Blooming vet certs and insurance!

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WeeBrown

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I recently got a little cob vetted - 5 stage - and have sent it on to my insurance company as requested. I got back my updated cover today and they have whacked on loads of exemptions. The vet cert made some brief mention of the horse being slightly head shy, that the buyer was aware of sweetich and that he ever so slightly over reaches. I am not now covered for any instances where the injury might be related to sweetich or his head shy behaviour....he only shakes his head up if you hold his nose for too long because he is a bit bolshy and likes his own way (which I will be sorting out) and if he gets any injuries from overeaching I have to pay three times the excess! Does this seem a bit over the top, should I argue that this is ridiculous or is this about right? My other horse is excluded for strangles for 3 more years and her capped hock which is fair enough but these latest ones seem a bit much.
 
Ah, welcome to the lovely world of insurance companies. If they can find any slight excuse not to pay they won't! You can try to argue the point but I doubt you will get anywhere.

The trend for insurance companies insisting on copies of the vetting certificate is making life difficult. As vets we are obliged to mention every small detail in case it comes back to bite us in the future (sorry but many horse owners seem to think that having a horse vetted guarantees its good health and soundness for the next 10 years), unfortunately the insurance companies like to exclude every little detail you mention, no matter how trivial it actually turns out to be.
 
between £220 and £300 depending on vet
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More if include testing the blood etc etc.
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Thankyou, thats quite a lot isn't it! but then horses do cost a lot in general so doesn't suprise me. thanks
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I had known the horse 2 years and he had no issues in that time but I wanted him vetted to make sure I hadn't missed anything. I can understand why you vets have to be careful, with the ever increasing compenation claims. I was amused to see on my vet cert it even says he needed his feet doing as farrier was due that same morning but thankfully the insurance have not gone as far as excluding his hooves
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With my first horse I had a fight on to get them to take off the exclusion for her lower legs as when she was vetted she had just receovered from strangles and as she had been in for a while her leg showed some slight filling so they excluded these.
 
Vetting costs do vary around the country - my vets charge £160 +vat for a 5 stage.
My mare had an exclusion for "saddle sores" because she had a rub on her withers from an old & dirty numnah when she was vetted. Took me a year & a re-exam by my vets & a letter from them to get that lifted!!! Not really sure why I bothered because she is so spoilt with me that it could never happen again - just seemed a principle to get it lifted really.
 
You have to remember insurance companies insure for unforseen incidents NOT the inevitable! Of course they're going to exclude sweetitch as the horse is unlikely to suddenly stop having sweetitich. If the horse is also known to overreach you are lucky they are covering overreach injuries at all as often these can be excluded.

As for the feet - well just cos they needed a visit by the farrier would not warrant an insurance company puttinga n exclusion on. They haveused their common sense as are aware a bit of foot care is all that is needed.

Sorry but i think, as an underwriter myself I would have pretty much excluded the same problems. Although you may be able to get the headshaking one reviewed if the vet can confirm it is only when doing what you have said.
 
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but you are seeing it from an underwiter's point of view....I wanted 'horse owners with enough money aspects to worry about' to answer the post
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I totally agree with the sweetich as I did with the strangles of the first horse (although I have actually noticed that on the original document it said for 5 years and now it says excluded full stop which I will be ringing them about!). What I am fussed about is the headshy - "injuries directly or indirectly caused by any headshy nature" is rather vague to me especially as he isn't really headshy. I wish I'd been there for the vetting but that's the prob with being a teacher.
Thanks for the answers (and the post hijack
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Ah but I am a horse owner too!!

I would agree re the headshy/headshaking but they will probably request a vet confirm they do not see this as a problem.
 
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