South West farm safety campaign lands national award

Clare Green from Cornish Mutual collects the award from Jeremy Vine
Clare Green from Cornish Mutual collects the award from Jeremy Vine

South West rural insurance company Cornish Mutual has scooped a national award for its work in raising awareness of farm safety.

Cornish Mutual’s 'FarmSafe' campaign won Best Campaign in the Public Interest at the third annual Public Interest Awards, run by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and held at London’s Christ Church.

The BBC’s Jeremy Vine presented the award after judges praised Cornish Mutual for FarmSafe’s success in informing and benefiting the insurer’s Members, as well as the wider farming community.

Cornish Mutual beat off strong competition from two insurance industry giants to pick up the award, having been shortlisted alongside Ageas UK’s Road Safety Campaign, and former winners Axa Business Insurance for its campaign; Everyone Makes Mistakes.

'Health and safety on farms an important issue'

Alan Goddard, Managing Director for Cornish Mutual, said: "Health and Safety on farms is such an important issue for us, a rural insurer, as well as for our Members and their friends and families, for whom accidents can have truly devastating consequences.

"It is good to have the issue itself and Cornish Mutual’s work in this area recognised at a national level, but we won’t be resting on our laurels.

"It is clear from the number of people that took part in FarmSafe that there is an ongoing demand for events and practical demonstrations to help keep farmers up to speed with changes in the law, new regulations and, most importantly, to share their experiences and best-practice."

At the heart of the FarmSafe campaign was a series of free farm Health and Safety workshops which aimed to support and educate the South West rural community which Cornish Mutual serves.

These were part of ongoing efforts to reduce serious injury and death in farming, the highest risk industrial sector according to the Health & Safety Executive.

The insurer worked with farming organisations and groups across the South West, as well as the local media and agricultural press, to increase awareness.

The campaign was also backed-up by a targeted social media and digital campaign. The company also used the events to help train and engage its own employees in the issues and to understand farmers' concerns and needs.

The company is currently delivering a series of Health and Safety workshops across the South West, with events welcoming over 60 attendees on average.

Cornish Mutual has more than 24,000 Members across Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset, and is the only general insurer based in the South West offering insurance to farms, businesses and individuals.

In 2015, the rural insurer’s Field Force team visited over 12,000 Members across the South West, with a combined travel distance of 240,000 miles.