Liability for boarded cows

[uluru]

I will try to make this simple.
Maybe I am concerned about nothing but I don't think so.
I own 40 + purebred shorthorns.
I have no farm
The cattle are boarded on a farm at a daily rate plus certain expenses for other services.
I insure for full mortality certain expensive animals purchased by me.
I have no insurance on the majority of the cattle.
They may be covered for some injury or death under the farmers policy i.e. animals under his care.
The coverage on the animals is not my concern. I can absord the risk of death to the animal

My concern is if an animal goes wild say - a cow at calving time for example and kills the farmer.
I have no liability coverage relative to actions caused by these animals that I own like I have on my house, truck, boat, etc.
Is there coverage available for this type of liability in the event the farmer is killed by my cow and his estate sues me?

I am getting nowhere with about 4 - 5 insurance brokers including my personal broker and my commercial broker.

Is there any one out there that has any experience with this type of issue.
Has anyone found coverage for this type of risk?

i.e. boards cattle and does not own a farm.

A lawyer would in all likelyhood say that I could be liable.

I don't need a lawyer to tell me that.

I am in Canada and we are becoming as litiguous as the US

Thanks.............Bob

 

[Nowland Farms]

You should probably be asking this question to your insurance agent.

I just took out a rider to my homeowners policy to cover liability on the farm. I believe it cost me an extra $35 per year for 1/2 Million policy with medical coverage. I may up the coverage to 1 million. Covers any accidents on the farm.

I haven't insured the cows yet but need to. I believe the Agent told me the rate will be around $6 per $1000 in value per year.

I'm not sure if you could get a liability policy to cover damage caused by the cows. Just ask your agent.

 

[hillsdown]

uluru wrote

a cow at calving time for example and kills the farmer.

Hopefully this being their trade they are very careful and have adequate handling facilities.

Try to find out what kind of insurance policies other businesses that handle other people's cattle have eg. Embryo groups or even larger farms that have herd hands , as that unfortunately could be a situation that comes up from time to time.

You could also get them to sign a waver.

 

[msscamp]

My concern is if an animal goes wild say - a cow at calving time for example and kills the farmer.

Although I have no familiarity/experience with Canadian laws, the first place I would start would be to research the laws and see what is already in place, as far as this type of situation goes. Once I knew what (if anything) was already in place, I would know how to proceed.

I have no liability coverage relative to actions caused by these animals that I own like I have on my house, truck, boat, etc.
Is there coverage available for this type of liability in the event the farmer is killed by my cow and his estate sues me?

I don't know about Canada, but this type of coverage in the US is generally called umbrella liability I believe.

i.e. boards cattle and does not own a farm.

We do not board cattle, but we do board horses. We have a general liability insurance policy in place, we have to follow certain regulations set forth by the insurance company, and we make sure that every measure to prevent accidents is taken.

A lawyer would in all likelyhood say that I could be liable.

It looks to me like anyone could very easily see that cattle have the ability to hurt someone, but that would depend on what laws are in place for the province where your cattle are being boarded. The state that I live in has a law in place that no one can sue if hurt while participating in an activity that they know they can get hurt doing - this includes horseback riding, among many other things. If the risk is apparent to a normal human being, the right to sue is waived if they chose to take part in the activity.

Thanks.............Bob

 

[Hippie Rancher]

I doubt the estate could sue you - talk to an injury lawyer and discuss a waiver to be signed by the caretaker - or just take out a accident, death, dismemberment policy on him! (that is a joke in case it doesn't transmit electronically)