It is now necessary to have compulsory insurance for garden tractors

The tractor belongs to the group of small vehicles to which the new obligation applies from April 1. This applies, for example, to electric scooters, but not to bicycles.

In the case of a garden tractor, the speed at which it moves is not essential, but its weight over 25 kilograms. However, an ordinary garden tractor usually surpasses this many times over.

If the owner mows the grass with a tractor on his own land, which is fenced off and inaccessible to the public, he does not need liability insurance. “The moment you leave this private space, for example, you go to take out the grass clippings, you must have liability insurance,” the Ministry of Finance said in the example.

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Finance

“If we take into account tractors, which are normally sold for garden purposes, the price of compulsory insurance with a basic limit of 50 million crowns comes out to 444 crowns per year,” Jan Marek, press spokesman for Generali Česká pojišťovna, told Novinkám.

He added that it always depends on the specific parameters of the person who takes out the insurance.

It started with an accident in Slovenia

The beginning of the change in legislation, which is based on the rules of the European Union, was an accident with a small tractor in Slovenia years ago. His driver did not notice the ladder by the barn and beat him and the man. He was seriously injured and, since compulsory liability does not apply outside of public roads, he did not receive insurance benefits. The matter then reached the Court of Justice of the EU.

Compulsory liability is intended to cover damages that occur in accidents with garden equipment even outside public roads, for example in parks or gardens with public access.

For example, the company Forests of the Capital City of Prague, which maintains the city’s greenery, has had garden equipment insured against damage for many years, according to spokeswoman Petra Fišerová. “So the new regulation of duties was not a big change for us, we only did a review to see if we were missing something,” she told Novinkám.

As stated on the website of the insurance company Kooperativa, for example, a registration plate is not required to insure a garden tractor, it is enough to report the production or registration number, make and model of the vehicle. So it works similarly to, for example, electric scooters.

Anyone who needs to drive a small tractor on the road, for example to the forest for firewood, should have paid the compulsory insurance earlier and also registered the vehicle as a type Z and secured a registration plate. However, if someone typically only crosses the road on the way from one building to another, they do not necessarily need a sign. However, they must apply to the municipal office for an exception and permission to use the road.

Just as for garden tractors, this obligation also applies to golf carts or snowmobiles.

A fine of 3,000 crowns can be imposed during an inspection for not taking out compulsory insurance. However, the far greater risk is if something happens. The insurance company could then recover from the owner up to the full amount of the damage caused. Even a tractor can cause a serious accident on the road with a bit of bad luck.