Gardeners with sit-on lawnmowers face buying motor insurance

[-:Undertaker:-]

Gardeners with sit-on lawnmowers face buying motor insurance

European ruling next month could force gardeners with ride-on mowers to take out insurance against accidents on private land

Could we soon be hit with an insurance bill for mowing the lawn?

Gardeners who maintain their lawn with a sit-on lawnmower could soon face paying £100 a year for motor insurance under regulations being considered in Europe.

Patrick McLoughlin, the Transport Secretary, has been told that all owners of ride-on mowers may be forced to pay for the cover, even if the vehicle never leaves their garden.

The issue stems from a European legal case involving a Slovenian man who was hurt after a ladder on which he was standing was hit by the trailer of a reversing tractor.

Motor insurers refused to cover the claim because it took place on private property.

The European Court of Justice, based in Luxembourg, is due to rule on the case next month but Mr McLoughlin had indicated he would fight any such change.

A source close to him said: "People have the right to expect to be able to cut the grass on private property without being clobbered for it.

"We have home insurance in place for these kind of things and it works fine. Once we have seen the ruling we'll take whatever action necessary to head off anything that hurts people's personal finances."

Senior EU legal officials involved in the Slovenian case have argued that motor insurance should cover vehicles being used in all situations, not just those involved in accidents which happen on roads or in public places.

As a result, motor insurance would become compulsory for certain vehicles which do not currently require cover, including sit-on lawnmowers.

Currently gardeners in the UK who use sit-on lawnmowers on their own property but never take them on public roads are covered for accidents under the terms of their home insurance policy.

Last year the Queen’s Sandringham Estate was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive after an estate worker suffered life-threatening injuries in a freak accident while driving a sit-on mower.

The man, in his 30s, fell into a lake and was pinned under the water for several minutes after the mower toppled onto him. He was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition but made a full recovery. No action was taken against the estate.

Insurers warned the ruling could cost gardeners an extra £100 a year in premiums.

Tim Price, rural affairs spokesman for NFU mutual, the insurer, said: “It would be likely to cost at least £100 extra a year to take out a separate motor policy, and that would be for a small mower.”

How did we ever cope without the EU? Then again, our own government is keen on this type of interference too.

The good news I guess to take from this though is that at least homeowners could simply ignore this pointless and stupid law, but it'll likely be harder for a business to ignore the ruling due to the hassle if you don't from the state statsi who will knock.

The more laws and regulation, the more devalued and worthless the entire lawbook becomes. And the less free we all become.

Thoughts?

[scottish]

who cares about lawnmowers get cyclists to require insurance.

[Alkaz]

who cares about lawnmowers get cyclists to require insurance.

.
This ^

Where I work we have a fleet of about 15 lawn mowers which are used to maintain a private golf course. Wouldn't surprise me if this was to be introduced that the fleet would have to be insured for a much larger sum per vehicle than £100.

- - - Updated - - -

who cares about lawnmowers get cyclists to require insurance.

.
This ^

Where I work we have a fleet of about 15 lawn mowers which are used to maintain a private golf course. Wouldn't surprise me if this was to be introduced that the fleet would have to be insured for a much larger sum per vehicle than £100.

[-Nick]

Every school has one or more sit on lawnmower. Thats going to be a heck of a lot of money for the government.

[Sian]

sooo... you dont need insurance to drive a car on private land... but you definitely need it to drive a lawnmower on private land.

Yeh you make complete sense EU, as always.

[peteyt]

Yet more stupid laws.

[GommeInc]

I'm 95% certain motor insurance would be ineffective for lawnmowers by the definition of motor insurance and its intended use - which is different to insurance for tractors.

Technically you don't need motor insurance for a tractor - anyone can drive a tractor on road with a driver's license and the tractor taxed. A tractor which was used in the above case is not a lawnmower for starters - it was a tractor. Unless some journalist idiot used the wrong word which might be likely. If it was a lawnmower the wonders of health insurance or the civil courts could come into play.

Motor insurance is really there for criminal liability (without it you're a criminal) for driving a car on a road and in this example it seems nothing more than a civil case. So I'm not convinced anything will come of it. I'd love to see teenagers who use lawnmowers be insured. It simply wouldn't work and would be impossible to enforce.

Also, not forgetting that we don't have to follow EU case law, which is what this would be. It's persuasive, not binding. There's no hint that a new law will be created (regulation/directive) but a decision on a case.