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Tractor and agricultural vehicle insurance

Your farm is your livelihood, so finding financial protection for your tractor and agricultural vehicles is vital. Take a look at the different insurance options available to you.

Kim Jones
Kim Jones
Updated 30 August 2023  | 7 mins read
Reviewed by Jasmine Hembury

Information on this page was reviewed by our fact-checkers before it was published. Learn more about our fact checking process and our editorial guidelines.

What is tractor and agricultural vehicle insurance?

Tractor and agricultural vehicle insurance covers smallholding and farm vehicles from incidents like theft and fire damage, as well as insuring you for accidents.

Whether you’ve got a digger or a combine harvester, tractor and agricultural vehicle insurance can cover your farm vehicles for incidents on your own private land and on public roads.

You might be able to cover some vehicles used on your farm, like vans, 4x4s, pick-ups and other commercial vehicles under a van insurance policy instead, particularly if you use them primarily on the road.

Key points

  • Tractor insurance can cover your trailers too
  • Agricultural insurance is different to agricultural vehicle insurance, covering your farm buildings and their contents
  • You don't need a licence to drive a tractor on private land

What is agricultural vehicle insurance?

While tractor insurance is designed to cover just tractors, agricultural vehicle insurance gives wider cover - it can insure all of your farm vehicles under one policy. This could include tractors, combine harvesters, sprayers, all-terrain vehicles, quad bikes, diggers and top-loaders.

Agricultural vehicle insurance isn’t the same as agricultural insurance.

Agricultural insurance covers all forms of crops, grain in-storage and other types of agricultural produce, plus buildings and livestock. But it doesn’t cover vehicles.

Types of tractor insurance

The level of tractor insurance you need depends on what you want to be covered for, how you use your tractor and whether it’s used on public roads. There are three main levels of tractor insurance:

Third party only (TPO) - This only covers other people making claims against you, for example if you injure someone or damage their property. It doesn’t cover loss or damage to your own tractor.

Third party, fire and theft (TPFT) - TPFT insurance includes claims from third parties, as well as damage to or loss of your vehicle as a result of fire or theft.

Comprehensive cover - Fully comprehensive includes everything under TPFT, as well as cover for your vehicle if it's damaged or lost due to an accident or vandalism.

What does tractor insurance cover?

It can include cover for:

  • Damage, theft or loss of the vehicle itself and possibly trailers, accessories, and implements.
  • Windscreen damage.
  • Any belongings you have inside and spare parts.
  • Vintage tractors, which covers vehicles that are used by hobbyists or taken to agricultural shows. Your tractor will need to be over 25 years old to qualify.
  • Some policies specifically cover machinery manufactured before 1990.
  • Personal accident cover - pays out if you’re seriously injured in your tractor.
  • Motor legal expenses - provides legal assistance to help recover losses after an accident that wasn’t your fault, or to defend you in court if someone brings a case against you.

Read the policy documents carefully to see exactly what you're covered for.

It’s also worth noting that you might be limited to a certain annual mileage with standard tractor cover. But commercial tractor insurance can come with no mileage limits - suitable for those who farm over large areas or use their tractor to transport goods.

Off-road agricultural vehicles, including tractors, don’t usually need to be taxed, but you should check to make sure.

You might also be able to use rebated fuel (‘red diesel’), which is cheaper than standard petrol or diesel, but you can only use your tractor for agricultural work, such as cutting hedges or verges, in that case.

What isn’t covered by tractor insurance?

Tractor insurance can exclude the following:

  • Damage to the internal machinery caused by material or matter which the vehicle is designed to process.
  • Mechanical, computer or electrical failure - though the policy may cover damage from fire caused by an electrical fault.
  • Depreciation of the tractor.
  • Normal wear and tear through use.
  • Damage to tyres by punctures and cuts.
  • Damage or theft that happened because you didn’t take reasonable care - for example if you left the keys in an unattended tractor.

What does agricultural vehicle insurance cover?

Whereas tractor insurance will only cover one specific vehicle, agricultural vehicle insurance can protect a range of farm vehicles including:

  • Combine harvesters
  • Diggers
  • Cranes
  • Trucks
  • Tractors
  • Bailers
  • Top-loaders

It may also extend to private vehicles like quad bikes.

What isn’t covered by agricultural vehicle insurance?

To cover your farm’s home, outbuildings, contents, livestock and horses, you’ll need an agricultural or farm insurance policy, which isn’t limited to just vehicles.

You may want to consider business cover if your farm hosts B&B guests or is used as a wedding venue.

SORN

If your tractor is off the road, you can get a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) which means you won’t need to tax or insure it anymore.

HOW CAN I GET CHEAPER TRACTOR INSURANCE?

  1. Increase your voluntary excess

    This can reduce the cost of your tractor insurance – but only do this if you can afford to pay it in the event of a claim.

  2. Driving experience

    Adding young drivers aged under 21 years old, inexperienced drivers, or those who have driving convictions to the policy can increase costs.

    Adding named drivers to your policy who are experienced and have clean driving records can help to reduce premiums.

  3. Keep your tractor safe

    Insurers may offer discounts if a tractor has a Thatcham-approved security device like an alarm, immobiliser or tracking device fitted. And keeping your tractor locked in an outbuilding overnight and installing CCTV can help lower premiums too.

  4. Check your tractor's market value

    The value of your tractor affects the price of your insurance. Be sure to check it when it’s time to renew, so you’re not overvaluing it and paying more than you need to.

How to improve your tractor security

Agricultural vehicle theft is a big problem as tractors are relatively easy to sell on. They go for a lot of money and are difficult to trace once broken down for parts.

Here are a few things you can do to improve your tractor security:

  • Make sure your tractor’s locked and never leave the keys in the ignition when it’s unattended, no matter how rural your farm is.
  • Don’t keep valuable items inside.
  • Invest in an alarm and/or tracking system.
  • See if you can register your agricultural vehicles with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
  • You can get security markings for vehicle parts that’ll make them harder to sell on and easier to recover if you’re a victim of theft.
  • Think about installing CCTV - it can deter would-be thieves.

Frequently asked questions

It depends on the insurer and the level of cover you choose.

Tractor insurance is a legal requirement if you drive your tractor on public roads. But even if you only use it on your own land, you should consider it.

A tractor is an expensive piece of equipment. Consider how you’d manage if yours got damaged in an accident or was stolen. It’ll cost a lot to repair or replace and you may not be able to manage without it.

With tractor insurance you’re also protected from third party risks - so if someone gets injured by your tractor overturning on your land, for example, you’re covered.

Yes, you can take out a specialist insurance policy to cover a classic or vintage tractor that’s 25 years old or more.

This sort of cover could be suited to a tractor that’s used for farm shows or rallies.

You’ll need to let your insurer know exactly what the tractor is used for so it can be covered correctly - for example, if you hire it out for weddings, it’ll need to include cover for hire and reward.

If you have a large farm and multiple agricultural vehicles, you can insure them all together under a single fleet policy. Mixing and matching may be possible too - insuring tractors, combine harvesters, mowers, 4x4s, diggers, quad bikes and even private cars all together on one policy.

There may be a limit on how many vehicles you can insure under one policy though.

A fleet policy will usually work out cheaper than insuring all your agricultural vehicles under separate policies. And with just one renewal date each year, it cuts back on a lot of admin.

No, tractors that are used for agriculture, horticulture and forestry are exempt from roadworthiness testing, so you don’t need to get an MOT.

It’s your duty to ensure your tractor is roadworthy before using it on a public road though. And that it’s safe and in good working order when using it on private land too.

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