Insurer counting the cost of farm building roof collapses

The enormous snow drifts and heavy snowstorms which lasted for much of March can be attributed to approximately 16 insurance claims for each day of the month, NFU Mutual said.

Last month’s huge volume of claims included those from Yorkshire farmers and the total is a 75 per cent increase on the number of claims made to the insurer in March last year.

Tim Price, rural affairs specialist at the insurer, said: “The situation has been most serious in Northern Ireland, followed by the Isle of Man, then Yorkshire, Lancashire and North Wales. Scotland had a lot of snow but we’ve received fewer claims probably because they are more used to the extreme conditions. Most claims relate to damage caused by roofs which have collapsed under the weight of the snow.”

It was not just dated structures that suffered, he said.

“We are seeing about a 50-50 split between classes of modern farm buildings with steel cladding and more traditional farm buildings with wooden beams and slate or stone roofs, so there is an ongoing concern that the specifications that are in place for farm roofs are good enough.”

A significant number of claims involve stored machinery, produce and livestock but Mr Price said he was not aware of any livestock being killed by falling roofs. To protect against similar incidents in future, he advised farmers to ensure structures are well maintained.

“It’s very difficult to say whether these were freak storms or part of a pattern involving climate change but it certainly makes sense to maintain both modern and traditional buildings carefully to ensure they kept to their original strength and when planning new buildings to make sure that their design includes provision for a considerable depth of snow cover,” he said.

Farmers can take solace from the prospect that spring may finally have sprung, according to Met Office forecasts.

A spokesman said: “The good news is that temperatures have lifted from the exceptionally cold figures from the start of the month and much of March to much more towards something like average for England at this time of year, which is just over 12 degrees Celsius.

“On Sunday temperatures may reach 16 or 17 degrees Celsius. It’s not summer weather but it’s much milder and looks like this for the next week at least, although temperatures may tail off on Monday to much more like the average.

“The 30-day outlook shows changeable weather for the North with a mixture of sunshine, showers and cloud; typical spring weather.”