Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Farmers urged to prepare for another Storm Arwen

Storm damage at shed at Whim Farm, Lamancha, By West Linton, Peeblesshire. Image: Struan Nimmo
Storm damage at shed at Whim Farm, Lamancha, By West Linton, Peeblesshire. Image: Struan Nimmo

One year on from Storm Arwen, which caused massive damage to farms and rural businesses in Scotland and the north of England, farmers are being urged to be as prepared as possible in the event of a repeat.

While many farm buildings and equipment will be subject to insurance against storm damage, there are still some practical measures farmers can take to ensure claims are met as intended, according to independent insurance broker Stuart Torrance.

“The level of storm damage that occurs to buildings can grow exponentially when they are poorly maintained, simply because their structural integrity is already compromised when the storm hits,” said Mr Torrance.

His business, H&H Insurance Brokers, handled 130 storm-related claims, with a combined value of more than £1 million, at the end of November last year.

“Depending on the severity of the storm, insurers can, and sometimes do, dispute whether damage to buildings has been caused by the storm. And, in some cases, can question if the storm was the primary cause of damage.

“This is especially true when there is evidence of an underlying lack of maintenance.

“This can lead to insurers either refusing a claim on these grounds or potentially only offering a contribution towards the damage if they believe a proportion of the damage was due to the storm itself.

Make sure insurance valuation is up to date

“Our advice to insurers is always to make farmers aware of their responsibilities, such as maintaining their buildings, which is paramount ahead of storms. It really is all about being prepared, by making sure that buildings are in as robust a condition as possible when the storms do arrive.”

Another self-help step is to make sure the insurance valuation of at-risk buildings is kept up to date.

“This is even more critical now, due to the rapidly rising cost of raw materials such as wood, steel, and other items,” said Mr Torrance.

Conversation