Bee transport and insurance

[Jon]

If bees are being transported in a private car what are the insurance implications?
Are motor insurance companies happy to cover any bee related accidents while driving?
I presume the 3rd party bee insurance taken out as a member of an association provides some cover but if you asked a friend to transport a nuc from point A to point B and there happened to be a bee related accident, say bees escaping and causing a crash, who would be liable?
The insurance cover we have through the UBKA does not actually mention bees. It is just a general public liability policy.

[busybeephilip]

I usually put mine in a trailer as I have had instances were I have had to stop the car when a crownboard works its way loose, all the in fun of beekeeping.

Not sure legally where you would stand on this with bees, but, for example if you had a dog in the car then legally it must be restrained so that it can not interfere with the driver, then logically, if bees escape they are potentially interfering with your driving causing you to become distracted and so drive carelessly and the phrase " not pay due care and attention" comes to mind

I would doubt if UBKA insurance or even BBKA insurance would cover you for an accident where you were driving carelessly due to escaping bees.

This will be an interesting thread!

[busybeephilip]

Pet restraining in a car

http://www.rac.co.uk/press-centre/press-releases/one-in-four-motorists-break-the-law-by-not-restra

Thinking more on this - for the insurance to cover you, the hive must be secure so that contents can not escape and the container(hive) must also be secured to the "fabric of the vechile" so that it can not become dislodged and break apart in a sudden stop or sharp bend in the road. If bees escape into the car you must not drive

More : Bees are legally classed as both insects and animals

[Jon]

It's one of these situations where I imagine the company providing motor insurance might not have contemplated the transport of bees inside a private car.
The other issue is if the driver is not the owner of the bees and is moving them for someone else.
This happens quite often I would imagine as beekeepers tend to work together and share jobs.
Irrespective of any accident, might carrying bees in a private car invalidate motor insurance in the first place?
There are a few posters here who make some or all of their living via bees.
What way do you sort out bee transport? Is it different if you are running a business?

[busybeephilip]

try contacting bee farmers beefarmers.co.uk

I'm sure they know the answer

[Jon]

MBC or Pete-l likely have a fair idea about this.

[busybeephilip]

Why don't you just ring the insurance company, bees are classed an animals so the rules for dogs, cats etc must apply

[Jon]

All the beekeepers I know transport their bees in the car so if there is a problem there are a lot of people affected. the other issue is how motor insurance and the UBKA public liability insurance are interrelated.

[busybeephilip]

I use the trailer now. Bees are animals so must be restrained. UBKA insurance will not cover you for any car accident or event caused by bees escaping into the car whilst driving

i'd imagine there would be a bit of a buzz if there was an accident and the emergency services were prevented from doing their job cos of bees

[busybeephilip]

I was once, long time ago, stopped by the army at one of our popup road blocks while driving with a hive in the boot of the car. They wanted me to take it out of the boot and open it ( I assume they were looking for something more offensive), the box was clearly buzzing but as requested I opened the feed hole to show it contained bees, of course the bees rushed out and the army guys ran like hell, I was quicky told to drive on :)

[mbc]

Don't poke the hornets nest!
Business fully comp vehicle insurance covers contents, whatever, up to a specified value, and green flag offer an excellent break down recovery service where they will get your vehicle, plus anything you're towing, to destination.

[Jon]

So are all those hobby beekeepers who move bees in the car covered by the bog standard motor insurance?

[busybeephilip]

When they mean contents is covered they are referring to the value in case of loss - does not address the effect of the cargo escaping and would cover you in case of accident

Still a gray area.

As long as the bees are contained in a box that is strapped to the car so that it cant move around then it should be ok.

If one probes too much at this you might get an answer that you wont like

[Jon]

If one probes too much at this you might get an answer that you wont like

That's what I was afraid of!