The Elite of the Elite

We are excited to add Kilamanjaro to our bull battery. When paired with Gold Buckle, we feel our genetic future is in solid hands.

MAYC Gold Buckle

65% continued from page 44 renew the policy for a second year but for maybe $7,000 as there is less risk to his or her investment in the second year.

SEXED and conventional semen available. Contact owners.

At the other end of the spectrum, producers might have reason to only need one month or a few months to insure an animal. Buyers should be aware, the longer the term is, the higher the premium is as well. Even so, matching the needs of a particular situation to what a company offers will take a little number crunching to make sure you’re getting the best deal possible.

“We can offer a transit rate, which is just to cover the time it takes to transport an animal home from an auction,” Holloway adds. “The minimum is $250, though, so you’re almost better off in some cases to go ahead and just buy the full-year term for full mortality.”

About that $10,000 Bull

Like buying car insurance, the premium you pay to get livestock mortality insurance depends greatly on the value of the item being insured. If the animal was bought at an auction, it’s really easy to establish their value—it’s what is on the bill of sale. However, if you’re raised a really good bull that needs to be insured, how do you put a dollar figure on him?

“You’re going to have to explain to the underwriters why you believe his value is X amount of dollars,” Smith says. “What we’ll need is an evaluation letter, meaning you’ll need to get somebody else to evaluate what this animal is worth and put it in writing. Or lots of times, what I get is a show record or a progeny record. The value can also be established by the amount of semen or embryos sold. There is a very small chance of the underwriter saying, ‘Nope, we’re not going do that.’

“They might write back and say, for example, they won’t go for $100,000 but will do $45,000,” he adds. “The other part of that is the insurance company understands the buyer is paying for that amount of coverage—let’s say in the case of a year-long policy, the buyer is looking at a 6% premium. So, if the animal’s valued at $40,000, they’re paying $2,400 and if it’s valued at $100,000 he’s paying $6,000 for the coverage. It’s not in the buyer’s best interest to overvalue the animal.”

Other than a difference in evaluating an animal’s worth, folks with a history of claiming losses for mortality insurance can get turned down for a policy. In fact, Smith says the application will ask about your loss history and if you have the animal insured with any other company. You can’t double-dip. And if you do—whether by oversight or by fraud—and try to make a claim, it’s very likely a claims adjuster will sniff out the double payment.

Holloway says a common misconception among producers is they don’t realize the animal has to be dead (or sometimes stolen, depending on the policy), in order for the loss to be covered.

“If a bull gets crippled or breaks a leg but the vet says the bull is not hurt badly enough to put down or he can heal, that would not be covered,” she explains. “Also, a lot of times people want to buy infertility insurance. But unless there’s something out there I am not aware of, there really isn’t anything in the market worth having for infertility these days—it’s just too high.” continued on page 48

Purebred

Homo Polled • Black 2/23/19

Sire: HUNT Credentials 37C