General Fire 7 Casualty Unveils New ‘CattleGuard’ Program

General Fire & Casualty Company (www.genfireins.com) announced the launching of its new livestock insurance product, The CattleGuard.

The policy is available, subject to underwriting, in the following states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Washington. General Fire & Casualty Company is also in the process of filing for approval in: Nebraska, Texas, Oregon, Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky.

The CattleGuard policy provides coverage for loss involving certain
diseases, such as FMD (foot-and-mouth disease), BSE (aka “mad-cow” disease), hydrophobia (rabies), anthrax (charbon or splenic fever) and other specified diseases, even if such a disease outbreak is a result of an act of terrorism.

Also covered are other basic causes of loss, such as fire, flood,
earthquake, lightning and shooting. Extreme weather, such as tornadoes and blizzards, can also be insured. The policy covers perils of loss, with limits and sub-limits that are clearly identified, while The CattleGuard application process incorporates the use of a simplified form and electronic submission, thus making it agent and customer friendly.

“The cattle industry faces significant emerging global risks from
intentional introduction of infectious diseases such as FMD, anthrax and other potential bio-terrorist contaminants,” said Daniel Crandall, president and CEO of General Fire & Casualty Company. “A single genuine incident could create cascading havoc for the entire cattle industry with further reverberations through the general economy. Until now, no affordable private-sector insurance was readily available. We believe our policy will allow the cattle industry to obtain competitive financial investor support, attract additional equity investment and retain outside directors who require cattle to be adequately managed and insured.”

An integral benefit of The CattleGuard is reportedly the inclusion of a comprehensive risk-management program for preventing and mitigating destructive losses in cattle-related commerce at the local level. The Loss Prevention and Biosecurity Guidelines included in The CattleGuard program are customized to the specific class of operation. These guidelines can be reasonably and effectively implemented by the policyholder.

The CattleGuard is a specified cause of loss program designed to be a
first-line response to help individual cattle operators stay in business
should they fall victim to an insured event. It is not a revenue-protection program.

The CattleGuard program, which will be offered to feedlots, dairies,
cow/calf producers, sale yards and slaughterhouse operations, will be
marketed by selected independent agents.

General Fire & Casualty Company is a specialty commercial property and casualty insurer currently licensed in 21 states.