Farmers have risk on their radar

Following the success of the Risk Radar for smash repairers- which won the United Nations Association Triple-Bottom Line Award in 2005- this year CGU launched a Risk Radar for farms.

Farmers have a unique set of issues and have one of the highest rates of injury and death at work. Risk Radar for farms features user friendly online tools to help farmers identify and reduce their risks relating to safety, environment, property, liability and farm continuation.

Since farmers have access to the Risk Radar through their CGU agent or broker, a team from CGU did a whistle-stop tour around regional Victoria and NSW asking farmers and intermediaries to test the Risk Radar.

“It was great to get out there and talk to farmers," says Allan Tomkins, CGU Safety and Risk Consultant. "In one trip we travelled 2,000km taking in locations like Wee Waa, Narrabri, Trundle and Dubbo.”

“Farmers told us that safety on farms is a big issue - and tackling it properly is a real challenge for them with such limited and remote resources. Intermediaries told us they welcome Risk Radar as a tool they can be involved with to help their clients reduce risk.”

CGU's Regional & Rural Teams then rolled out the Risk Radar to intermediaries via a series of roadshows. It is available to customers who have a Country Pack policy with CGU.

By helping farmers reduce their own risk, the Risk Radar should also help reduce the number of claims. The online tool also helps set CGU apart and provides a competitive edge.

So far there have been about 3,000 registrations for the Risk Radar product, which became available in June.

CGU has also joined forces with the NSW Police and Crimestoppers to encourage the rural community to report stock and equipment theft and other farm-related crime. More than two-thirds of NSW farms experienced some form of property crime between 1999 and 2001, but only 23 per cent of farm crime is reported to police. Fear of retribution and being seen as a “dobber” are believed to play a significant role in under-reporting rural crime.

CGU is funding a 12-month campaign by NSW Police to raise awareness of the Crimestoppers service in rural NSW and the introduction of dedicated Rural Crime Investigators.

CGU's Head of Regional and Rural business, John Evans, said CGU would be able to use its experience as Australia's largest rural insurer to help raise awareness of rural crime, and to prevent it.

“We're here to pay claims, but it's even better to prevent them occurring in the first place.”

“Working with the community to reduce rural crime will help make insurance cover more affordable. Improved affordability will also help address the significant issues of under-insurance and non-insurance in rural communities.”