Fly-tipping is an increasingly common problem, with some extremely disturbing recent examples resulting in significant financial burdens on farmers. Unfortunately, land managers, occupiers or owners of private property are responsible for clearing and disposing of any fly-tipping found on private land.
One way in which you can protect yourself is by organising suitable environmental liability cover, not only protecting you from incidences of fly-tipping but also other pollution risks such as fuel tank bursts, spillages into watercourses and other contamination.
When environmental legislation came into force in March 2009, Farmers & Mercantile (F&M) immediately recognised the implications for farmers. The Environment Agency (EA) now has robust laws to uphold and will prosecute those that do not take their environmental responsibilities seriously.
Farmers are therefore being scrutinised like never before, and so it makes sense, where possible, to insure against such potential losses. F&M’s Enviro-Poll product protects farmers against the costs associated with a pollution incident, including those caused by fly-tipping.
By law farmers are now responsible for the clean-up costs whether caused by accidental damage or by illegal dumping of rubbish.
Most standard liability policies will not have the right type of cover. Policies with clean-up costs limited to approximately £30,000 may not even scratch the surface, particularly if you are unfortunate enough to find yourself being prosecuted by the EA for a disaster.
Enviro-Poll also covers for business interruption. For example, if access to your premises is restricted due to a pollution incident, and you are unable to use a building as a result, the business interruption cover will help towards the costs of renting space in a suitable building until full access is resumed.
Enviro-Poll has been underwritten by a specialist environmental insurer and specifically designed for farmers.
Call 01423 325 354 or visit www.fandmgroup.co.uk for details.
