By STAN MADDUX

Indiana Correspondent

DES MOINES, Iowa — Most farm-related insurance claims for one major coverage provider in 2017 involved motor vehicle accidents; next was workers’ compensation claims for injury or death.

The statistics are from Nationwide, a Fortune 500 company billed as the top farm insurance provider in the United States. Nationwide is also one of the largest and strongest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the nation.

Ryan Whittington, a spokesman for the Columbus, Ohio-based company, said the report detailing the top 10 accident claims was the first time the firm compiled such a list. The purpose is to educate farmers and others in agribusiness about costly trends in the industry and what can be done to increase safety.

“By sharing our top claims data, we hope to help agribusiness owners recognize areas of their operation that may need increased safety precautions,” said Carol Alvarez, vice president of claims for Nationwide. “These national trends can help business owners pinpoint areas where they can take extra measure to keep their employees, products and equipment safe.”

Misapplication of chemicals or drift ranked third, followed by slip-and-fall related injuries and food-related claims. Next was damage or bites caused by animals, glass breakage, wind damage, hail or lightning damage and fire damage or loss.

According to the report, the top 10 claims with Nationwide totaled more than 50,000 over the past three years. More than 20,000 of those claims were from motor vehicle accidents. The most common kind were rear-end collisions, backing into vehicles and accidental strike of a stationary object.

The report also showed accidents causing the most significant damage were overturned vehicles, head-on collisions and accidents at intersections. In its report, Nationwide also recommended the following risk management tips for reducing motor vehicle collisions and injuries:

•Embrace safety technology by equipping vehicles with collision mitigation and telematics monitoring systems

•Develop standard hiring criteria for drivers, comprised of new-driver orientation and documented training

•Develop “safe following distance” and “distracted driving” policies that include comprehensive training and procedure enforcement

•Be aware of advanced safety benefits in newer trucks, such as electronic stability control systems to prevent overturn

•Provide additional documented training for commercial truck drivers with tanker endorsements, and those carrying high center of gravity loads

Chris Hurt, an agricultural economist at Purdue University, said some farmers – as much as they care about safety – might not follow suit with recommendations for equipment upgrades.

Instead of outfitting an older piece of machinery with the latest safety technology or buying new equipment already with those features, he said farmers tend to be more interested in technology to help increase the efficiency and profitability of their operations.

A sprayer, for example, that uses fewer chemicals to cover a field might have more luck opening a farmer’s pocketbook, especially now in a struggling agriculture economy. Hurt explained farmers often perceive safety equipment as a feature, not a necessity, that’s not worth driving up their operating costs – especially if they view the risk of harm as slight or minimal.

“Now, if manufacturers can convince them they can save money or this technology has a chance of paying for itself, farmers will potentially buy into that,” he added. “They’re businesspeople. They view their tractors and farm equipment as tools for making a business return.”

He recalled how the agriculture industry fought government mandates close to a half-century ago for guards over devices like conveyor belts and PTO shafts, a decision that has proven to save lives.

Hurt also said he’s not surprised motor vehicle crashes rank high on the claims list because of all of the equipment on farms and how those pieces of machinery have to mingle with passenger vehicles on sometimes congested public roadways.

“Does everybody get a hail storm every year? No. Some do, but it’s smaller than 1 percent. I think it would make sense that would be the biggest category,” he said.

Steve Simmons, vice president of Agribusiness Risk Management for Nationwide, said investing in safer technology does increase operating costs but prevents injury, and many insurance carriers provide discounts for the latest in advanced equipment. Liquids, in particular, can be difficult to transport and if there are problems with leakage or hauling such materials on trailers susceptible to rollover, carriers will often demand new technology as a condition for coverage – or at least strongly suggest new technology be explored.

He also said wasted product is expensive and could affect yields adversely, and having better equipment protects the environment and shows responsibility for being good stewards of the land.

“If your product is drifting onto others’ property, that is wasted product not performing its intended purpose,” Simmons said.

According to the National Safety Council, the use of protective equipment such as guards on machinery and seatbelts on tractors could prevent up to 40 percent of all farm work injuries. The NSC recommends making accident prevention both a management and personal goal on the farm.

 Doing things like developing an awareness of hazards on the farm and knowing in advance how to respond to emergencies like vehicle accidents, fire and chemical exposure can save lives and reduce injuries, but it also reduces claims and insurance costs, NSC said.

It added that developing a response plan is especially critical on farms and other rural locations where emergency response times and distances to the nearest hospital are often greater.