Experiences of claiming for loss of use.

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Nettiefluff

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I'm considering claiming for loss of use, my insurance renewal is due and they won't cover her for loss of use due to a degenerative bone condition (she has osteo arthritis in a fetlock). She's been treated with steroids but there is still swelling. The lameness isn't the issue presently, it's more long term, that I won't be able to keep her sound and she won't be able to do what I bought her for, or sell her. Also the injury (which is pre-existing from before I bought her, insurance has already paid out on two claims for all of her treatment) has caused other issues - ulcers, tightness and spasms in her back, which is currently making her unrideable as she bolts.
I was just wondering what are other people's experiences of claiming for loss of use, and what happens to the horse afterwards? ( I know they are branded with a L).
 
Can you clarify- it sounds like you want to claim LOU but your insurance renewal won't cover it due to the condition being Pre-existing? Do you mean you're trying to renew the policy with the intention of claiming LOU?

I have never claimed LOU, but have had horses which have been branded LOU previously- they came at a price where we didn't bother insuring for vets fees so just worked with what we had so to speak. I remember from another thread on here that someone had managed to insure after LOU but presumably with loads of exclusions?
 
Melody Grey said:
Can you clarify- it sounds like you want to claim LOU but your insurance renewal won't cover it due to the condition being Pre-existing? Do you mean you're trying to renew the policy with the intention of claiming LOU?

No, my insurance renewal is due, and they won't renew her for loss of use, they are taking it off my policy. This is because I have claimed for arthritis. Therefore we are considering claiming for LOU.
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Unfortunately for B we weren't able to claim LOU due to his age as his policy wouldn't cover it as he was 17 (which IMO was ridiculous as the horse had never had any claims or history of ill health against him before and many 17yos are still competing at top levels)

B went lame with calcification in his coffin joint and needed an MRI, we struggled to get that paid out for in full including vets visits etc. even with his history being so good. From what I know, even if we had been able to claim LOU, we would have struggled and I was actually told to have him put down as that was the only way we'd get any money back from the insurance. B is completely unsound for riding and we spent more on insurance than we ever did in vets bills, even with his big bills. Unfortunately, I don't think you will get LOU as they've already said you're not covered due to the preexisting condition :(
 
conniegirl said:
If its a pre existing condition you dont stand a cat in hells chance!

Even when it is a catastrophic injury LOU is very difficult to claim
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They have already paid out for my claim for vets fees due to the pre existing injury. This condition, the arthritis, was diagnosed during this policy.
I am not asking for advice about whether I can claim. I'm asking for other people's experiences of claiming.
 
Right, I see. If you've already had payouts for the arthritis you're obviously now considered a financial liability for them so I can see why LOU is being excluded from the renewal; renewal time is a chance for the insurer to mitigate their loss. You won't get LOU with a new insurer either since the condition is Pre-existing so although it's not what you want hear, I think you have to accept that LOU isn't an option for this horse. :-/
 
Melody Grey said:
Right, I see. If you've already had payouts for the arthritis you're obviously now considered a financial liability for them so I can see why LOU is being excluded from the renewal; renewal time is a chance for the insurer to mitigate their loss. You won't get LOU with a new insurer either since the condition is Pre-existing so although it's not what you want hear, I think you have to accept that LOU isn't an option for this horse. :-/
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The condition was diagnosed during this policy, the injury was pre existing. I'm not claiming for the injury. I've already claimed for the diagnosis and treatment of the condition and they have paid. I paid £6000 for a 6 year old pony to compete in dressage, with a 5 stage vetting, to have her diagnosed with osteo arthritis 3 months later.
 
I claimed LOU for a gelding diagnosed with wobblers. I can’t recall how long it was before I claimed. I had about £5000 in vets fees claimed already for diagnosis and treatment including second opinion. I was with NFU at the time and they paid out the full 80% of value for LOU with no problems. I had the receipt for what I paid for him and got two references off my yard owner and my dressage trainer as to the worth of the horse has he not had wobblers. He’d passed a 5 stage and the problems started less than 6 months after.

He was freeze marked with an L inside a circle. To be honest it didn’t come out well and you’d be hard pushed to see what it was. I kept the horse for about another year before having him pts which obviously I had to pay for. I think from initially diagnosis to pts was about 2.5 yrs.

That was about 15-16yrs ago. I think LOU is much harder to get now.
 
Nettiefluff said:
The condition was diagnosed during this policy, the injury was pre existing. I'm not claiming for the injury. I've already claimed for the diagnosis and treatment of the condition and they have paid. I paid £6000 for a 6 year old pony to compete in dressage, with a 5 stage vetting, to have her diagnosed with osteo arthritis 3 months later.
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I see- apologies, I thought your claims were in a previous insurance cycle- my mistake.

Good luck with it x
 
I got it in 2005 for suspensory problems, was a top whp and came out wrong in a dressage lesson, did rehab still not right, then had 6 months Dr Green, was sound out competing, qualified for everything and broke again at HOYS, NFU paid with no quibble, all vets fees and LOU
 
Call the insurers and ask them, you'll get the correct answer then ;)
If they have excluded LOU from renewal but you've paid for it up to this point I would get the ball rolling on LOU asap.
It can't be awarded on potential - ie horse had potential to do dressage but won't now, that won't be covered, horse would have had to be doing the job already a and have something which will permanently prevent it returning to that level of work again.
 
You have nothing to loose by trying.
But you will need to have your vet on side for it, you will need to prove the condition isn’t manageable for the purpose you bought the horse for.

I’ve only ever claimed LOU once, the horse had 2 things going on - cushings and an accident that buggered his sacroiliac. For me the sacro was the performance limiter. Ironically NFU paid out on the cushings (he was purchased for affiliated, had an affiliated record and the drugs he needed were a banned substance). I think we agreed his residual value at £1000 as a hack and they paid out the difference.
 
ihatework said:
You have nothing to loose by trying.
But you will need to have your vet on side for it, you will need to prove the condition isn’t manageable for the purpose you bought the horse for.
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I'm taking her to the vets on Thursday for another steroid injection so will talk to the vet about it then. Basically she would be lame if it isn't medicated, I bought her to ride - school, low level dressage, and if she's lame I can't do that. Out of the 11 months that I've owned I've only been able to ride for about 6 months.
 
Nettiefluff said:
I'm taking her to the vets on Thursday for another steroid injection so will talk to the vet about it then. Basically she would be lame if it isn't medicated, I bought her to ride - school, low level dressage, and if she's lame I can't do that. Out of the 11 months that I've owned I've only been able to ride for about 6 months.
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I think you might struggle I’m afraid.
For schooling and low level dressage, especially if steroid responsive, I’m not sure she would be considered LOU
 
LOU is often seen as hard to claim for, as it is normally quite a drawn out process. The insurer needs to establish that the horse is permanently incapable of being used for the insured activity and so all treatment options have to be investigated. They will also need their vet to agree with your vet that this is a permanent loss of use case.

I think if your horse currently isn’t lame they wouldn’t accept LOU at this stage, but no harm in having your vet write up a report and speaking to the insurers about it to see what they recommend
 
I'll talk to my vet and the insurance, I suppose I am clutching at straws as I bought a pony that I was told was ready to compete at prelim, it's taken me 7 months before she was ready to compete, doing a few intros and one prelim. Mainly because in the first week of owning her she bucked and bolted, having me off twice. So I then had a dangerous unrideable pony. I tried to return her with no success, I threatened court action but decided not to go ahead. We then got the diagnosis of osteo arthritis after two months, another month or two and I started riding her. Then a month again she started bolting again, I've fallen off another three times, one of which of had to go to hospital. So again I have a dangerous unrideable pony that certainly isn't worth what I bought her for, I certainly couldn't sell her. At the moment I don't want to ride her, I know she is reacting to pain and I have to get her through it. She has also been treated for ulcers, and been treated by physio and osteopath. My vet bills are over £5000 now and I have two insurance claims running. All this is due to a previous injury from before I bought her. I had her 5 stage vetted but not xrays.
 
I’m a bit confused about the previous injury before you bought her. Did you only find out about the injury after purchase?
 
Elbie said:
I’m a bit confused about the previous injury before you bought her. Did you only find out about the injury after purchase?
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She has scars on her back legs, but we were told that they didn't cause her any problems, she wasn't lame, and she passed a 5 stage vetting. The vet didn't think they were an issue. I did consider having the bloods from the vetting tested, and spoke to the vet, but didn't get it done.
 
Ah ok. I was thinking that would be grounds for the seller to accept a return but I guess they could argue it is irrelevant and it would be hard to prove.

You may have a case if the vet can vouch for you trying treatment and then a return to exercise has resulted in a pain response. A LOU claim is generally when you get to the end of the line, so there isn’t anything else to try (or both vets agree it isn’t worth trying more).

It doesn’t hurt to ask though (other than maybe your vet charging for a report) but insurers will be able to advise how to proceed
 
It's quite a while now but I successfully claimed LOU for my coloured cob. He had severe arthritis in his knee meaning he was only very light hacking sound. My vet was ace. NFU paid out no quibble.
 
I claimed for LOU for a horse I had about 4 months. She was diagnosed with kissing spines.
They paid out as I had her 5 stage vetted and the dealer I bought her off gave me his 2 stage vetting. My vet also backed it up plus I had two experts (trainers) confirm her value when I bought her.
I bought her Xmas and by May they had paid out!
 
Nettiefluff said:
Those that successfully claimed for LOU, what happened to the horse afterwards, did you keep them?
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Yes, initially as a light hack, then as a pasture ornament, then as he deteriorated further he was PTS age 10 (knackered suspensory).

Some LOU horses can carry on happily enough in lighter work. Personally I wouldn't sell one on, though, in case it was inappropriately ridden and cared for further on down the line.

The compulsory LOU freezemark is an excellent innovation, it wasn't around when I had my payout. Undoubtedly inurance write off horses were medicated up and sold on back then.
 
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Mine was stamped LOU, I kept him for 6 months to assess what he could/couldn’t do and then loaned him out as a light hack, which is where he still is ? 5 years later
 
Thanks for your replies everyone.
So I took her to the vets yesterday for a lameness consultation and steroid injection. She is lame again, which is undoubtedly causing the tightness and spasms in her back, which has caused her to bolt the last four times I've ridden her or tried to get on. It is only a subtle lameness, but it maybe that the last steroid has worn off (she also had a longer lasting medication that lubricates the joint, I can't remember what it's called, the last time which should still be working). We decided not to medicate this time as we are considering MRI or arthroscopy. I talked to my vet and their admin person that deals with the insurance claims, and they've written a report and submitted it to my insurance company for LOU. They said the insurance company will probably come back asking for more diagnostics or treatment, which is another reason why we are considering MRI or arthroscopy. She certainly isn't able to do what I bought her for currently, I can't even ride her at the moment, the last time I tried to get on she bolted. The pain from the arthritis is causing the problems in the rest of her body, the muscle tightness and spasms, and she's had gastric ulcers. It isn't going to go away and will only get worse. I may be able to ride her after further treatment and regular steroids but this is not what I wanted when I paid £6000 for a 6 year old pony a year ago.
 
Nettiefluff said:
Thanks for your replies everyone.
So I took her to the vets yesterday for a lameness consultation and steroid injection. She is lame again, which is undoubtedly causing the tightness and spasms in her back, which has caused her to bolt the last four times I've ridden her or tried to get on. It is only a subtle lameness, but it maybe that the last steroid has worn off (she also had a longer lasting medication that lubricates the joint, I can't remember what it's called, the last time which should still be working). We decided not to medicate this time as we are considering MRI or arthroscopy. I talked to my vet and their admin person that deals with the insurance claims, and they've written a report and submitted it to my insurance company for LOU. They said the insurance company will probably come back asking for more diagnostics or treatment, which is another reason why we are considering MRI or arthroscopy. She certainly isn't able to do what I bought her for currently, I can't even ride her at the moment, the last time I tried to get on she bolted. The pain from the arthritis is causing the problems in the rest of her body, the muscle tightness and spasms, and she's had gastric ulcers. It isn't going to go away and will only get worse. I may be able to ride her after further treatment and regular steroids but this is not what I wanted when I paid £6000 for a 6 year old pony a year ago.
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Good luck, hopefully your insurance company will come on your side.

In a way it’s ‘good’ (hollow laugh) that she has gone lame again so quickly, it will actually strengthen your case that the horse is unsound and unrideable and that standard treatment protocols aren’t working.

Yes you will probably need more diagnostics. Keep a £ tally in your head and use wisely as you can easily get to the stage of maxing out the insurance
 
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