insurance

[greyman]

Latest news on the insurance debacle is that a mail has been sent to the brokers, Willis, and it asks for clarification and confirmation of the wording. It points out the RAP Ltd appears to be sending out a 'summary' document rather than the full policy document as received from Willis when asked for.

[greyman]

As a further update we have now recieved a mail 'clarifying' the wording in the policy. We will bring it and possibly further information to the meeting on the 8th.

[mikepepler]

We got our insurance for coppicing with Lycetts in the end. It covers both of us working on any land, not just our patch. Note we had to have chainsaw and tree felling qualifications to get it.

Mike

[tracy]

Hi Greyman, are you able and willing to put a little update on here, just what you brought to us at the meeting, so those who were not there don't miss out completely!

(of course, they really did miss out on a lot and they should come to the next meeting!)

[tracy]

If you have a pond in your woodland and you are insured with RAP, please can you contact them to check you are insured for pond accidents. Roger is trying to sort it out, but has a problem with his brokers. RAP website will soon be updated with more information and clearer wording. Thanks all!

Tracy

[greyman]

Tracy,

Can you say what has precipitated this request? I've had a look on the RAP site and there does indeed appear to have been some changes to the information there - but as for clarifying things I think it muddies the water even further.

Has anyone else out there found any better insurance (Public Liability)suppliers?

[tracy]

I was told that RAP were working hard with their insurers to make things clearer for us, and RAP were trying to get the insurers to look again at their water policy. I think it would be unfair to say too much until they get this sorted and I am sure we will be told more in due course. Just wanted to let people know that they might want to check if they have a large pond or something...!

[tracy]

The latest Smallwoods magazine has an article about insurance in it, anyone read it? Any thoughts?

[MikeC]

A few of us have joint ownership of some woodland backing on to the bottom of our gardens, and we are looking at RAP for public liability insurance at the moment.

We noticed that the RAP website indicates that :-

Advice from the Broker is that owners are expected to periodically inspect their properties and keep records of the dates and condition of the woods and trees. Remedial work should be carried out immediately on any suspect trees, etc., and it is advisable to employ a professional to survey the wood on an annual basis and provide owners with a written report.

Does anybody employ a professional to inspect and provide a report of their woodland ?

And is it expensive ?

Better go and introduce myself in the introductions section…….

Michael

[andy w]

Hi Michael,

As a professional (though not private sector) I would say that it is probably a good idea to get your woodland inspected on an annual basis by a professional! This is particularly relevant if your woodland is adjacent to public rights of way, roads, houses etc. (higher risk) as opposed to a woodland in the middle of nowhere with no public access. The advice you've been given sounds reasonable.

The cost will depend on the size of the site and the extent of 'high risk' areas. Typically it will probably cost £200 - £400/day to employ a professional depending on where you are and the level of expertise you require.

Go to www.charteredforesters.org to find a professional in your area.

Hope that helps.