Farming: 2010 came and went in a blizzard of claims says NFU Mutual

Severe winter weather made 2010 a bad year for NFU Mutual

The damage caused by sub-zero temperatures and heavy snow in December has left rural insurer NFU Mutual with a bill for more than 34 million for farm building repairs.

"Coupled with the very cold spell in January 2010, December's icy blast has made 2010 the worst year in our 100-year history for cold weather claims," said chief claims manager John Kenny.

"The arctic weather conditions in December led to almost 6,000 claims, expected to cost over 34m, to homes, farms and businesses, including 749 claims from Scottish farmers for a total of 7.16m."

The worst affected areas in both January and December were North-east Scotland and north-east England, where snowfalls of over two feet led to hundreds of farm building roofs collapsing under the weight of snow.

"The heavy snowfalls caused a trail of collapsed buildings," said Kenny. "After a long run of mild winters, 2010 has been a reminder that ice and snow can wreak tremendous damage."