Does Farm Insurance Cover Cattle?

Farm insurance is a term used to refer to the many different types of insurance policies that may be available for farms. One common type of farm insurance is livestock insurance, which can help financially protect a farm owner against losses related to their livestock. 

What Does Livestock Insurance Cover? 
Coverage details are unique to every specific policy. Livestock insurance can typically cover the farm’s livestock in case they are injured or killed due to accidents such as: 

• Fire
• Lightning
• Explosions
• Smoke
• Vandalism and theft
• Collision with a vehicle
• Overturn of a vehicle (while in transportation) 

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. Other coverages that may be available include policies that cover attacks by dogs, accidental shooting, drowning, loading or unloading accidents, additional acquired livestock and falling objects. Every policy and situation are unique. Discuss your livestock insurance needs with an agent to find a policy that’s right for you. 

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. 

Please note that every policy is different. Talk to your agent to learn what may be covered or may be excluded under your policy. 

How Much is Livestock Insurance? 
The cost of livestock insurance for cattle varies depending on your location, number and value of cattle, size of the farm and other factors. Speak with an insurance agent about properly insuring your cattle to protect from expensive and possibly fatal accidents for your livestock. 

How to Get Livestock Insurance 
Speak with an insurance agent about insuring your livestock and protecting your assets.