor cover for farmers transporting goods that are not their own property.
• Cover for contract harvesting.
• Specialist solutions with cover against machinery breakdown and deterioration of stock.
• Personal accident insurance and stated benefits for the insured and/or employees.
• Business interruption cover against material damage, with losses on turnover or profit, including cover for specified and unspecified suppliers, customers and subcontractors.
• Wine policy with cover against contamination and pollution of wine stock.
• Livestock insurance with comprehensive cover for stud animals or limited cover for the herd.
• Game insurance with veld cover, auction cover and cover for transit, plus 30 days after offloading.
• Irrigation system insurance with comprehensive or limited cover, with indemnity based on replacement value.
• Public liability insurance with options of fire-extinguishing charges to prevent the spreading of fire from your farm to outside your borders, as well as cover against product liability and hunter’s liability.

Public liability cover
The public liability section provides cover to the insured party for damages. This includes costs/expenses that he/she may become legally liable to pay as a result of injury or damage in the course or in connection with the business.

Everyone living in South Africa is aware of the high losses suffered by farmers due to the devastating effects caused by spreading veld fires. This becomes a particular hazard at the end of the winter, when the grass is extremely dry. While most farmers may choose not to insure their own crops and grazing land against veld fires, they may find themselves in difficulty if a fire spreads from their land onto a neighbouring property.

If the neighbour suffers damage in the form of loss of buildings, livestock or even crops, he will most certainly seek to recover the loss from the farmer from whose land the fire spread. It is for this potential legal liability that farmers require liability insurance cover for fire and explosion, more commonly known as spread of fire cover. It should be noted that this extension is subject to the National Veld and Forest Act (Act 101 of 1998).

Goods in transit and marine cargo insurance
Am I getting the best cover?

Insurance discrepancies can be costly for farmers and often result from ill-advised insurance coverage. It is essential that the farmer consults with accredited intermediaries who understand the nuances of the agricultural environment.

Publication: September 2025

Section: Pula/Imvula

Author: SANTAM AGRICULTURE CONTRIBUTOR