With a wet winter and a dry spring, 2020 didn’t start well for the farming community. It continues to be difficult too. Uncertainty around subsidies continues apace and pressure on farms to manage soil is increasing – not least due to the concerns around flooding. Suffice to say that managing a farm is not an easy task before you even consider COVID-19.
As financial strain mounts, it’s important to ensure that your farm insurance is adequate to your needs. There are specialist insurance products that support farmers. Hail cover can help protect crops for example, whilst others cover machinery and liability risks. Unfortunately, when it comes to flooding there are fewer options. Whilst farmers are amongst the most conscientious when it comes to extreme weather, insurance support can be hard to come by.
FloodFlash was developed to remove the uncertainty from insurance and provide a simple solution to British businesses. This is no truer than of farms, which can benefit from FloodFlash rapid-payout cover in many ways. Here are the top five reasons why it’s worth considering FloodFlash if you manage the farm insurance for your business…
Land management and farming practices are integral in managing flood risk. That is often because they sit within flood catchment areas. But whilst farmers across the country are changing the way they work, the rewards are sometimes less obvious.
Being as they are “in the line of fire”, farms often exhibit high flood risks – particularly when nearby urban development causes flood water to change course. When flood risks increase, many insurers increase prices or add excesses to farm flood insurance policies. Some even remove flood cover entirely.
FloodFlash provides farm flood insurance quotes that can sit next to the primary farm insurance. Even properties with multiple historical floods can request a rapid-payout insurance quote so farms no longer have to operate with no flood cover.
FloodFlash flood insurance can be used for any commercial property, no matter the usage. If the address that is on the quote is used not primarily a residential address FloodFlash can provide insurance.
Here are some examples of the properties that FloodFlash can help protect:
FloodFlash can be used for any permanent premises, regardless of what it is used for. Only homeowners can’t access FloodFlash currently. Everyone else can request a quote.
Flooding has an immediate impact on farms. Often they require weeks of work to prepare for and weather a storm, that’s before the recovery begins. When livestock or crop stores must be moved the bills can quickly mount up – particularly if you’re using alternative premises or buying in feed.
When flooding causes short term costs the last thing a farm needs is a long and drawn out claim. Traditional insurance often takes months to settle in full. This doesn’t support the business though, because wages, tax bills, equipment and land rental costs all continue during that wait. Slow payouts can cripple a farm’s finances for a long time even if the right cover is in place.
FloodFlash is different. On Sunday 9 February, Storm Ciara swept across the UK. By the end of the following day FloodFlash had paid claims in full. This meant that those clients did not have to spend valuable time negotiating with insurers. Instead they could concentrate on the most important thing – getting the business operational again. No waiting, no haggling.
When you choose FloodFlash for your farm flood insurance, there are no restrictions on how you use the money. You are full control of your recovery from start to finish. You can assess the damage then apply the funds as you see fit. This may mean deploying more staff, organising alternative locations or hiring equipment. FloodFlash claims can also be used to cover intangible losses like lost sales or reputation damage.
Some FloodFlash clients use their claims money to invest in flood defences. That way they are more protected from any future floods that come their way.
Farmers are very aware of the risks they face from adverse weather conditions. It is common that the most risk-aware amongst the farming community use flood defences to protect their most important assets. Floodgates, pumps, landscaping… all of these contribute to making property more resilient. FloodFlash rewards those efforts with the option for a cheaper premium.
When you quote for FloodFlash you choose two things: the flood depth that you want to cover and the amount of money you receive when flooding reaches that depth. If you choose a higher depth (as a result of having installed flood defences like flood gates) then the comparative flood risk for the quote is lower. This makes the premium significantly cheaper. In other words, if you manage your flood risk, you can manage the price of your FloodFlash policy.
Farmers across Britain are turning to FloodFlash for their farm insurance. If you want information, or to request a quote, visit the homepage or contact us via your broker.
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