anyone not have insurance?

[my bfg]

Well normally I would never even consider not having insurance on my mare, but have been reading through her policy for this year and it seems that everything that's ever been wrong with her including some strange untrue issues based on her pre-purchase vetting, is no longer covered, so its basically just a policy against theft/loss (at a now lower price) third party and possibly colic that results in a trip to horsepital (which is the main reason I have it as I pay for everything else myself)
Though as I have rang several times to complain they have both her breed (classed as unknown - she's an Ardennes which after reading their entire list of breeds over the phone to me several times they then confirm they've never heard of) and age (classed as 16 but actually 17) are incorrect I'm sure they could wriggle out of that one to. As she's a foreign breed, a heavy horse and getting on a bit not many companies fancied insuring her.
Does anyone not have full insurance, taken out a 3rd party insurance and just put the money they would pay into a seperate bank account instead? Or is this a mad idea? X

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I have a vet account and no insurance.

 

[L&M]

Ditto above but do have third party insurance through the Countryside alliance. To me third party is a 'must have'….

 

[pennyturner]

Perfectly sensible choice to not have insurance. But you have to be prepared to foot unexpected bills, or PTS on economic grounds if it comes to that.

 

[Spot_the_Risk]

I stopped insuring when we bought a second horse, and have BHS Gold (we do insure the horse we have on loan). I am happy to use my credit card if I have to, and I am fairly clear on how much I would spend/have done to each horse. I wouldn't (for example) put my 23 year old through a colic surgery, the six year old I would.

 

[Sukistokes2]

I have third party through BHS but no vet insurance. I do have money put aside just in case. It got to the point when more of my horse was uninsured then was actually insured and I just thought what a bloody waste of time!

 

[Sukistokes2]

I stopped insuring when we bought a second horse, and have BHS Gold (we do insure the horse we have on loan). I am happy to use my credit card if I have to, and I am fairly clear on how much I would spend/have done to each horse. I wouldn't (for example) put my 23 year old through a colic surgery, the six year old I would.

To be fair spot having seen what my friends horse went through with that surgery I am not sure I would put even my young horse through it!

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I have a vet account and no insurance.

Ditto above and with BHS Gold

 

[fairyclare]

Exactly what Spot_the_Risk said.

My old girl is no longer insured, there is no point now she is nearly 22 and had so many exclusions on her last policy. Thankfully none of them were limb related so I claimed for the DDFT injury and navicular then when it came up for renewal I cancelled it and took out the BHS Gold membership.
My young horse is insured but I am wondering if that is actually worth it - I currently pay £29 a month. I have til Oct to decide if I should keep her insured or just keep the horsey credit card and use that (as I do for the old girl)
I pay vets bills up to £500 anyway

 

[Thriller]

I have BHS Gold, but no insurance. I'm fortunate that my parents would be willing to help should i need it.

 

[Deltaflyer]

I had to have my boy insured last year as he was on working livery for the first three months I had him (until I pulled him out and placed him on DIY) and it was part of the Ts&Cs of the agreement. Now it's due for renewal and I can't decide whether to renew or not. So many people I know have been stitched up when they've tried to claim, and then there's all the exclusions if you do claim. I think I might go with the putting money aside for emergencies and get BHS Gold membership.

 

[Hexx]

Just cancelled mine. The boy is nearly 25 and the last two vet bills have cost me just under £2k - none of which is covered by insurance because they are related to old age and non-accidental damage (arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease). So unless he decides to slice something open, nothing is covered on insurance. Luckily I have some savings to pay the bills (was meant to go on a kitchen, but hey-ho).

If I ever get another horse, I think I will insure up to when they transfer to veteran plans - so 15-ish, and then have a "vet account" instead.

As he has now retired, I don't need rider insurance as I am not riding, and probably won't be for a good while.

 

[Nudibranch]

Yes, BHS gold and a vet account. Last time I checked they wanted £39 a month for a 3yo and £35 a month for a 9yo, neither have ever had a vets bill until this month. So I just put £200 a month into an ISA which covers all their costs (they are kept at home) and builds up a reserve for the vet.

 

[quirky]

Third party, tack and theft for me. There wasn't much left that she was insured for vets wise, so knocked that on the head a few years back.
I wouldn't put her through colic surgery, even if she was insured. I have savings if needed.

 

[pinkypug1]

BHS gold, monthly savings & a 0% credit card if I ever need a large sum quickly. In 20 years of owning horses never needed to make a claim so cancelled insurance 5 years ago as premium was horrendously high!

 

[nianya]

I've never had insurance, just kept a separate savings account (or sometimes an envelope in the days I had little) for emergency vet bills. I wouldn't put my horses through colic surgery anyhow and the things I've had the vet out for I doubt would be covered anyhow.

 

[ycbm]

Third party on the house insurance covers everything except hunting, which is fine for me. I save up the insurance premiums and pay any bills out of that.

 

[laura_nash]

I also have no insurance except BHS Gold for third party. I have enough savings and could ask my parents to lend me some money if needed. If I thought I might be in a position I couldn't afford vets bills then I might look at putting something in an account each month.

My old mare was insured and they refused to pay up for loss of use as I hadn't had her vetted when I bought her (I had been riding her weekly for over a year before I bought her so didn't see the point). It totally put me off insurance.

 

[blitznbobs]

I don't have insurance (except bhs gold) as I have 5 horses and the premiums would be more than any vets Bill ... I wouldn't put my horse thru colic surgery anyway ... Having worked with humans having similar surgeries and the agony they endure post op despite gallons of morphine I wouldn't go there..

 

[pennyturner]

I have also seen people make a PTS decision, because a loss claim based on insured value is guaranteed to be successful, wheras a 'conservative management' regime for 6mths (which might or might not fully work) would make a very dodgy loss of use claim, which might not pay out.

I'd rather not have an insurance company influencing my decision, personally.

 

[Cortez]

Not. If a vet bill comes up I pay it. Insurance is a business, which means they make money out of YOU. Having horses means having vet bills occasionally, which should be factored in to the running costs. I also think insurance is directly responsible for both high vets fees and putting many horses through lengthy and ultimately unsuccessful or unnecessary procedures.

 

[Goldenstar]

I hate anyone ever controlling my decisions and it's cheaper to carry the risk myself .
I have third party of course.

 

[paddy555]

I have also seen people make a PTS decision, because a loss claim based on insured value is guaranteed to be successful, wheras a 'conservative management' regime for 6mths (which might or might not fully work) would make a very dodgy loss of use claim, which might not pay out.

I'd rather not have an insurance company influencing my decision, personally.

the final para of this. It is very liberating not being dictated to by a vet and insurance company. You are in charge. You can make a decision as quickly or slowly as you like. If you want to turn the horse out and leave it you can. If you want to PTS immediately for welfare reasons you can do it.

All you need is a credit card set aside with a reasonable balance on it and not to be tempted to use it for anything else. If you have to use it if you don't opt for colic surgery the balance may not be too high and you can move it around 0% cards if you haven't saved sufficient by then.

 

[Spottyappy]

We currently have 2 insured, 1 BHS go,d and 1 in loan insured by the family who loan Her.
I am considering stopping rg insurance on my mare as its £350 at renewal this month and again she has a lot of exclusions.
How much, approx, does everyone think you need?
I can put my hands on 2k maybe quickly, but not 6/7k?

 

[Ranyhyn]

I don't. Just BHS gold and the ability to pts if required.

 

[Andalucian]

I stopped insuring when we bought a second horse, and have BHS Gold (we do insure the horse we have on loan). I am happy to use my credit card if I have to, and I am fairly clear on how much I would spend/have done to each horse. I wouldn't (for example) put my 23 year old through a colic surgery, the six year old I would.

^^ this I now have 3, two oldies and a youngster. Plus without insurance YOU are the person who decides what treatment if any is undertaken. Insured peoples vet bills are huge........I wonder why?

 

[conniegirl]

I'm the opposite to all of you!

for 15 years I never insured anything other than 3rd party and never had a claim, or tbh a vet bill other than annual jabs. and a couple of cuts/scrapes that cost under £200 to fix anyway.

Then a friend of mine lost her horse to colic because she couldnt afford to do a colic op, I got cold feet and insured mine pronto. Within 5 years I had paid out just under £1500 in premiums and claimed over £12K back! (about a 1/4 of which was on a veteran policy)
Thank god I was insured as laying my hands on £12k would have been nigh on impossible.

 

[lelly]

No insurance here either. As others have said BHS gold and a credit card for emergencies. If an operation was going to be £12k as above I wouldn't be going ahead with it. I have limits on how much I would spend. No offence meant conniegirl. I respect what other people decide to do.

 

[hairycob]

I was glad I had it last year - £8.5k in claims but this year HP is 16 & most veteran policies aren't worth having. I need to shop around & think very carefully what to do. Will probably end up putting money away each month. I have a £2k emergency fund already.