By Gareth Smallbones, Manager: Agriculture at Safire Insurance
Safire Insurance Company Limited started its relationship with our country’s farmers in 1987, and continues to provide specialist cover as protection against the challenges and demands of this highly-specialised and diversified market sector.
Safire’s origins are rooted in requests from local timber-growers, who were battling to source affordable plantation cover at the time. Having started as an innovative insurance co-operative, our successful history is the basis for our longstanding association with the agricultural sector. We are proud to be able to offer diverse options in terms of our agri-insurance products.
The Safire Farming Policy is a combined short-term policy that offers flexibility and the convenience of being able to insure both domestic and farming assets on the same policy. The basic cover plus extensions allows our clients to choose the level of cover and self-insurance that best suits their particular risk profile and needs, under the following sections of cover:
- Domestic: Houseowners; Householders; Personal All Risks; Pleasure Craft.
- Farming: multiple risks including but not limited to Fire; Buildings Combined; Business Interruption; Machinery Breakdown; Agricultural Irrigation; Theft; Pedigreed Animals; and Unmanned Aerial Systems.
- Liability: Personal Liability; Public Liability
- Motor
The Safire Dairy Policy has been specifically designed to cater for the unique insurance requirements of the dairy farmer. Our Dairy Policy is also a combined policy, and offers the convenience to insure domestic, dairy and farming assets (including livestock, centre pivots, fodder, solar panels etc) on the same policy.
In addition to the cover listed under our Farming Policy above, the Dairy Policy offers the following extensions:
- Contamination of own milk
- Loss of grazing
- Theft without forcible entry from dairy parlours
- Theft of dairy cows
In addition to the above products, through the administration of the Safire Co-op, Safire Insurance also provides access to specialist cover for farmers’ plantations, sugar cane, and a wide selection of orchards.
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PLANTATION
This is where Safire’s history began, and we are proud of our continued reputation as the experts in this area, providing one of the highest levels of cover available for damage caused by fire, lightning, and explosion to standing timber plantations and/or harvested plantations while in-field or at a depot on the insured’s property.
Other extensions that are available include:
- aerial bombing cover;
- debris removal cover for non-salvageable timber that has to be cleared before replanting;
- cover for landowners who have contractors operating on their property.
Our Plantation policy also offers comprehensive public liability cover, including spread of fire, products, pollution, and employer’s liability.
SUGAR CANE
Safire Co-op started its sugar cane fire insurance once again in response to the requirements of our farming clients, with basic or extended cover as follows:
- Mill closure only: (covering loss of cane whilst in-field only if a loss occurs whilst mills are closed for the annual shutdown period);
- Standard tonnage: (covering loss of cane whilst in-field at the time of the loss only and no compensation for further loss of profits/growth);
Further extensions include aerial bombing, harvesting and transport costs – unique to the Safire Co-op Sugar Cane product.
ORCHARDS
Our decades of experience in agri-insurance have enabled us to fine-tune our offering in line with the changing needs of the local marketplace, and Safire Co-op offers the widest and most flexible orchard tree cover available in SA.
We provide fire, wind, storm, and hail cover for several orchard tree types, including nursery stock. Farmers can choose to insure for all input costs (accumulated to the year of first production) or cover only the re-establishment costs. Fire cover can also be extended to the annual fruit or nut harvest.
Tree types covered include:
- Macadamia
- Pecan
- Citrus
- Avocado
- Vineyards
- Olive
- Deciduous fruit
In line with our slogan, “Short-term insurers, long term partners”, Safire’s diversified agri-insurance options make it easy for farmers to be protected by a specialist insurance expert that understands the marketplace and their requirements.
Please contact me on gsmallbones@safireinsurance.com if you have any queries.