Having living creatures under insurance is a unique requirement for many farms. If your farm primarily makes money from animals and cattle, you could face heavy financial loss if something happened to your livestock. Without the appropriate insurance, you could face replacing your livestock and cattle out of pocket, which can be incredibly expensive.
Thankfully, many farm insurance policies come with the option of livestock insurance.
What Does Livestock Insurance Cover?
Livestock insurance can cover the farm’s livestock in case they are injured or killed due to accidents such as:
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Fire
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Lightning
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Explosions
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Smoke
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Riot or civil commotion
Types of livestock covered under this insurance include cattle, buffalo, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, horses, bison, deer, llamas, alpacas and more.
There are also endorsements you can add to your livestock insurance to cover other incidents such as wild animals. If coyotes attack and kill your cattle, a wild animal endorsement can help compensate for replacements.
There are also other coverages available for attacks by dogs, accidental shooting, drowning, loading or unloading accidents, additional acquired livestock and falling objects.
What Does Livestock Insurance Not Cover?
Unfortunately, livestock insurance can’t cover everything when it comes to your farm animals. In general, livestock insurance does not cover the death of an animal caused by old age or disease. If your cattle ages and dies of natural causes, it may not be covered under a basic livestock insurance policy.
There are different types of livestock insurance policies in regard to animal mortality, however: limited animal mortality and full animal mortality.
A limited animal mortality coverage policy covers the death or injury of livestock and cattle covered by many of the above incidents, such as fire, collisions and vandalism.
A full animal mortality coverage policy, on the other hand, can cover accidental and natural damages such as illness and sickness. Full animal mortality coverage does not cover preexisting conditions or injuries and death caused by the owner, such as an accidental shooting of the cattle by the owner.
Your farm insurance needs may differ from your neighbors’ depending on your livestock and specialties. Be sure to shop around, compare quotes and ask insurance agents questions so that you can find the best farm insurance and livestock insurance policy to protect your farm from accidents.