Rural Crime Report 2024
Standing strong together
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The impact of rural crime on our communities
As the UK’s leading rural insurer, we understand the true impact of rural crime.
Our Rural Crime Report provides a unique insight into trends and the cost of rural theft.
Every year we gather claims statistics, survey people in the heart of our rural communities and seek views from experts including the police to provide a detailed picture of rural crime’s financial and social impact.
NFU Mutual’s latest figures estimate that the cost of rural crime increased by 4.3% year-on-year in 2023, to £52.8m, as criminal gangs targeted farmyards and fields looking to cash in on continuing high inflation and ready resale markets domestically and overseas.
Rural crime is not a new phenomenon, but recent years has seen a rise in organised criminals targeting high value equipment on farms.
To help prevent crime and protect your property you can find advice in our 2024 Rural Crime report.
Download our Rural Crime Report 2024 [PDF: 998KB]
You can also find out how we are working alongside police, rural communities and our network of local Agents to tackle the issue. This includes spending over £1 million since 2021 to support initiatives to tackle rural crime and, in 2023, becoming a major funder of the new National Rural Crime Unit.
But we won’t stop there, and in the years to come we will continue the struggle against rural crime in order to ensure that our farmers and rural communities remain protected against criminals in difficult times.
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Farming Insurance
As the UK’s leading rural insurer, we're always looking for ways to keep ahead of industry trends, to ensure your farming business is in safe hands.
Whatever your farming insurance needs, whether smallholdings of a few animals, to larger more complex operations, we can protect your livelihood and your future.