What Is It?

An insurance policy providing coverage due to the death or injury of one's livestock while  they are being transported. Livestock transit insurance may allow the owner to pay for the animals' medical  bills or to be compensated for loss of income due to the death or injury. As with all insurance, one  must pay a premium to receive the coverage.

Why Is It Important?

Despite all precautions being taken to ensure the needs of livestock are met, it is a reality that livestock occasionally get injured or die while being transported by road. While many producers have transit insurance to cover livestock losses during their journey, it’s important to be aware of what this means.

What’s Generally Covered?

What’s covered under transit insurance will vary between policies and all producers should check their coverage to make sure they know what is and isn’t included. For instance, injuries such as broken legs during transit are usually covered, but pre-existing injuries like cancer or arthritis are not.

Animals may also be covered in yards when they are brought in to be drafted before transport, and some policies will cover the muster and trip from the paddock to the yards. There may be a perception that transporting livestock with pre-existing conditions, which are then euthanased at their destination, will warrant an insurance claim. However, this is not the case, and should not be considered in the management of livestock which are not fit to load. If there is any doubt about an animal’s ability to withstand the journey, it should not be transported.

Generally speaking, a claim can only be made upon the approval of the livestock agent, and transit insurance is usually included in the commission to the agent unless you opt out. If there is an accident during transport, the payout is calculated on the average price of that animal on the sale day.

We always recommend securing transit insurance for all your livestock purchases & sales. Contact us today to so we can help you ensure that you have the correct cover for your needs.