| Motors
“ Field Trip ” ... ERS ’ s agriculture team visit Kimberley ’ s father ’ s farm
Kimberley Dodd - Swansea team
Giving farmers one less thing to worry about in the ever-changing agriculture sector
Change is afoot in the farming industry . These are fascinating times within agriculture , with the sector facing a raft of challenges and opportunities , including the pros and cons of evolving areas of growth and of course , the ongoing dicsussion around Brexit and farm subsidies .
E
RS has specialised in the provision of agricultural motor insurance policies for over 50 years and has an established team of specialist underwriters based at its London offices who deal exclusively with agriculture brokers and complex farming risks day to day . However , it has recently launched a new , dedicated agriculture operations unit , creating a bigger team that will be even more responsive to brokers and customers wanting easy access to its farming operations .
As Kimberley Dodd , assistant underwriter within the new team explains , “ Many of us in the agriculture operations team have our own personal connection with the sector . In my case , my Dad grew up on a farm when he was a young boy and a year ago he made the leap into ‘ Farmhood ’ once again and bought a smallholding , with 10 acres of land . Having seen first-hand the time he ’ s put into organising the estate and making sure that his machinery and equipment was fit for purpose I can understand just what farmers have to contend with in addition to the day-to-day running of their farms .”
The agriculture operations team supports ERS ’ s established agricultural underwriting specialists who create bespoke motor policies for high-value agricultural vehicles as well as large rural estates . Based in Swansea , each
58 | Farming Monthly | October 2017 member of the new 14-strong team has been given specialist training in the specifics of dealing with agricultural cases ; including providing quotes , handling renewals and responding to claims within a certain reported timeframe .
“ The moment a broker calls us , they know they ’ re speaking to someone who understands the industry inside-out ,” says Kimberley . “ The processes for compiling agriculture polices and handling claims differ significantly from those for standard motor insurance and being a dedicated team means that we can focus purely on our agriculture business . There is always someone here that can apply a specialist lens to an issue .”
The increasing presence of new and advanced machinery on farms , alongside more traditional vehicles , and with the growth of socalled ‘ agri-tourism ’, presents different risks should anything break down or malfunction . The vast majority of farmers have insurance policies for exactly this reason .
According to Kimberley , “ Having a father working in the industry certainly instils that sense of detail as I appreciate that for our brokers ’ customers their farm IS their livelihood so they need us to be thorough when it comes to their specific requirements . When you have that perspective on things it helps you think outside the box when looking at an individual case . This manifests itself in a number of ways , including the way we ’ re able to construct our policies – to make a policy which is often multifaceted in terms of the cover it provides , easy for farmers to reference and manage .”
As a broker-only insurer , ERS have made it their business to help agriculture brokers ensure that their clients are equipped with policies that fit their needs .
“ Farmers may always be at the mercy of unpredictable external factors – particularly around major seasonal moments such as harvest time – but they deserve to have absolute certainty that vehicles and machinery will not let them down at this critical point in the calendar year ”, notes Kimberley .
It ’ s an exciting time with new ideas and technology bringing a fresh vibrancy to the sector , but as the pace of change continues to accelerate , more than ever before , speed and efficiency of service is a must for any insurance provider . The creation of ERS ’ s dedicated agriculture team is a response to this customer need to ensure they can support all types of farming operation - however complex or diversified - giving busy farmers-cumentrepreneurs one less thing to worry about as they build successful and sustainable businesses .
To find out more about ERS go to ers . com
www . farmingmonthly . co . uk