Adding Loss of Use to insurance

You should be able to yes but you may need to provide a recent veterinary certificate depending on the value of the horse and which insurer you're with. There will be a 30 day exclusion period usually from the date of adding it on and obviously any pre-existing conditions would be excluded.
 
We are insured with Amtrust equine. Couldn't insure horse for LOU at time of insuring as he was under 4. Rang the insurance as soon as he was old enough to see if could be added on - offered to pay the extra that it would cost but they wouldn't agree as it was 'mid term' so I can only add it on when annual insurance is due for renewal. Not sure if that's the same for every company though.
 
quirky said:
I would look into the BEVA requirements for LOU before you commit.
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BEVA guidelines don't relate to loss of use claims. Insurers will normally refer a LOU claim to an independent vet who will review and advise if they agree the horse is LOU.

ETA - OP: Depending on the company, you may not be able to add until renewal, however should be fairly easy to do. As said, you may need to provide an up to date vet cert
 
I actually removed LOU from my policy after hearing a lot of stories about people being refused their LOU claims due to owning a mare who could still have a 'use' as a brood mare if no longer ridden. Personally I wouldn't use my mare for breeding even though she is very well bred as she is 16 & never had a foal.
 
BEVA guidelines are for death, and it is difficult to get payouts for PTS under this. LOU is different and requires only that a vet can categorically state the horse cannot do the job for which it is insured - AmTrust have just agreed my LOU claim. LOU usually requires medication/treatment to have been tried and to have failed, and for a vet to provide evidence further treatment is unlikely to work.

Worth noting with AmTrust that they require you to either PTS or retire the horse, and that in the policy Ts&Cs it does state that if the horse returns to doing the job it was written off under LOU for, then you must repay the money.
 
I thought it was too expensive. The cost of LOU isn't the value of the horse - it's the cost of keeping them as a field ornament.
 
Paulag said:
I thought it was too expensive. The cost of LOU isn't the value of the horse - it's the cost of keeping them as a field ornament.
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Incorrect, LOU is a lump sum payout of the value the horse is insured for (or a % of that, depending on the policy you take out).

There are many hoops to jump through for a LOU payout, and it's actually fairly difficult to claim. I have a horse with LOU on it - which although technically now LOU - will not get a payment from insurers and TBH I'll probably never bother with LOU in future.

To add LOU to an exising policy you will more than likely need to have your horse 5* vetted, with anything noted on the vetting subsequently excluded from your cover.
 
elsazzo said:
I actually removed LOU from my policy after hearing a lot of stories about people being refused their LOU claims due to owning a mare who could still have a 'use' as a brood mare if no longer ridden. Personally I wouldn't use my mare for breeding even though she is very well bred as she is 16 & never had a foal.
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Think is if you have a 100% LOU policy. Generally, any horse can have some sort of residual value and therefore the insurance company will make this deduction from the claim settlement. They would refuse a LOU claim unless the policy conditions weren't met. The insurance co's vet will comment on the residual value, therefore, they should know if a mare is past her best before date for being a brood mare!
 
I insured Dizzy for LOU when I bought her nearly four years ago.

I paid a lot of money for a just backed horse as I wanted to 3DE or get to the top showjumping (was going to see which was right for us).

She went lame ten days after I got her. Many investigations and trying different things later, I had to accept that she was never going to be able to do anything near what I'd bought her to do.

I claimed the LOU when I realised she'd never even be able to get to any decent dressage level, never mind jumping decent heights (if at all).

Insurers paid out 80% of what I'd paid, which if I remember right would have been her market value then if she'd not been damaged. It was the max they'd ever pay. Vets had told me she should never carry a foal due to the damage on her pelvis, which the insurers accepted.

It was quiite a drawn out affair and I got upset on more than one occasion.

Dizz has the LOU brand now. It used to upset me, but I got used to it and she doesn't care.

I asked what would happen if by some miracle she could jump, etc., would they want the money back. They said no as they couldn't take the brand mark off her. It's academic in our case as physically she never will be able to do what I bought her to do.

If I paid a lot of money for another horse then I'd insure LOU again. Whilst the reason for the claim is horrible, it does give some £ back, which can go towards the vet treatment as in excesses, the travel, time off work, etc.
 
I think LOU is worth it, if you can afford the premiums. It can be beneficial in the event of a potential mortality claim. In some cases, a horse doesn't meet the criteria for humane destruction, and so insurance won't pay out, however the horse may meet LOU criteria and therefore the claim can be paid under that cover if you have it.

LOU claims are tricky and tend to be a bit long winded. The insurance company need to make sure the horse is definitely LOU, therefore, you need to try all possible treatment and follow vets advice. If you vet says your horse needs a year's rest before they can reassess for LOU, the insurance company would say "your horse isn't LOU yet, come back in a year".

You also need to remember, the company will only pay if your horse cannot do what it is currently being used for, not what it could potentially do. eg, if you buy a youngster with the hope of getting to 3* eventing, but you never make it past BE100, they won't see it as LOU as your horse was never competing at 3*. He would have to get a condition that meant he could not event at BE100
 
I claimed and received LOU on my WB - who has chronic SI dysfunction. I received 80% of his insured value and now he is a being lightly brought back into work. He will never be 100% of course, but the LOU has meant he can be kept in comfort and paid for for many years and I will never sell him.
 
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