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The months from May to October mark the time of harvest of all kinds of products from the field and that is when we can find more tractors while driving. It is also the time of the year when these large and slow agricultural vehicles are more exposed to suffer a road accident. Therefore, today we are going to stop to analyze the Insurance for Tractors, the most outstanding characteristics of this type of policies and the coverage that can not be missing when insuring a tractor.
A tractor is a robust and powerful agricultural vehicle, with the ability to generate traction to drag or push trailers, farm implements and various types of heavy machinery. The speed, strength, adaptability and easy handling of tractors make them an indispensable agricultural machinery for performing field tasks.
It is currently difficult to imagine agriculture without the use of these huge and versatile machines, although using a tractor, like any other heavy agricultural machinery, has its risks. More than the profane of the field imagine.
In fact, accidents due to the overturning of tractors are among the accidents that cause the highest mortality in the agricultural sector. It is estimated that, every year, between 60 and 70 people lose their lives in Spain as a result of a tractor accident. A fact that, by itself, justifies the fact of contracting a Tractor Insurance with the appropriate coverage. Although there are more reasons that make it necessary.
Do I Need to Insure My Tractor
Indeed, Tractor Insurance is mandatory. Tractors, in addition to agricultural machinery, are registered motor vehicles and the law establishes the obligation to insure the tractor with Compulsory Civil Liability Insurance, known as Circulation Insurance or Third Party Insurance.
This Insurance covers the civil responsibility for the material and personal damages that the insured may cause to third parties with the tractor in case of accident. This coverage that must be in force to drive our tractor is the same as that required for cars, motorcycles and trucks.
However, due to the size and driving characteristics of tractors, this coverage has an important relevance that goes beyond the need to have it in force in order to drive the tractor without problems.
In fact, in Tractor Insurance the RC is the coverage on which most market policies are based, as we will see below.
What are the coverage of Tractor Insurance?
In Spain, there are more than 860,000 tractors and agricultural machinery vehicles with Insurance and the vast majority of them basically include Circulation Insurance and some more coverage. They are not complex policies, since they are very conditioned by the agricultural use made of the tractor.
In addition, there are no major differences in the coverage offered by companies in their offer of Agricultural Machinery Insurance, and it is the user himself who usually requests additional guarantees, especially in the case of new tractors or machinery that has special characteristics.
When talking about the most common Tractor Insurance guarantees, it must be assumed that the Compulsory Civil Liability Insurance is present in 100% of the policies. It seems obvious, but in this case it is relevant, because it is also the coverage that generates more parts in this type of heavy vehicles.
In addition, in this case it is convenient to extend the Obligatory Insurance guarantee with the coverage of Voluntary Civil Liability, to cover almost all claims.
Legal defense and damage claim
Apart from the RC, the coverage that is most contracted in Agricultural Machinery Insurance is that of Legal Defense, which is included in 86.2% of tractor policies, according to UNESPA data.
In addition, the Damage Claim guarantee is also very contracted, a coverage that can be found in half of the Tractor Insurance in force, approximately.
With both coverages, a farmer would have the advice of the insurer to defend themselves in litigation for the damages caused by the tractor and to claim the damages caused by another person in an accident. Of course, we must pay attention to its limitations and cases that are outside this coverage.
Driver’s Insurance
Another guarantee that is important to have in our Tractor Insurance is the occupant coverage or Driver’s Insurance. It is a guarantee that is present in more than half of the tractor policies and is highly recommended because it offers coverage to the driver in the event of an accident.
It must be remembered that tractors, despite their size and robust presence, are vehicles that have a characteristic driving and that pass through fields and large slopes, during the work carried out in the field. In this sense, the overturning of tractors is a relatively frequent accident and very dangerous for the driver of a tractor.
Therefore, the basic insurance of a tractor should have, as a minimum, the coverage of compulsory and voluntary Civil Liability, legal defense and claim of damages. And of course the driver accident guarantee.
Other coverages that we can find in the companies’ offers to insure a tractor are:
Card withdrawal coverage
The license withdrawal guarantee is present in 1 out of every 10 tractor policies in force, which is normal, as it is a vehicle that is used as a work tool by farmers and professionals.
Losing the license means not being able to work and the Insurance offers various benefits to alleviate this situation or helps to solve it, financing the course to recover the traffic permit.
Fire and Theft
Coverages normally included in an Extended Third Party Insurance can also be contracted for the tractor. Although the truth is that it is not the most common.
In the case of Fire and Theft Insurance, this presence is even lower, since tractors insured in case of fire are barely 3% of the insured park, and there are fewer tractors with Robbery Insurance (2.6%).
Optional coverage to insure tractors:
Civil Liability derived from agricultural work or RC Exploitation
This coverage of RC Exploitation guarantees the payment of the indemnities that have to be paid by the insured or the authorized driver, when they are declared civilly liable for damages caused to third parties for accidents or incidents related to the agricultural works that we carry out with the insured tractor.
Roadside assistance
Roadside assistance coverage for tractors is an optional guarantee that can get the farmer out of a problem in the event of a breakdown and left lying on the road or in the field itself.
According to the insurer’s offer, the assistance will cover the insitu or workshop repair, as well as the transfer and rescue of the tractor.
Own damage
The coverage of Own Damage covers the damages that the tractor may suffer as a result of an accident occurred:
- On circulation.
- Resting.
- During transport.
- During the performance of agricultural work
Hiring insurance for a tractor
The Insurance Tractors are much cheaper than other policies of heavy vehicles, for less than 90 euros it is possible to ensure a tractor with the necessary tools to work with and perform agricultural work with security guarantees.