WFI Insurance Backs National Farm Safety Week

WFI Insurance Executive General Manager Andrew Beer said: "WFI Insurance is delighted to be an ambassador of Farmsafe Australia and we're proud to support the publication of its 'Safer Farms Report'. Our partnership with Farmsafe Australia aligns with our purpose, 'to make your world a safer place', and further deepens our commitment to helping agricultural communities better understand their risks and improving safety on farms."

As one of Australia's leading rural insurers, WFI Insurance has been managing farming risks for more than a century, and over that time, has garnered key insights on how farmers can better protect themselves and create safer work practices.

With 1,820 lives lost on Australian farms since 2001 and farming representing over one third of all national workplace deaths, WFI Insurance is sharing recent farm incident data with the aim to raise awareness around areas of heightened risk.

We see first-hand the adverse outcomes of when things go wrong on farms, where events can unfold quickly and often in remote locations. Many of the accidents we see are preventable, which can make it even more heartbreaking.

Andrew Beer

WFI Insurance, Executive General Manager

"While our data shows a reduction in incidents across some agricultural sectors over the past year, we have also seen horrific life-changing injuries, leaving devastation that extends far beyond the farm gate."

Over the past 12 months, WFI Insurance reports:

• Liability claims have fallen across most segments. Falls from heights are down 75% and impact injuries reduced by 30%.
• Farm collisions have fallen 7%, with an overall 23% reduction from four years ago.
• In WFI's workers compensation portfolio (WA only), overall incidents are down around 20%, with logging incidents seeing a dramatic 95% reduction. There was however a significant 40% increase in beef cattle farming incidents.
• The top four areas for farming incidents were:

1. Grain sheep and grain beef farming (52%)
2. Beef cattle farming (18%)
3. Road freight transport (17%)
4. Electrical (13%)

WFI claims data from the past five years shows:

• Knees have been the leading bodily location for injuries, followed by lower back and shoulders.
• Lacerations have been the main injury type comprising 32% of claims, followed by fractures (19%) and soft tissue injuries (17%).

Data highlights that key risk areas continue to centre around heavy machinery, large animals, and exposure to severe weather events, with farm property damage claims stemming from natural peril events increasing by 32% over the past year.

Fatigue and loss of concentration were frequently reported as contributing factors to machinery incidents, in addition to omitting important safety steps to execute tasks more rapidly.

Self-managed repairs to broken down machinery was recorded as a leading cause of injury, with examples of machinery not being properly disengaged prior to repairs commencing.

Behind these statistics are people, whose lives, properties and livelihoods have forever been changed. Safety must always be the central consideration when working on farms.

Andrew Beer

Aligned with the publication of the 'Safer Farms 2024 Report', WFI is releasing a special episode of its 'Good People to Know' podcast, featuring Chair of Farmsafe Australia, Felicity Richards who talks through the report's findings, and how she is leading the charge to improve safety habits on farms.

Mr Beer concluded: "We applaud Farmsafe Australia for the 'Safer Farms 2024 Report', and look forward to continuing to work alongside them to help protect the safety and wellbeing of farmers, their families and their farms."

To listen to WFI's 'Good People to Know' podcast featuring Chair of Farmsafe Australia, Felicity Richards, please visit: Harvesting Knowledge from the 2024 Safer Farms Report - Good People to Know | Podcast on Spotify

Farmsafe Australia's 'Safer Farms 2024 Report' can be downloaded below.