Marina Conway, Western Forestry Co-op

The lovely dry hot weather, whilst very welcome, is a time for forest owners to be vigiliant with regard to fire risk and uncontrolled burning. A few dry days can dry out vegetation very quickly and the risk of forest fires increases dramatically. The main causes of forest fires over the past 5 years has been gorse and peatland burning, accidental fires and arson. Forest owners need to be very vigiliant and make sure their forest is insured as you are required by law to replant your forest if it is burnt and one of the largest costs will be the replanting costs.

The Forest Service Forest Fire Danger Rating is currently

RED – Extreme Fire Risk – Take Immediate Action be prepared!

Western Forestry Co-op (established in 1985) manages a group forest insurance scheme. The forest insurance scheme covers replanting costs up to a max of €3000/ha. For example if you planted 8 ha in 2007 and 6 ha of it burnt, the forest insurance covers the cost of replanting (up to €18,000), compensation for loss of growth on your 10 year old forest (approx €11,500 lump sum) and fire brigade charges are covered to a max of €15,000.

Our forest insurance scheme covers:

• Reconstitution (replanting costs)
• Loss of Value (timber revenue)
• Fire Brigade Charges
• Public Liability (optional)

For an insurance quote (quote this article to recieve a 5% discount) or more information on the Insurance Scheme, please call Sarah on 071-9161458.