Make a claim
The process of making a claim should be straightforward; if you suspect your bees are infected by a notifiable disease, place your apiary on voluntary standstill (meaning you should not remove any bees or equipment from the apiary) and contact your local Bee Inspector who will inspect your bees and confirm the presence or absence of the symptoms of a notifiable disease. Details of your local Bee Inspector can be found by entering your postcode in the search facility on the National Bee Unit's website.
You will need to have your eR2 membership number to hand when the Bee Inspector visits, so that a BDI claim can be filed. If you cannot remember your eR2 number, you can request a reminder by clicking here.
If a notifiable disease is confirmed by the Bee Inspector, the following actions may be taken:
If American Foulbrood (AFB) is present then the bees will be killed and the bees, comb, and wooden frames destroyed by burning.
If European Foulbrood (EFB) is present at a low level and the colony is large a shook swarm may be offered by the Bee Inspector, in which case the bees are transferred to a clean hive and only the comb and wooden frames will be destroyed by burning.
If EFB is present at a high level or the colony is small then the bees will be killed and the bees, comb, and wooden frames destroyed by burning.
In all the above cases all wooden hive parts not destroyed will be sterilised by scorching. The Bee Inspector will discuss the options with you and for further details please see the advisory leaflet ‘Foulbrood Disease of Honey Bees’ that can be downloaded from BeeBase.
The Bee Inspector will then create a claim form on the BDI system, confirming the existence of the infection of EFB or AFB and the action taken for destruction or shook swarm of the infected colonies and confirming the equipment destroyed. The Bee Inspector also makes an assessment, in conjunction with the beekeeper, to determine the condition of the equipment destroyed. This will be emailed to you as an online form; you must complete the online form and submit it to BDI within 30 days of the bee inspector's visit in order for your claim to be considered.
Upon receipt, the claim is registered and checked to ensure that it is fully completed and when the subscription was paid; if paid after 31 March, then the 40 day rule applies. Late payment of the spring and autumn return to BDI by the member association treasurer can also result in a delay to the claim being paid.
All colonies on a communal site must be covered by BDI for the claim to be valid.
Click here to view details of BDI Premiums and what is covered.
For the protection of all beekeepers, there have to be some terms and conditions in the scheme, but effort is made to accept and pay claims when there is a genuine reason for the late notification or insufficient cover.
Every effort is made to pay claims within 14 days subject to any necessary enquiries needed with the beekeeper or Bee Inspector and subject to holiday commitments. The BDI scheme is run on a voluntary basis by beekeepers and has no salaried employees. It is also dependant on the support of the member association treasurers who collect the subscriptions and on the National Bee Unit Bee Inspectors who quantify the losses.
Claims are rarely declined or repudiated, except when:
The infection was identified before the cover was taken out.
The quantity or details of equipment destroyed has been altered from that stated by the Bee Inspector.
There was gross and/or deliberate under insurance.