Following on from my previous thread… insurance decision - advice needed

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Jingleballs

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I’d posted here yesterday about some issues I have found with my insurance policy – details here for anyone interested –

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=489638

In summary, been with NFU for 4 years, claimed once for mild colic treatment 2 years ago but as a result of this all future colic claims are excluded from my policy even if my vet is willing to write to insurer advising that there have been no future occurances.

I raised a claim with them yesterday for a bill of about £350 to treat a cut that my horse had received to his leg which had become infected. I could have paid the bill myself but as my excess is only £145 I decided to claim on it and having spoken to the insurer as this is a cut not affecting the structures of the leg there should be no future exclusions on that leg unless it is directly linked to this injury (I’m sure that they’d probably use this as an excuse if I ever do need to claim on that leg again)

I am however really angry about the colic exclusion – my premium has increased to £50 but I’m getting less cover.

So here are the options I’m considering –

1. Stay with NFU for the next year (policy only just renewed) and hope pony doesn’t get colic and them move to another insurer after 12 month

OR

2. Cancel my claim and policy with NFU, pay the bill myself and get insured elsewhere with an insurer that is £5 a month more expensive but who will cover me for colic

Option 2 will obviously leave me more out of pocket in that the current injury will not be covered by my new policy and this bill and any future bills relating to this injury in the coming weeks will be excluded. I also had a higher cost to set up the new policy due to the higher deposit required and I’m also not sure if I get my £50 back from NFU.

I keep bouncing between the two options – option 2 has a clear long term benefit but means on the short term I’ll be wiping out a fair bit of my savings.

Help!
 
Second that. We do the same, insure for 3rd party and put money away for vets bills. Our horses don't go without and the £100 a month (£50 from me, £50 from hubby) we put away mounted up very quickly. :)
 
I'm sure that if you move to a new insurer colic will still be excluded. You won't have to inform them when you take out your new policy, but if you come to claim for colic and the new company ask for your horses history, it will show that he has had colic in the past.
 
Black_Horse_White said:
I'm sure that if you move to a new insurer colic will still be excluded. You won't have to inform them when you take out your new policy, but if you come to claim for colic and the new company ask for your horses history, it will show that he has had colic in the past.
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That's the thing though - two other insurers have confirmed that if I get a letter from my vet stating that there has been no colic in the last year they will not exclude colic on my policy.

I've had a chat with AMT - was upfront about his current injury (small cut being treated) and they have stated that although they will obviously not provide any cover for the cut itself it is only that specific cut that will be excluded and the leg as a whole will not be affected.

Going to sleep on it but it looks likely that I'll cancel my NFU policy and switch to ATM.
 
If the colic was only medical colic, i.e. no surgery necessary, and was 4 years ago, there should be no need for an exclusion, and I'm very surprised that NFU still keep it on, that seems unfair.

If I were you, I would definitely move to another insurer if you want to keep on the insurance route.
 
Re. the cut, if it happened before renewal, NFU (used to) pay for twelve months from the incident date for ongoing treatment, irrespective if you cancel the policy.

If it was after renewal and you cancel the policy back to renewal then you would have to pay the claim back.

Hope this helps.
 
Maesfen said:
Personally I'd save my money, take vet cover off your policy and put an amount away each month to cover costs, put it on a card even then you have no worries about what's covered or not.
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I wouldn't dare do that.

I have had Reena 5yrs. I have payed out approx £2200 in insurance premiums. In the past year I have had a claim around the £3k mark, and have just today found out that she needs an operation to remove a bone chip (will be a seperate claim) so no doubt that one will be 4 figures as well.

If I didn't have insurance I would be well and truly screwed.
 
I can't agree with the other 2 posters.
I would ask NFU to reconsider the colic exclusion - they can talk to their underwriters. If the horse has not got a history of colic this seems very knee jerk. They did the same with excluding my mare's eye after a field injury.

It really depends what risks you want to take. It is easy for folk to say stash away the premiums, but come on colic surgery for example is around the £5,000.
I kept horses for years - native types and never insured only for 3rd party liability, They had one tiny vet bill each inthe 17 or so years of ownership. However we bought a young WB last September. He is insured to the hilt and thank God. He has had £1k on ulcer treatment, £1.5k on eye treatment for a scratched eye and he had to be hospitalised, £5k (he is £100 off the limit now) for an SI injury and I am pursuing a loss of use claim as we speak. If we were uninsured...............I don't know what we would have done and if I am honest he would likely have been pts :(
My daughter's cob has been insured by us for the past 5 years and never a claim, but my ISH maxed out at over £5k on an eye laceration requiring 2 surgeries at Newmarket just 3 months after getting her. It's a gamble I won't take for sure.
 
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Bramble74 said:
Re. the cut, if it happened before renewal, NFU (used to) pay for twelve months from the incident date for ongoing treatment, irrespective if you cancel the policy.

If it was after renewal and you cancel the policy back to renewal then you would have to pay the claim back.

Hope this helps.
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The cut happened about a week before the renewal date but I didn't claim it until after the renewal date as initially we thought it didn't need a lot of treatment and therefore I wouldn't have claimed on it anyway.

Based on review of NFU these day's I'd be amazed if they would still pay for the claim.

I've just rung up and cancelled - they were useless at that too - couldn't tell me when my premiums paid to date would be refunded was just told to chase up the accounts department.

I'm now with AMTrust - or will be from tomorrow morning. My vet is faxing through details of previous colic so that this exclusion can be removed. They couldn't have been more helpful and also saving me £90 a year.

I've just paid of my vet's bill myself - does still make you wonder why you have insurance though - perhaps we need to only get into the habit of claiming for major illnesses that we couldn't possibly afford to pay on our own.
 
Babybear said:
The cut happened about a week before the renewal date but I didn't claim it until after the renewal date as initially we thought it didn't need a lot of treatment and therefore I wouldn't have claimed on it anyway.

Based on review of NFU these day's I'd be amazed if they would still pay for the claim.QUOTE]

They should pay your claim. Your insurance is on a 12month basis going from the date of the illness/injury. Therefore, even if the accident happened the day before your policy expired, you would still have 12 months of treatment to claim for it. May as well try and get some of your money back
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Elbie said:
Babybear said:
The cut happened about a week before the renewal date but I didn't claim it until after the renewal date as initially we thought it didn't need a lot of treatment and therefore I wouldn't have claimed on it anyway.

Based on review of NFU these day's I'd be amazed if they would still pay for the claim.QUOTE]

They should pay your claim. Your insurance is on a 12month basis going from the date of the illness/injury. Therefore, even if the accident happened the day before your policy expired, you would still have 12 months of treatment to claim for it. May as well try and get some of your money back
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That's a good point- I've phoned NFU just to chase up my claim and they've stated that the claim still isn't logged on the system yet but that by early next week I should receive a summary and I can update the claim so that the claim payment comes directly to me.

Fingers crossed I might get lucky and they might actually pay out but I'm not holding my breath!
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Elbie said:
Babybear said:
The cut happened about a week before the renewal date but I didn't claim it until after the renewal date as initially we thought it didn't need a lot of treatment and therefore I wouldn't have claimed on it anyway.

Based on review of NFU these day's I'd be amazed if they would still pay for the claim.QUOTE]

They should pay your claim. Your insurance is on a 12month basis going from the date of the illness/injury. Therefore, even if the accident happened the day before your policy expired, you would still have 12 months of treatment to claim for it. May as well try and get some of your money back
Click to expand...

There is usually wording to say that, in order to trigger the 12 month extension on any injury/illness, the incident has to be reported within the currency of the policy, i.e. before the expiry/renewal date. If the policy lapsed and wasn't renewed then, if that condition is in the wording, they're within their rights not to pay if the incident wasn't reported until after expiry. However, if the policy was renewed, they should be able to deal with it on the previous policy year.

If you're having trouble, make a complaint. If you complain to the ombudsman, they have to respond and it costs them cash. Often, it's cheaper for them to pay than face all that expense and palaver!
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