Your livestock is an investment for your future, but it’s one vulnerable to natural disasters, declining prices, disease and accidents. You protect your family, your home and your employees — why not your livestock? Livestock insurance coverage is one option to minimize your risk and maximize your future on the farm.
What Is Livestock Insurance Coverage?
This insurance offers important financial protections for your livestock, including cattle, pigs, horses, donkeys, chickens and more. Your farm and ranch property insurance may cover your livestock, but it’s also possible you may need to add customized coverage based on your business needs.
Insurance for your livestock can cover both individual animals or an entire herd. If your livestock numbers vary drastically by the season, you may be able to adjust your coverage depending on the time of year.
What Can Livestock Insurance Cover?
- Animal Attacks
Coyotes, hawks, mountain lions, bears and dogs are all predators of livestock — and the attacks can amount to significant losses. Solid herd management, electric fences and guard animals are some of the best non-lethal weapons you have against predation. However, livestock insurance can provide relief if an attack takes place.
- Unexpected Weather
Extreme weather events, like a late blizzard or an uncharacteristic heat wave, can be extremely dangerous to your ranch and herd. In June, thousands of cattle in Kansas died after a tragically hot and humid summer, with temps above 100 degrees. A livestock insurance policy might also cover damages from earthquakes, hail, lightning, tornadoes, blizzards, wildfires and floods.
- Accidents
Farm safety is always a top priority, but accidents still happen — and sometimes to our animals. Livestock insurance coverage may protect your herd in the event of a fire, electrocution, accidental shooting, flooding, explosions and more. This coverage is also important to protect against the possible theft and vandalism of your farm and animals.
- Transportation Accidents
Whether you’re transporting your horses to breed, move or sell, it’s crucial to keep them safe en route. This coverage generally accounts for the death or crippling of animals in case of a vehicular accident. It may also cover body removal.
- Revenue Loss (for cattle, dairy cattle, and swine)
Declining prices and rising feed costs could mean substantial revenue loss. One type of livestock insurance, Livestock Gross Margin (LGM), covers against the loss of gross margin for cattle, swine and dairy cattle. LGM does not insure against livestock death.
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