Fidelity Life gets in behind new farmers

27 August 2018

Kiwi owned and operated life insurer Fidelity Life is helping new farmers keep their business going if illness or injury strikes early in their careers.

Key Person Cover for Farmers is designed especially for farm owners, managers, sharemilkers and contract milkers who are new to the industry.

Adrian Riminton, Fidelity Life’s Chief Distribution Officer, says the early years in business for new farmers can be financially risky and involve high debt levels.

“If illness or injury strikes them or a key employee and they’re unable to work, they could struggle to keep their business going. Key Person Cover for Farmers helps cover the cost of a replacement while they recover.

“The sustainability of the rural economy relies on new talent coming through. Previously it’s been difficult for this group, particularly if they’re young, to apply for income protection or key person cover because they don’t have enough business experience or the financial track record.”

Farming is considered one of New Zealand’s most dangerous industries. According to Worksafe and ACC, farm workers are more likely to have serious accidents than the people they work for. About 20 per cent of farm accidents are caused by manual handling, with injuries to the lower back and spine the most common and most expensive.[1]

“With its less onerous application criteria, we expect this new cover to have real appeal. Farmers are already under financial pressure, and it’s important for new farmers in particular to have insurance protection in place to ensure their business continues to function when they can’t,” says Mr Riminton.

Fidelity Life’s launch of Key Person Cover for Farmers closely follows its financial relief offer for farmer customers impacted by Mycoplasma bovis and reinforces the company’s long-standing support for the rural sector.

Key features

• Especially designed for new or young farm owners, managers, sharemilkers and contract milkers.

• Helps cover the cost of a replacement if disability or illness strikes the farmer or a key employee

• To apply, farmers only need 12 months’ experience and must meet other revenue and ownership criteria.

• This is an agreed cover contract - no financials are required at claim time.

• There are no ACC offsets, meaning the farmer can still get ACC and it won’t affect the benefit amount.

• Please refer to the factsheet for further details.

1 https://worksafe.govt.nz/topic-and-industry/manual-handling/preventing-manual-handling-injuries-fs/

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/94430021/rate-of-farm-worker-accidents-higher-than-that-of-employers

https://www.acc.co.nz/assets/injury-prevention/acc7179-farmers-data-dude.pdf

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