Machine and front
Damage to the header and its front or comb, generally scheduled as separate values.
Harvester And Header Insurance
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Harvester And Header Insurance
Cover for combine harvesters, fronts and comb trailers at harvest.
Header fires are the defining risk. A bearing, a belt or chaff on a hot exhaust can put fire into a standing crop within minutes, and if it runs onto a neighbour's country the liability dwarfs the machine. Everything else follows from a very short season: the machine has to run in a narrow window, and downtime costs the crop, not just the repair.
What is it?
Combine harvesters, generally called headers here, cut, thresh and separate grain in a single pass. Case IH Axial-Flow, John Deere S and X series, New Holland CR and Claas Lexion machines are the most common across Australian cropping regions. Fronts, whether draper, rigid comb or corn head, are high-value items in their own right and travel on separate comb trailers.
What does harvester and header insurance cover?
Machine and crop fire
Machine fire and fire that escapes into the standing crop, the leading harvest claim.
Road travel and comb trailer
Damage while moving between paddocks and properties, including the front on its trailer.
What affects the cost?
- Machine and front values
- Crop type and harvest region
- Fire fighting unit carried at harvest
- Contract harvesting versus own country only
- Distance travelled between properties
Worth raising on the call
- Carrying a fire unit and observing harvest bans is both a legal and an underwriting expectation.
- Fire that escapes onto a neighbour's property is a liability question, not a machinery one.
- Contract harvesting across other properties changes the risk and generally needs to be declared.
Claims we are commonly asked about
Chaff fire around a hot bearing
Chaff builds up around a bearing running hot on a forty degree day and the machine is destroyed within minutes. Blow-down routines, extinguishers and any on-board suppression system are typically examined closely during assessment.
Draper front hits a hidden rock
A draper front takes a hidden rock at speed and the knife, drapers and frame are damaged mid-harvest. Whether this is paid usually depends on the front being scheduled as a separate item with its own stated value.
Machine damaged in transit
A header or comb trailer is damaged while being moved interstate during a contract harvest run. Transit and oversize movement is generally a distinct part of the cover from damage occurring while the machine is working.
Worth confirming in the wording
- Worth confirming that fronts, comb trailers and precision guidance equipment are scheduled separately with their own values rather than assumed to sit inside the machine's figure.
- Worth confirming whether contract harvesting on other people's property is a declared use, since it is generally rated differently to harvesting your own crop.
- Worth confirming what fire suppression, blow-down and fire-danger-period requirements apply, as these can operate as conditions rather than recommendations.
Common questions
Is a header covered while working on someone else's farm?
It depends on whether contract harvesting has been declared as a use. Harvesting for others changes the exposure, adds road transit and brings potential liability for damage to the client's crop or property. Contract crews should confirm both the machinery use and the liability position before the season starts.
Should I insure a header for agreed value or market value?
Agreed value fixes the figure in advance, which suits high-value machines in a second-hand market that moves. Market value settles at what the machine was worth at the time of loss, which can land well below expectations. The right basis depends on age, finance requirements and how often the fleet is turned over.
Does the policy cover the lost crop if the header burns mid-harvest?
Not automatically under the machinery section. Damage to standing crop from a machinery fire is generally a crop cover question, and the cost of hiring a replacement machine or a contractor is a different item again. Both are worth raising specifically before harvest rather than after a fire.
What does header and harvester insurance cost?
It depends on make, model and engine hours, the front type and its separate value, whether you contract harvest or only cut your own crop, fire suppression and blow-down routines, interstate travel, and the excess chosen. Fire history and suppression equipment carry real weight on this class of machine.
General information only. Cover, limits and exclusions depend on the PDS, TMD, eligibility, underwriting and the policy terms. See mobile plant machinery insurance for the wider picture.
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