Do You Need To Add An Equine Policy To Your Existing Farm Insurance?

10 April 2017
 Categories: Business, Blog


Not all farmers rely on their tractor to plow their fields and do the heavy work on their farms. Draft horses are still used all across the country, not only for plowing a farmer's fields, but for clearing the woods for more agricultural cropland. But owning workhorses comes with a responsibility to care for the animal as well as protect your farm equipment investment. This includes not only the animals' health and well-being but liability protection for you as well. Here is what you need to know to make sure you and your horses are adequately covered and protected.

Why Should You Insure Your Horses?

Just as farmers get farm insurance with a livestock rider policy to protect their investment in their animals, the farmer who owns draft horses should as well. You insure your tractor and other farm equipment, and when you have workhorses, it is obviously no different. The cost for insuring your horses are nominal compared to the cost of feeding and boarding the animal. Mortality insurance is essentially life insurance on your horses. The policy for mortality insurance is generally underwritten for how much you paid for the horses, not for what you perceive their value to be. A mortality insurance policy will reimburse you for a horse in the event of it dying, whether from accident or illness. The policy will also cover euthanasia if need be. Many mortality insurance policies will also cover a significant portion of the cost of surgery should the horse get colic. Equine colic covers a wide variety of digestive tract-related ailments, but sometimes surgery is required if there is severe impaction or a suspected looped intestine.

Should You Have Other Insurance For Your Horses As Well?

In addition to an equine mortality policy, you may also have the option to add a medical and surgery rider. The availability of this policy is dependent on the age and the health of each horse, however. Coverage limitations vary from company to company. Medical coverage will help defray the costs of veterinarian visits and any illnesses and injuries that may arise. Just like with your own medical insurance policy, each equine policy has a deductible that must be met, and then the insurance kicks in to cover the rest until the annual or lifetime plan limit is met.

Surgical coverage will help to assist with the costs in the event the horse has to have surgery. While the hospital portion of the bill won't be covered under a surgical rider, the surgeon's fees and the anesthesia will be.

What Is Liability Coverage?

Equine liability coverage for you that protects you financially in the event your horse injures someone or someone's property. This coverage is particularly important if you have farm hands working with the draft horses or use them to plow or log other farmer's land. Check with your homeowner's insurance first to see what kind of coverage would apply under that policy, and then choose a liability rider to fill the gap.


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