C
attle insurance is no different than auto or house insurance; we get it because we cannot afford the loss should we lose the animal whether by death or if its reproductive ability is compromised. Many livestock insurance policies are initiated at high end purebred sales where at the fall of the gavel the animal is deemed healthy. If insuring animals other than directly after an auction sale you will have to justify to the insurer that the animal is similar to what it is worth at public auction. This would apply to pet animals, show animals etc. Just because you think it is worth X amount, they need to see some reasonable justification you could get near that at public auction. Policies on bulls cover just death or death and breeding ability. To process the claim a bull must permanently be a non-breeder because of either sickness, accident or disease. When deciding to buy and insure make sure to examine the animal closely, especially in regards to auctioned animals. Any blemish, problem, conformational, hereditary or semen issue that was previously present will not be covered by the new policy. Examine breeding bulls breeding certificate closely prior to purchase as insurers will not cover bulls that have failed or in some cases barely passed their semen evaluations. They may insure them for death in cases where bulls were too young or they are waiting for the semen evaluation. Claims when they are made have to be justified. In the case of death an autopsy is done or in other cases a clinical exam is performed by a licensed veterinarian. The claims must fall into the category of sickness, accident (injury) or disease. There are several conditions which could fall back to the original breeder such as hereditary defects, the inability to breed or lack of libido in the case of bulls. Testicular degeneration is most definitely a grey zone. Many cases are caused by injury to the testicles or concurrent disease but others are spontaneous. Each cause may have a different outcome as far as the insurance company is concerned. Always advise insurance companies of any health or injury issues which happen during the policy period. In regards to breeding bulls, have a semen evaluation preformed before the expiration date of the policy to detect problems which may have cropped up. Many misunderstandings occur regarding bull fertility. A veterinarian might fail but in the insurance company’s eyes if he could still sire calves he is deemed a breeder and they may overrule the semen certificate. For example a vet might fail a bull with only one functioning testicle and the other is degenerated, injured or scarred even though the semen motility morphology and density may
be good. In the insurance companies eyes he can still sire calves so they would not pay out in this example. We probably have too high an expectation on yearling bulls. Fifteen to twenty cows is plenty for a yearling bull. If exposed to cows in too large a pasture, with too much competition, weight loss and potential injury are much higher. Insurance companies also have to watch the due diligence of the producer. If an insured animal had an ailment which was ignored (especially if treatment could have been successful) a claim could be rejected. An example is a lame cow with foot rot that was ignored and became a septic arthritis. Surgery could be done in this example and this is where notifying the company when issues first happen and keeping lines of communication open is paramount. Vaccination history is also noted. It is a shame when highly valued animals have not been vaccinated with for instance blackleg and then die needlessly of a highly preventable disease. Co-mingling of bulls can lead to problems and the best advice is leave as much space as possible when reintroducing bulls. Just like other insurance policies different clauses can be put on the policies. A clause for loss of use during the breeding season so if a bull goes down with a cut penis and misses that breeding season; he has lost one breeding season and the payout would be a percentage of the cost of the bull. Adding clauses can increase the premium cost. With certain farm policies commercial cattle can be insured for acts of god such as drowning in floods or loss from lightning. You can usually set a high deductible which keeps the premium lower. As with any dealings, always keep the lines of communication open and report or have your veterinarian report any sickness or treatments that are done on an insured animal. They are apt to be much more co-operative if they know you have been treating a condition that has now gone south than find out two days before the policy has expired. Never ship or destroy an insured animal without the company’s permission unless your veterinarian does it for humane reasons. Identification should include the verified tattoo but have your veterinarian use the RFID and dangle tags as well as any other identification such as colour or brands. Insurance companies will pay the rock solid claims. As an industry if they started paying all the unnecessary claims with time all premiums would go up. Right now the basic death and breeding premiums are around 10% of the value of the animal plus a 10% deductible because claims are rather high. Most of my clients insure animals the first year they own them which is when breeding injuries and sickness are more likely to occur. The odds drop down as the animal matures.
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