Livestock Insurance
Under the Livestock Insurance Policy, cover is provided for the sum insured or the market value of the animal at the time of death whichever is less.
Objects of Livestock Insurance
- To guarantee the farmer and livestock owner , the compensation for loss due to the death of the insured animal.
- To enable the livestock owner to repay the loan given to him for purchase of animals to the bank.
- In case of permanent or total or disability of draught animals or the permanent loss of quarters in milch cows, 75% of the insured value is paid to the animal owner.
- To enable livestock owner to get fresh loans again for purchasing similar type of animals.
Conditions for Insurance
Livestock owners are required to fulfil the following conditions in regard to the animals intended to be insured:
- Provide suitable housing accommodation having byres with sufficient space for manger, water troughs and suitable housing for poultry.
- Offer good and balanced feed to the animal(s).
- Animals must be free from ecto and endo-parasites and be treated periodically for parasites.
- Animals must be protected against bacterial and viral diseases like anthrax, black quarter, haemorrhagic septicaemia and foot-and-mouth disease.
Requirements for Livestock Insurance
- Health Certificate: It is obligatory on the part of the owner to produce a certificate from a qualified veterinarian to the effect that his animal is healthy and free from any disease. The owner is required to pay a fee for this certificate as per prevailing rates or as prescribed by Government Insurance Company.
- Identification of Animals: The identification of the insured animal is of great importance and must be done thoroughly and faithfully. Emphasis has to be given to the breed, age, sex, body colour, shape of horns, height, identification marks, (natural or acquired by branding, tattooing and tagging). Tagging must be done by a veterinarian.
- The animal owner should note the ear tag number of his animal.
- If the ear tag falls or is lost due to tearing of ears while rubbing, the fallen tag should be preserved and this must be reported to the bank or insurance company in writing.
- When an insured animal dies its ear tag is valuable proof and must be preserved carefully. While claiming compensation for the loss of a deceased insured animal a piece of its ear along with tag must be submitted to the insurance company for verification.
- Principle of No tag-No claim: Nowadays insurance companies have adopted the principle of ‘No tag-No claim’ i.e. no claim is paid if the specific ear tag is not submitted. Thus, timely retagging of the animal is very important whenever its tag is lost or falls off.
Insurance Policy
Livestock can be insured through two types of policies:
- Proposal-cum policy
- Master policy agreement
Proposal-cum-Policy
The owner is required to fill the proforma called “proposal-cum-policy with receipt and veterinary certificate” after obtaining the health certificate. This proforma may be filled by the authorised agent of the insurance company and by a qualified veterinarian. The proforma contains information about:
- Owner: His name, address and occupation.
- Period of insurance, From ……………………………. to …………………………
- Particulars of animal-species, breed, sex, colour, age, identification marks, height, purpose for
- which used, total number of calvings, date of last calving, present market value and sum for which to be insured.
- Location of dairy farm.
- Premium amount
- Cause of loss and number of animals lost during past three years.
- Special remarks if any.
There is a declaration in this form by the owner stating that all information given by him is true to the best of his knowledge and belief.
There is also a certificate by a qualified veterinarian indicating that the animal mentioned is in good and sound health, free from any vice, and has been vaccinated against prevailing contagious diseases.
The lower part of this form has a detachable receipt showing that the premium amount has been received by an authorised agent of the company.
After payment of the premium and completion of the above formalities the animal is deemed as insured from this date.
Master policy agreement
Since financed animals have to be insured in large numbers and as a day-to-day practice, a Master Policy Agreement is generally entered into by the DRDA or various banks with an insurance company.
Under this agreement the bank or the DRDA agrees to insure all its finance cases through one particular insurance company for an agreed period.
Only one master policy is issued at the inception. The various animals financed during the period of this policy agreement, which may range from three to five years, are covered under the policy through individual insurance certificates.
Certificate books are provided to different banks or DRDA by the company. Whenever a case is financed, they issue a certificate of insurance giving all particulars and send it to the company along with the health certificate and premium amount.
The advantage here is that owner does not have to wait for the insurance agent for insurance and also, under the agreement, the animals are covered right from the date and place of purchase.
Rate of Premium
The rate of premium varies from species to species and from company to company. Usually the companies charge 5% of the insured amount in case of cattle.
Non-Scheme animals
- 5% of insured value.
- 1% extra for crossbred.
- 2% extra for exotic.
- 4% in case of cattle belonging to organised dairy farms and cooperative societies.
- 2.25% for livestock other than cattle financed under schemes. Generally scheme animals are insured for three years or more. In such case, there is a long term dicount of 25% on the total premium.
Insured value
The amount of insurance depends upon the prevailing market rates of animals, yield of milk, meat etc. However, certain insurance companies may fix a maximum amount for various species of animals.
Owner’s duties in case of sickness or accident of insured animal
When the insured animal gets sick for one reason or the other, the owner must inform the concerned insurance company in writing.
He must arrange for proper and timely treatment by a qualified veterinarian for early recovery. The treatment of an insured animal by a quack or Veterinary Field Assistant, Stockman or Compounder will not be accepted by an insurance company and will disqualify the claim in the event of death of an insured animal.
Qualified veterinarian means a person holding a B.V.Sc. or B.VSc.& A.H. or DVM degree from a University/statutory body constituted by the State Government or as prescribed by the Indian Veterinary Council Act of 1984.
As soon as the accident occurs the owner must report to the nearest police station and obtain a receipt for the same.
This receipt is an important document to be included in claim papers. A certificate from an attending qualified veterinarian and the treatment chart indicating detailed treatment given to an insured animal must be obtained and attached with the insurance claim papers.
How to proceed for insurance claim
In the event of the death of the insured animal the owner must proceed systematically for making a claim.
The following line of action is suggested:
- The owner must intimate in writing to the concerned insurance company at once and get a receipt for this intimation.
- In case purchase of the animal has been financed by a bank he must inform the bank concerned and get a receipt for the same.
- If the insured animal dies on a Sunday/Holiday, the message must be sent telegraphically/personally to the Branch Manager. The receipt of the telegram must be preserved as proof.
- The owner, after intimating the insurance company/bank, should wait for on the spot verification to be conducted by the representative of the insurance company and arrange for post-mortem.
- The carcass should be removed for post -mortem either by a Khadi Gramodyog /locally available chamar with the instruction that post mortem will be conducted by a veterinarian and to collect a piece of the ear having ear tag, which will be submitted to the insurance company.
Sometimes insured animal dies at such a place where it is not possible to get the post-mortem conducted by a qualified veterinarian. In such circumstances some insurance companies accept a joint certificate issued by any two of the following:
- Village sarpanch
- Manager of Milk Collection Centre
- Officer of Cooperative Central Bank / Supervisor of DRDA or its Inspector.
Requirement of post-mortem has been waived in cases of animals financed under government schemes and in such cases if the post-mortem examination has not been conducted, then a death certificate signed jointly by any of the following two persons will be sufficient:
- Attending veterinary doctor.
- Sarpanch/Pradhan.
- Official/Chairman of Milk Cooperative Society.
- Official of DRDA.
- Manager of a bank other than the financing bank or other village cooperative.
However, post-mortem examination is a must for animals other than the above.
Claim forms
After the death of the insured animal the owner should approach the insurance company and obtain the claim forms which include the following:
- Cattle/other livestock claim form: This form is to be filled by the owner. Care must be taken to fill the form and the details given should not differ from the particulars mentioned in the policy. It will be better if he consults his veterinarian and takes his help to fill up the form. In case of financed cattle, the form has to be countersigned by the bank.
- Veterinary Death-cum-Valuation Certificate: This is the second form in the claim papers and is to be filled by the attending veterinarian. It incorporates the physical features, date of illness/death and value before illness.
- Treatment chart: This is a date-wise account of the treatment given by a veterinarian to the sick insured animal. The treatment given should correspond to the symptoms noted and post- mortem findings. It is required only for private or other non-scheme animals.
- Post-mortem report: The post-mortem report proforma is usually supplied by the insurance companies. The attending veterinarian must carefully mention the post-mortem findings in this form. It is advised that he should consult a standard text-book of Pathology or Medicine prior to writing the post-mortem report. He should mention identification marks of the animal and its tag number as also whether the tag was duly fixed in the ear or not.
- Photograph of deceased animal: The photograph of a dead insured animal constitutes good evidence of its death if taken correctly showing tag, if possible, and other identification marks and salient features.
- Confirmation of the post-mortem: Some insurance companies require a confirmation certificate from the attending veterinarian that he has really conducted the post-mortem of the deceased insured animal. The text of the certificate is given as below:

Claim Documents
The total claim documents required by insurance companies in urban and rural areas are as follows:
In urban area
- Livestock claim form
- Veterinary certificate
- Treatment chart
- Post-mortem report
- Valuation certificate
- Photographs
- Post-mortem confirmation certificate
- Police report, if any
In remote rural area
- Livestock claim form
- Panchnama
- Valuation certificate
- Police report, if any
- The above documents, after completion, should be submitted to the insurance company for necessary action for payment. Sometimes these documents are sent through the financing bank which pursues the claim for payment.
Two certificates signed by either:
- Village Sarpanch
- Chairman, Co-operative Society
- Manager, Milk Collection Centre
- Officer of Cooperative Central Bank/Supervisor of DRDA or Inspector. In case of animals financed under government schemes, in order to help ignorant villagers in completing the various formalities for a cattle claim, insurance companies have come up with a single page claim form which incorporates all the certificates required from the owner, bank, veterinarian and others. No other form is required to be filled.
Valuable Advice for livestock Owners to get Claim
- Look after the insured animal well by proper feeding and management.
- Never shift the insured animal without intimating the insurance company in writing.
- Never sell the insured animal or keep it away from the owner without informing the insurance company.
- Never hide any fact or information regarding injury or death of the insured animal.
- Never cause any injury to the insured animal nor show any disinterest or slackness in the treatment of a sick insured animal.
- The treatment and post-mortem of an insured animal must be done by a qualified veterinarian and not by para-veterinary staff, as this would disqualify the claim.
- In the event of the death of an insured animal immediately inform the insurance company.
- Keep the ear tag along with a piece of the ear in your custody and submit it to the insurance company.
- When an accident occurs never forget to report to the nearest police station.
- All the insurance claim forms must be completed in all respects and then submitted. Incomplete forms cause unnecessary delay.
Repudiation of Insurance Claims
There are many reasons for which claims are liable to be rejected / repudiated. Some of these are:
- When there is difference in the identification of the animal as given by the owner and as mentioned by a veterinarian in various claim papers.
- If the period of insurance expires prior to the death of the insured animal.
- When fraud is suspected.
- In cases where the treatment and post-mortem are not done by a qualified veterinarian, with the exception indicated earlier in remote villages.
- When the insurance claims are not submitted in time, or the death intimation is not given timely and the carcass is disposed of under suspicious circumstances, the company entertains the claim with doubts.
- In case the insured animal dies due to contagious disease for which vaccination can be done, the companies repudiate such claims. But under special circumstances and on the certificate of a qualified veterinarian that the insured animal died in spite of vaccination, the claims are paid.
- When there is change in location of animal and owner of an insured animal the claim is rejected.
- Where more than one veterinarians are involved in the treatment and post-mortem of an insured animal and there is no synchronization between the two, the claim is likely to be rejected on technical grounds.
Fees of the Veterinarian
The fee rate varies from State to State as per Veterinary Manuals. In most of the States fee rates have not been revised as per price index and pose a serious legal problem. Veterinarians can charge fees as per recommendations of the Veterinary Manual or as per prevailing market rates for issuing health certificates and for conducting post-mortems.
Common malpractices in insurance claims
- Insurance on ill animals: Sometimes animals in sick conditions are insured in order to submit claims for obtaining benefits. Death of an insured animal soon after its insurance may lead to suspicion. Such claims are detected and disallowed.
- Willful killing of an insured animal: It has been observed that sometimes after getting the desired lactation, the animals are killed by some unscrupulous methods and claim is submitted for receiving benefit from the insurance.
- Claim for an uninsured animal: Sometimes a livestock owner uses a tag from an insured animal to claim insurance on some other dead uninsured animal. This can be detected and claim rejected.
- Insurance of old and unproductive animals: Many a time with the connivance of more than one agency, old and unproductive animals are insured. These animals die within the insurance period and claims are submitted for payment. A technical probe can detect such frauds and claims of this nature are liable to be disallowed.
- Tampering with ear tags: At the time of issuing health certificate the veterinarian is required to certify that the tag has been fixed to the animal’s ear. Therefore, a veterinarian should get the tag fixed in his presence to avoid any complications. Sometimes ineligible animals are insured by a an unscrupulous owner and this brings liability upon the veterinarian. Sometimes ear tags are fabricated by fraudulent owners who attach it to the ear of the dead animal. This can be detected by very careful examination which will indicate that:
- Recently fixed tag will show scratches due to stone or hammer used for fixing the tag.
- There would be some hair growth around the tag hole in the case of a recent punch but this would be usually absent in an old tag hole.
- Sometimes the tag is new and does not correspond to the time when the animal was insured.
- A fresh ear hole in which the tag has been put will not show the changes usually seen in an old hole. Histopathology in such cases will reveal the presence of fibrous connective tissue at the edge of the hole if the tag is put during life time but it would be absent in case the tag is put after death or just before death.