does anyone keep their horses UNinsured?

mollylolly said:
No way!

All mine have been insured, some years i havent claimed but some years i have claimed, bills for £5000, £2000 and £1600 in the last 5/6 years.
But it is not just vets bills, its also if god forbid they got out and caused damage or someone got hurt by the horse. Public liability etc.

I have heard of people who dont insure their horse and for me i could not do it - I like to have a safety net should anything go wrong!
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I agree.

Insurance covers my horse, his tack, loss of use, transport and livery when stabled in horspital and public liability for £36 a month. A small price to pay for so much.

IMO you're silly if you haven't got public liability insurance, you're leaving yourself wide open for a compensation claim.
 
I don't usually insure my horses.
The only one I have insured is the 3 year old I bred, but when she had sore feet in all the hard frosts/snow last year I claimed the vets fees, only to be told she would then be excluded for anything associated with her feet and pedal bones. As a lot of problems can be included in this I complained as she only had very bruised soles which they did agree with and they were only excluded for a year.

My old horse was never insured, only had a few minor vets visits in her 25 yr lifetime so it was definately cheaper for her not to be insured, although I am expecting a HUGE bill for her illness and putting to sleep and disposal last week.

The £30 average monthly payment, just for a happy hacker is quite a costly part of owning a horse. Of course its personal choice.
 
Used to insure and because I competed at a fairly high level it cost a fortune. Decided about 5 years ago to stop insuring and only once have I gone over the premium I'd have had to pay anyway.The amount I had to pay was about the same as a year's premium for that horse but still 5 years on I am well "in pocket". As someone else posted you do have to have a savings pot should there be an occasion when faced with a hefty vet's bill. I have the horses at home and their public liability is covered by my household insurance...just as if your dog say, ran out onto the road and caused an accident...if your horse is liveried maybe check with the owners re their insurance. If I am at a competition then covered by BS, BE etc. What really made me stop insuring was when liveried I saw people who had horse insurance call out vets for the most trivial things almost on a weekly basis and quickly realised just why horse insurance is SO HIGH.
 
BHS Gold for me. Whilst we were eventing the boys were insured, but one is now a loss of use job and the other had about two sides of A4 covered with exclusion clauses when he finished at 15. He's now 20 and hunting and I take the view that at his age I would probably not subject him to major surgery for anything, nor too many invasive diagnostic procedures. I rely more on rest, doctor green, Cortaflex HA and the odd sachet of bute if I really must.
 
Yes we do. We did have insurance for the 2 younger horses until we realised that we had paid out far more than either horse was worth. The Clydie had mild colic episode after eating a lot of cut nettles, one Sunday. The bill came to less than the excess but we duly notified the ins co. Colic then was excluded. When she died from a rectal prolapse 3 years later, we couldn't get a penny from ins c. So now we have BHS gold membership and know that we can pay any reasonable vet bill. We also know that we would be unlikely to have expensive surgery which then required extended box-rest, in the interests of the horse's quality of life.
 
If the gods are smiling on you, most horses will have 10-15 years or more of their life when they are too old to insure for any useful degree of vets fee cover. Those of you who say you wouldn't ever not insure, what do you do when the horse gets older? Or do you not keep older horses?

I must admit I did keep H regularly insured, but gave up when the best cover I could get for him as a then 17yo advanced endurance horse who was winning stuff at the time was to a replacement value of £500 and cover for limited accidental vets fees only. And they wanted nearly £50 a month for the privilege...
 
I did insure with a not so great company and when my lad needed to urgently be admitted on a mothering sunday - I apparently had to call the company to ask if it would be ok?....errr NOT a chance I took him there regardless thanks, and they never did pay out so cancelled.

Never took out another policy but wish I had as I am still paying for the vets now...a yr on :(
 
I use PP and im quite happy to say that i have not had any problem with them, even when having a PTS and i didnt tell them until afterwards, not a bother. I like PP because they have been good to me and my insurance premium is reasonable and cheaper than one or 2 other equine insurers
 
It is those on a tight budget who probably benefit most from insurance, - after all you may not be able to get a loan esp if you are not a home owner or have few assets to sell, as the banks are tightening up on borrowing or if you suddenly get made redundant or your circumstances change.

I'd rather pay it and never need it, than not pay it and have to get a loan agreement at short notice in order to pay for treatment. The last thing I would want to worry about if my pony was sick would be how I was going to afford to pay for treatment.

However I can see that those who have multiple horses it might be different as it could cost a fortune to insure them esp if you have loss of use (I don't have loss of use) and as long as you put the money aside the chances of them all having a serious illness or accident at the same time is probably quite slim.
 
I think for a lot of people who do not have horses that are very expensive to buy this is case especially if you keep your horse for over 10 years. It would be cheaper if my pony needed a colic surgery or some other expensive treatment to have him PTS and buy a replacement but i would be too soft to do that I am afraid.

Pearlsacarolsinger said:
Yes we do. We did have insurance for the 2 younger horses until we realised that we had paid out far more than either horse was worth.
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I'm best friends with a well known vet and she even says most insurance companies are not worth bothering with, saving account is a far better idea.

When a vet gets called has anybody else had the line " is this horse insured"? My answer is always " why should that make a difference?" but it seems to and if they can higher the bill they will. Iv always had payable bills ( touch wood) but leaves me wondering if they were insured what would the bill have been? Also makes me wonder how many people who insure their horses would have far far lower bills had the horse not been insured with no insurance company to hold their hand out to.
 
My boy isn't insured. He's 25 so very few companies will insure him and the few that do wont cover injury and illness, only one of there. But i put money aside each week just in case.
 
makes you think doesnt it!
If i had the security, i wouldnt - but at 23, living at home, and only an old fiesta to sell - A major surgury would make the begging bowl come out!!!

Wish I could save or loan instead,,, I know im giving the money away at the moment - but too scared not to!!!

lottery ticket anyone!? :D
 
Yup none of mine are, I try and put some money aside each month incase but to be honest but im a student and cannot justify it really. I will have Samba insured next year if she is competing then. And as much as my horses mean to me as they stand in the field hacking once a week (or month as it seems atm) they arent worth anything money wise. I have the BHS gold for hacking but that is it.

I have paid of vet bills before, admittingly nothing over £800 but its doable but I do have a small stash incase. And as cold hearted as this sounds I would never put my horses through colic surgery. They are full turnout and not used to being in and I wouldnt have the time to rehabilitate. Plus the stress of the experience on my horse. I did not put my horse through kissing spines surgery even though he was insured and covered. And I know some on here will strongly disagree with me.
 
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