Do we all have insurance?

Champion1969

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My due again next month and im really thinking about not bothering. My excess is £500 and £3,500 vet fees = £30 a month. The monthly cost doesnt bother me its just thinking about it rationally, and I really dont know what to do. Sods law if I put a claim in they would find a way of getting out of it. If I had to pay for disposal cost from my own pocket it would still be around the £500 mark. After years of paying and been luckly enough to never have a claim, im not sure anymore!

How does everyone feel about this?
 

Red-1

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Mine is due at the end of this month. I have just (Wednesday) informed them that I will not be renewing.

Jay has an exclusion now for his suspensory, so logically I will be better to save the money into a fund, as that is the part likely to need treatment in the future. If I spend the money on insurance then his suspensory fund will remain bare.

I can afford treatment now if he needs it, from savings, but the fund will grow and then that will be set aside for him. We had no claims for 4 years, then this, and even though he has had 3 sets of X rays, 3 scans, PRP therapy, some fancy high speed vibration that I can't remember the name, numerous exams, etc etc..... we are overall still out of pocket.

He is covered 3rd party through the BHS, and my tack is covered through the house policy.
 

indiat

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As Red-1, third party liability through the BHS, tack covered through the house. We have a savings fund we put the money into instead. Luckily, we have natives who are tough as old boots so I know I have enough for a really huge bill. But in my previous experience of trying to claim over a dog's vet bills, insurer do everything they can to get out of paying bills. A friend tried to claim vet bills and death when her beautiful ISH died at the age of six, and they dragged it out for nearly a year. It made her horse's traumatic death so much worse.
 

Honey08

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I ditched mine two years ago. I was paying £100/month on dogs and horses. In the last 6 months I've had a dog damage its cruciate and a horse with a bone chip! Their combined bills have been £1500 (both thankfully avoided operations and are doing well). However, if I'd still been paying premiums I'd have paid another £900 and there would have been an excess on both treatments.. So I'm still ahead, despite two big incidents. I saved most of what I would have paid, plus had a credit card available for emergencies. I have third party for the horses through the BHS and for the dog's through the Dogs Trust. I did have a wobble when something happened in autumn that made our household income look fragile, just as the dog injured itself, and both will stay on medication that the insurance would have paid for (although not sure how long they'd pay out for?), but overall I'm ok with it. I think the vets are better somehow too.
 

huskydamage

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I just have third party and same for my dogs. Anything really dear Id use savings and everything else I end up paying for anyway. My horse is too old to be covered for anything and my tack is all second hand not worth much.
 

debsflo

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I have Bhs Gold for my 2. My old mare is with Pet plan but am considering cancelling as she has so many exclusions plus at 24 I will not put her through surgery. My next horse I will probably change and go with Kbis as they seem to offer better cover but will only be for vets fees.
 

JillA

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Self insure - put the monthly premium into an account and if you need it it's there and if you don't you still have it. And no arguments about what is and isn't covered! If you need more before you have built up enough savings, use an interest free credit card and pay it off with the premium money. WHW and BHS offer free 3rd party liability insurance for you for any claim connected to handling horses, as part of their premium membership. Get insurance and give to a good cause at the same time.
 

Pedantic

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I'm insured mainly for the public liability, as hacking out is my main pastime, and with soooooooooo many walkers dogs cyclist and the roads etc etc ........., you def gotta be insured.
 

laura_nash

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I just have public liability with the BHS. I don't pay into any specific fund either, though I would if I was in a more precarious financial position and / or didn't have family I could call on for a loan in an emergency. Tack isn't insured, but given the crime rates here I'm happy to take that risk.

I've had my current cob 6-7 years and (touch wood) his total non-routine vet bills are around £800 over that period. Most of those were small one-offs that wouldn't have been much more than the excess.

I had a bad experience trying to claim from E&L with my first horse and then the premium's suddenly shot up on the cob after the first year despite no claims (different insurer), so I decided enough was enough.

I did have a previous dog insured for vets fees (current one isn't) and that was very worth it, but she was a nuts greyhound with a talent for self-harm (she once shut herself in the bathroom and chewed the end off a bottle of bleach for no apparent reason).
 

Greylegs

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Good question .... My lad has just turned 17 so thinking of going on to a veteran policy which would save me around £30 per month, but wonder if it's worth it at all tbh.....
 

conniegirl

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I've just not renewed my insurance, given that almost every joint in my horse has now been excluded and any form of long term box rest would not be fair on my horse I have decided to put the £75 a month into a savings account
 

teddypops

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I have insurance for vets fees - £1000 for my veterans (£10 each per month) and £5000 for my youngsters (around £30 each per month). In the last 4 years I have made 6 claims, 2 of which reached the max £5000 - sarcoids and an op for an abnormal soft palate. There is no way me saving the monthly payments would have covered these bills!
 

ycbm

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Haven't insured for many years, except third party and that's on the house policy

.It's amazing how the recommended treatment, and particularly diagnostics, can change with the magic words 'this horse is not insured'
 

Champion1969

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Haven't insured for many years, except third party and that's on the house policy

.It's amazing how the recommended treatment, and particularly diagnostics, can change with the magic words 'this horse is not insured'

Yes this is another angle I was coming to.
 

Remi'sMum

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Personally I wouldn't be without insurance for either horse or dogs. Have claimed £k's on horses over the years - admittedly ex racer TBs so arguably a more likely breed/type to need treatment.

I do understand why people choose not too, though, but for me, even if I'd put aside the premium every month from day one, it wouldn't have come close to covering the amount the insurance company has paid out over the years.
 

JustKickOn

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Mine is in an equi veteran policy, so covered for bone fractures and breaks, external injuries aaaaand that's it. I pay £46.56 every two months, with a £150 excess. I'm cancelling next time it's up for renewal - her front legs, sarcoids, skin issues, mouth and teeth aren't covered anyway. She is at the age where if something broke or it was a lengthy road to recovery, I wouldn't put her through it. I get Public Liability free through work and my tack is insured through house insurance.
 

Slightlyconfused

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We had two £5000 (and with one of those plus £2000 on a credit card as we went over) in the space of six months with one horse
And then with another a £3000 vets bill.
And that's with out the previous two years with another horse and after this with another.
Without insurance that would have been £15,000 on loan/credit card which we would have not been able to do.
My excess is £150
 

Goldenstar

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I don't insure except for third party.
As much as anything I enjoy the freedom it gives me to take decisions there's no third party in the loop with me and a injured or sick horse.
I take advice from the vets and then I decide what's going to be done nobody else has any say.
I also think insurance can cause a rush to treat where time rest and remedial work might sort the problem out better because once a problem noted you have to get going because the the clocks ticking .
We see the beginning in small animal insurance of insurance companies starting to have a list specialists ( cheaper ones )they allow as is common with human health insurance and this I think is going to come for horses .
 

Pedantic

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Not heard good reports on the BHS cover, anyone got any comments, as I would be interested, I am thinking of stopping insurance and will just want public liability if I do.
 

Nudibranch

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I just have BHS gold for third party and put money into a savings account. Got rid of vets bills insurance years ago when they started hiking premiums despite no claims. Haven't had to use the BHS cover so can't say how good it is but I have phoned for advice/possible claim due to a numpty landowner and they were helpful.
 

Goldenstar

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Not heard good reports on the BHS cover, anyone got any comments, as I would be interested, I am thinking of stopping insurance and will just want public liability if I do.

The BHS were excellent when a friend had a horse reverse into a parked car on her drive and kick it .
She had no hassle and their insurer handled everything and paid out despite the fact the car had no permission to be where it was .
 

BBP

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I cancelled mine in a strop last year after they excluded most things but his ears (even his head after vet commented on small ulcer during routine teeth care). I then spent nearly 5 grand on bills for muscle disease, glandular ulcers and head CT. The ulcers and head CT may have been covered, not sure. So if cancelling make sure you have enough in the back already, don't assume you will have time to save your premiums.
 

FfionWinnie

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3 insured for vet bills and 3 not. Also have BHS gold cover too. I've done both and won on some lost on the others. Unless you have a crystal ball it's a gamble! I agree if one has exclusions then it's an easier choice.
 

Makemineacob

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The BHS were excellent when a friend had a horse reverse into a parked car on her daughter drive and kick it .
She had no hassle and their insurer handled everything and paid out despite the fact the car had no permission to be where it was .

^^ This, only ever heard good reports about the BHS. I have gold cover.

I gave up insuring mine years ago, not worth the paper the policies are written on, savings/credit card are in place for any potential claims, my vet also offers a low rate finance plan for treatments over £1,000.
 

rachk89

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Got insurance mainly to cover for colic and large problems. I won't bother for when he gets bitten or injured when he has fights in the field. Hopefully I will never need to claim.
 

SusieT

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Depends if you can afford to spend 3.5K or put it on a card- in which case don't insure. if not then do insure.
 

conniegirl

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Depends if you can afford to spend 3.5K or put it on a card- in which case don't insure. if not then do insure.

Not quite as simple as that!
I can't really afford 3.5k and my credit cards would struggle as well, however insurance for my horse is £800 a year, every single joint in his body is excluded from any claim and putting him through any treatment requiring extensive box rest (let's face it any major claim usually involves box rest) would be cruel to put him through.
For me it is not worth the premium any longer (I have claimed nearly £5k in the last year on him) as so little is covered or there is so few treatments that I would put my horse through that I'm never going to get back what I will be paying out in future.
 

SusieT

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yes - its not black and white - obviously if you wouldn't put your horse through 3.5k worth of treatment e.g if already excluded for multiple issues or too old for treatment then you don't need that amount of cover -what I am saying is that if you can't afford to pay for any treatment - be it surgery, investigation and treatment immediately or with credit card then you need insurance, if you can afford to pay for the level of treatment you would want at 2am in the morning in an emergency then dont insure.
 

Crugeran Celt

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I insured my gelding when I bought him, two weeks later he fell coming down a slope and damaged his hock joint, telephoned the insurance company to notify them I was calling the vet. When the vet came it turned out that it was fine and purely cosmetic. Notified insurance company that I would not be putting in a claim when they informed me that his back off side leg would no longer be covered in future! I couldn't believe it so cancelled the policy and just put the money away each month.
 
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