Mutual & Federal announces enhancements to leading agri product

Mutual & Federal, a member of the Old Mutual Group, has announced enhancements to its agricultural asset insurance product, Agriplus. These include the option of replacing traditional geysers with energy-efficient ones, cover for temporary repairs after a loss and protection against the limitations imposed by the Road Accident Fund Amendment Act.

“These improvements to our Agriplus product represent another milestone in our endeavour to continuously provide exceptional insurance solutions to farmers,” says Andries Wiese, group manager for Mutual & Federal Agri, which insures 36% of all South African commercial farmers’ agricultural assets, making it the leading insurer in this sector by a large margin.

“Agriplus offers a wide range of cover options to insure personal and farming business risks within one product,” he says. “It caters for the insurance needs of modern farmers, helping them manage their businesses in an unpredictable industry.”

The short-term insurer believes ongoing involvement with the farming community is important to keep abreast of the changes and challenges in the agricultural environment, enabling it to provide solutions to real problems and not only to what it perceives to be client needs.

Mutual & Federal Agri is also involved in various initiatives aimed at supporting farmers, the organised agricultural sector and agricultural schools.

Agriplus enhancements include:

Special replacement of geysers option

In the case of total loss of a geyser due to an insured peril in terms of the houseowners section, the conventional geyser will be replaced with a solar or gas geyser. As various systems are available, the company is not prescriptive in terms of the limit chosen. By offering this option, Mutual & Federal aims to make a long-term contribution towards the preservation of energy resources and reduction of household power consumption.

Temporary repairs and measures after a loss

Should farmers need to do temporary repairs or take interim measures following an event defined in the policy, such as a flood or robbery, the costs associated with these are now automatically covered, up to a maximum amount.

Protection against limitations imposed by the Road Accident Fund Amendment Act

The limitations imposed by the Road Accident Fund Amendment Act may give rise to shortfalls in the case of a serious accident, with accompanying serious financial implications, and hence there is a need for additional insurance protection. The Agriplus policy now features various extensions and options under the Group Personal Accident and Stated Benefits sections to enable clients to obtain additional cover.

Electronic equipment used for precision farming option

A variety of additional options are now available to insure electronic equipment used for precision farming.

Fire extinguishing costs for spread of fire option

Another new option includes cover for all costs (with chosen limits) incurred for any fire extinguishing methods necessary to prevent fire spreading to any third party property - in a pro-active manner, as opposed to the market practice of first going through a legal process.

Mutual & Federal is one of South Africa’s leading short-term insurers.