Do I really need rider insurance?

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Thelwell_Girl

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Was wondering today, I am riding more than I have ever done before. Starting to ride friends horses as well (Snoysadude, I WILL come! :D).

Is it worth me getting rider insurance? As part of it, does it need to cover the horse? I dont really know *what* rider insurance covers at all :o Could someone explain?

If so, can anyone recommend me a company?

Sorry for all the questions!

Have some of these lovely Maple Crunch Bars :D

TG xx
 
Yes!

I share a horse and an covered by NFU about £60ish a year.
Imagine your out on hack and the horse bolts, you cause a road accident, you get sued, how would you pay?
Your riding your friends beloved horse, it pulls a tendon, she ins't insured and can't afford the vets bills, horse gets put down. How would you feel?
Loads more reasons but well worth the money.
 
Having cancelled my rider insurance because I wanted to bring my premiums down oh how I wish I hadn't. Two weeks later had my accident and 6 months off work, an operation and hospital stay later and ran up a huge overdraft due to my salary stopping and only getting SSP.

Weigh things up. Can you manage, moneywise, if you were incapacitated? I am lucky I have a hard working husband but if his work had dried up or I was on my own I could not have managed.

Although my insurance payment may not have been huge, every little penny would have helped.
 
Yes, if your riding no matter how much or how little, it's certainly worth having, specially if you don't have a horse of your own that is insured where you'd be covered anyway (depending on what you opted for), for example, if you came off and hit your face on something...I duno like a jump or a fence post and damanged your jaw and took out all your front teeth, your insurance would cover this.

With out it, you'd struggle with the Maple Crunch Bars, put it that way. :D

Besides it's quite cheap, so it's worth having.
 
Hi
I have been riding my friends horses for the last few years and have been insured rider only with NFU, as someone else said you need to really be covered on the roads in case of accident.
Also now that I am looking to buy, I am covered for trying other peoples horses on the road public liability wise.
I might be wrong but I think the insurance also covers the horse for any emergency treatment needed whilst you are on him due to accident, but I am not def sure without checking my policy.
Hope this helps.
lara
 
Yes you do! If not for youself, then for others. If something happens whilst the horse is in your care, you may be liable.
Riding schools are insured so you are fine for hacking out with them, but you should have public liability insurance for any non-school activities as a minimum.
If the horse you are riding kicks out at a parked car for example, you will have to pay the repair costs - something your insurer would pick up for you.
The law regarding animals is somewhat unfair at the moment and things that you may not think would be the owner / rider fault would be considered so in law.
As others have said, there is also the personal accident element of cover that would pay out to you if you were injured.
Rider policies will cover all these elements - you also want to make sure vet fees are covered in case of an accident whilst you are riding - that way there is no awkwardness etc. between you and the owner should god forbid the horse get injured whilst you are riding it.
Have a look at some policies to see what suits - I work in insurance so feel free to PM me with any specific questions you may have. As boring as it may seem, it really does pay to read the small print.
 
YES. i cant shout it loud enough.
i used to ride a friends cob & never bothered with rider insurance as i knew she had pub lib on him, it was just lucky the day he paniked & went over backwards on me that the tractors had left mud on the road & he slipped into the ditch & squashed just my legs into the soft ground & wew walked home all abet stiffly. had he not slipped he would have come down on top of me on the road & im guessing 16h's of big sec D would have meant no more little ole Ej (i dont do being jam!)
 
Yes purely for the fact that I ride other peoples horses and 3rd party liability is a bare minimum IMO.

BHS Gold Membership is £50 (or was when I joined) and you get free insurance.
 
Yes, I am BHS gold member which includes public liability. Horses are unpredictable animals, you can never tell what is going to happen. I would not ride without it.
 
I've got rider insurance with Petplan, the premium policy is about £90, covers you for 3rd party liability, death of horse (pays out a certain amount), emergency vets fees if a horse in your care is injured due to your negligence, tack cover up to £1500 I think, and all the rider bits and bobs like dental/hospital cover if you're injured and off work and death cover... I think if you're riding other peoples' horses rider insurance is imperative.
 
BHS gold membership should do you

I had an absolutley mare when I tried to get covered a few months ago - BHS said theres wasnt what I needed try NFU. They said they couldnt insure me if there was an exchange of money taking place!! yes this is really what they said. Try pet plan they said.

Pet plan also said no it wasnt what I needed again (was sharing and riding friends horses so quite alot of riding)

Gave up with it in the end.
 
yes!

BHS are doing a special until the 31 oct of 30% off the full price.

You never know when something may happen. I had to claim of someones insurance when their horse sat on my company car and put a wacking great dent in the back door.
 
I had decided I needed it. Looked into the policies (petplan, NFU dont seem to publish their policy), and it seems that if you actually have the kind of accident where you need them to pay out (e.g. permanent disability/loss of job) youre covered for £10,000. Which, in that situation is going to be about as helpful as a chocolate teapot. At least I would find the teapot amusing.
I don't need paying £30 per night to stay in hospital, and thankfully in the UK we have the NHS to give free treatment for whatever injury I suffer whether I get it by riding or crossing the road.

All the horses I ride have insurance for at least 3rd party liability, and no one on earth will try to bankrupt the rider of a horse in an attempt to prove fault when there is strict liability for equine damage and the horse is insured.

The most useful bit of the policy seems to be the £1000 dental cover as depending on the damage there is a good chance the NHS would not pay. That said, having been riding 20 years, at a policy fee of £70 per year, and touch wood never having had a dental injury, I'm already £400 up on their maximum payout.

I am ready and willing to get rider insurance, as soon as I find a real benefit I think it could give me.
 
Did you say that you were a pony club member? You do get insurance as a pony club member, and if I remember correctly (which I don't always at this time of night!) you should be covered the same as a BHS gold member - so check it out before you cover yourself twice... It may differ if you are a member of a pony club centre, but ask your DC, or look it up on the pc website...
 
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