Pollution

Pollution from farming activities – particularly if it runs into a watercourse – can cause enormous damage to the environment. In such situations, farm and land owners would be subject to rigorous inspection of their properties and potentially devastating punitive measures from the Environment Agency.

There are various ways in which pollution can occur on a farm and where it does occur, the Environment Agency will take pollution incidents very seriously given the toxic damage that can be caused and the harm flora and fauna can suffer as a result.

Inevitably the Environment Agency would get involved when there is a pollution incident and statutory costs will be brought on the land owner to remedy the situation. This can amount to a bill of upwards of £20,000. Where land is tenanted, statutory costs may be shouldered by the tenant, but the Environment Agency would pursue the land owner if the tenant did not have this cover in place.

Pollution can also occur due to gradually operating causes – such as when there is a slow leak from a slurry pit or cracked drain.

While sudden and unintended damage often falls under the cover offered with a standard landowner’s estate policy, the same does not apply to leaks that may have occurred over a period of time such as those caused by a fractured pipe or faulty valve.

This has been a very real problem for farmers and landowners, and several have suffered a significant financial loss because they were inadequately covered.

This area of insurance has become increasingly important and Lycetts has a specific policy to cover pollution incidents.