Animals as a business asset · loss · liability
Business animal insurance through Nationale-Nederlanden
Anyone keeping animals commercially has a business asset that can fall ill, can die and can itself cause damage. Those are three risks that land on three different policies.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Zakelijke dierenverzekering via Nationale-Nederlanden.
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Work out for yourself what it would cost.
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- We compare the offerings of several insurers
- An adviser checks whether the cover suits your activities
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
Business animal insurance covers the value of the animal itself: death by accident or illness, emergency slaughter on the instruction of the vet and, depending on the cover chosen, permanent unfitness for the purpose for which you keep the animal. That last is something different for a sport horse than for a dairy cow or a breeding animal, and the description in the conditions determines whether a claim succeeds. Nationale-Nederlanden is one of the insurers with which this kind of cover can be placed.
Damage your animal causes to someone else is something else entirely. Article 6:179 of the Dutch Civil Code imposes strict liability on the keeper of an animal: if a cow gets out and causes a collision, you are liable even if you did nothing wrong. That liability belongs on the public and employers' liability insurance and not on the animal insurance. If you are acting in the course of a business, Article 6:181 of the Dutch Civil Code also applies, which places the liability on the commercial user.
If loss of turnover remains after an outbreak, that is a third category again. A standstill, a movement ban or rebuilding a herd affects continuity and not the value of individual animals. For that you look at business interruption insurance for farms. An overview of what else arises in this sector can be found at insurance for the agricultural sector.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare car insurance.
What to look out for
Four provisions that are more often decisive in animal claims than the sum insured.
Notifiable animal diseases are excluded
Culling on the orders of the authorities in the case of a notifiable animal disease falls outside almost every animal insurance; public schemes and funds exist for that. The consequences of a movement ban or restriction on sales are not insured animal mortality either. Read carefully which diseases are named in the conditions, because that list differs from insurer to insurer.
Care, housing and registration
Damage caused by neglect, unsound housing or failing to obtain veterinary care is excluded. The same applies to animals that do not meet the compulsory identification and registration requirements or whose vaccinations are not in order. When you claim, the insurer asks for the veterinary record; missing records then work against you.
Existing defects and age
A condition that already existed when the policy was taken out, a congenital defect and normal loss through old age fall outside the cover. Insurers work with age limits and with an examination at the outset. For animals of higher value a pre-purchase examinationoften follows, and its findings are placed on the policy schedule as an exclusion.
Clients' animals in your care
If you keep animals belonging to others, for example at livery, in training or for treatment, this is not your own business asset but third-party property in your care. The care, custody and control exclusion then plays a leading part; which cover is needed for that is set out at liability for a boarding kennel.
What does your premium depend on?
- Species and number: a herd weighs differently from a few individual animals
- Sum insured per animal: a fixed amount or market value
- Purpose of use: dairy, breeding, meat or sport each carry different risks of loss
- Housing and prevention: emergency power, a ventilation alarm and fire compartmentation
- Age and health status: shown by examination and veterinary records
- Excess and scope of cover: death only, or unfitness as well
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Basic | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| A cow dies after a lightning strike in the field | Yes | Yes |
| Part of your poultry flock suffocates after the ventilation fails overnight | Provided that | Yes |
| Your show jumper survives a tendon injury but can no longer compete | No | Yes |
| The surgery and nursing costs after your breeding bull breaks a leg | No | Provided that |
| A mare aborts her foal after a difficult pregnancy | No | Provided that |
| Your livestock guardian dog bites a walker crossing the land | No | No |
This policy pays for the loss of the animal as a business asset. What the animal does to others runs by a different route.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
My animal causes damage at a client's premises. Is that covered?
Not on the animal insurance. That pays for the loss of the animal, not for the damage it causes. For injury or damage to property suffered by third parties you need public and employers' liability insurance (AVB). Article 6:179 of the Dutch Civil Code makes you liable as the keeper without any fault having to be established, which means a claim succeeds even if you had taken every precaution.
Is culling by the authorities paid for?
No. With a notifiable contagious animal disease the authorities intervene and public schemes apply for compensation for the value of the animals culled. The insurer excludes this event because the risk cannot be borne individually. What you can insure is the business interruption that follows, provided that cover has been expressly included.
Do I have to declare every animal separately?
That depends on the arrangement. With herds a number and an average value are often used, with an adjustment afterwards. For animals of higher individual value, each animal appears on the policy schedule with its name and chip or life number. If the size of your herd changes structurally, report it; Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code also requires you to report a claim in good time.
Are animals insured during transport?
Often only where transport is expressly included, and sometimes only within the Netherlands. The vehicle itself is a separate matter: for that you look at the livestock lorry or the horsebox. Loading and unloading is the phase in which most accidents happen; check whether that operation falls within the description of the transport risk.