This year NFU Mutual celebrates 100 years of its Cornish network of farmers who support the rural community by valuing livestock and crop insurance claims.

NFU Mutual local assessors are highly regarded farmers who are appointed to ensure that local farming practices and prices are accurately reflected in farmers’ claim payments.

Three of the local assessors from across Cornwall - Roger Finnimore, Rob Hemmings and Roger Treleaven - met NFU Mutual Director, Jim McLaren MBE, where they were thanked for their service and received certificates marking 100 years of the insurer’s local assessor service.

NFU Mutual was set up by seven farmers in 1910 with a working capital of just £190. Local assessors are a long-standing feature of the company's local claims service. Minutes of a board meeting in 1919 record the decision to appoint four local assessors per county.

Today, there are 168 local assessors covering the whole of the UK using their farming expertise and knowledge of local prices to value farmers’ claims.

As well as working on claims with larger values, the local assessor role has evolved over the past century to reflect the challenges that farmers face. They have seen a shift in the types of claims they are being called out to – from spontaneous combustion in hayricks and deaths of shire horses a century ago, to fire-damaged silage and pedigree cattle today.

Jim McLaren MBE, company Director, presented the local assessors’ certificates and said: “When faced with difficult circumstances, it’s reassuring for farmers to be supported by their peers.

"Thanks to our local assessors’ experience in farming and agriculture, our customers can rest assured they will be receiving a fair valuation from someone who knows what they are talking about.

“The fact that we have been using these experienced professionals for 100 years shows that it works. We are grateful to our local assessors for the expertise and support that they provide to our customers, our local agent offices and our claims service as a whole.”

Awarded an honorarium for work carried out, many are retired or semi-retired farmers with a strong agricultural background and knowledge base while others are active farmers.

Roger Finnimore is one such assessor and an active farmer, serving the NFU Mutual Agent office in Launceston since 2002 and Halwill Junction for many years.

Roger explained: “I took over from my father, who served as a local assessor for many years. Having farmed all my life, with experience in dairy, beef and sheep, the variety of the role appealed to me.

“As a local assessor I’ve broadened my knowledge of different farming practices and I’ve always tried to keep on the pulse with market prices. Local assessors bring the personal touch to the claim and they’re there to ensure people are treated fairly.”

Roger is called upon to deal with the full range of livestock claims, from minor injury or death of an animal, to larger claims involving flocks or herds and even property damage. He’s often required to travel to hard to reach sites, on behalf of NFU Mutual, where his local knowledge and experience is a real asset.

Cheryl Valter Agent at NFU Mutual in Launceston, said: “Our local assessors are an extension of NFU Mutual’s local team, people with a background in farm business who understand the market and are trusted within the farming community. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement for both us in the office and the farmer out on the ground.

“Roger has been working with our team for 17 years and we rely on him, and our other assessors, to support us with claims advice, particularly involving livestock. He is a real asset to the agency and our customers.”