Good Horse Insurers?

Tinker_Belle

Tinker_Belle

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After a long-term loan, I'm getting my pony back (yay!) but I need an insurer.

Can anyone recommend a good insurer?

My pony is a 14.3 mare. Rising 14 and used for general activities such as hacking, local showing etc etc.

I know certain companies are not good (naming no names....) but after doing a Google search, there are loads out there and it is confusing :confused:.

The insurance that the loanee has got her under is one of the companies that I know are not good, which is why I'm unwilling to carry on the cover once I have her back.

Thanks for any help :).
 
Would highly recommend NFU, lovely people to deal with, pay up with no quibbles and just really polite and helpful to deal with.
 
I'm with the NFU as well - slightly more expensive than others but well worth it. Been with them 15 years with my mare - only made 2 claims but they were utterly fantastic both times.

Recommend them to anyone!
 
I insure both my horse and dog with petplan, I have never had any issues with them, my mare who had colic surgery they paid up within 3 weeks and my mum as this was a long time ago had only just changed about 3 months earlier to pet plan had not set her direct debit up prop they just took the 3 months payment from the claim. My dog who in 2 years has racked up over 3 grand in vets bills madam that she is they always pay straight to my vet and very quick.
Friends of mine have in the past used NFU and have said they are also very good.
 
NFU again - my 2 YO with them - just submitted a huge claim so the jury's out at present :)

Although, my 14 YO is with pet plan he is fully insured until 25 yo whereas NFU are accidents only from ( i think!) 15
 
I was with NFU for two years...I had a big claim for an accidental injury on my horse - it was over £5,000. They then cancelled my insurance without telling me. Weeks later, I received a letter telling me they had cancelled it, and they also sent a refund cheque for the rest of my policy year (that I had overpaid).

I complained to the NFU office, and they refused to reinstate it.I went to their Customer Service team in Head Office, and they also refused any further coverage. I then wrote to the Financial Ombudsman for a resolution, they resolved in my favor. NFU Customer service then sent me a letter to say they would reinstate the policy with another office of my choice.

I followed up with the office I preferred (West Sussex), and they told me that they were not allowed to reinstate a policy - they could only offer me a new one with no-existing-conditions on it. I chased the Customer service team in Head Office - and they ignored all my calls and emails. They just came back to me on Friday last week to say they have changed their minds and will not reinstate the policy. They will only offer me a new policy with a full 5 stage vetting and will not cover pre-existing conditions. I could fight it - by going back to the Financial Ombudsman and the FSA - but it would all take more time, and in the meantime I've been left with no horse insurance. They are *******s, do not deal with them.
 
I'm with the notoriously bad E and L, but......so far they have been fine and are cheap. I bought my insurance via Horseinsurance.co.uk which (i did not notice this at the time) is underwritten by E and L.
6 months into the poilcy I had to make a claim (and a fairly complex one too)and they have not quibbled at all. They did however take a while to pay out i.e. do not pay the vets directly but considering how cheap they are I'm happy with that.
 
LouandBee said:
I'm with the notoriously bad E and L, but......so far they have been fine and are cheap. I bought my insurance via Horseinsurance.co.uk which (i did not notice this at the time) is underwritten by E and L.
6 months into the poilcy I had to make a claim (and a fairly complex one too)and they have not quibbled at all. They did however take a while to pay out i.e. do not pay the vets directly but considering how cheap they are I'm happy with that.
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The problems there is that many vet practices won't treat your horse if you are insured by E&L, unless you pay upfront.

I have had very good service (and thousands of £s of claims :o) from NFU, and am very happy with them so far :)
 
I was with NFU for two years...I had a big claim for an accidental injury on my horse - it was over £5,000. They then cancelled my insurance without telling me.
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I've yet to come across a company that has a 100% recommendation. However, having been with NFU for 15 years, and having made two substantial claims - and more recently a lesser one - I can say hand on heart that my experience with them has been second to none.

I simply would not insure with anyone other company.
 
I have to agree with amymay that a company will never get 100% good feedback and as someone said the majority of vets will make you pay up front if your insured with the certain company, I know that if a horse of mine needed treatment over a certain amount I would not be able to pay it straight out well id have to beg and plead the OH thats why I insure even while my horse is on loan I keep the insurance payments going for him that way I have peace of mind that whatever treatment he may need should be covered. and wont have to worry about finding the money before hand.
 
Have used SEIB before and claimed, no fuss paid out promptly and next year’s quote didn't rise. Then moved to NFU as they were a little cheaper - had to make a claim in the first year and next year’s cover was actually cheaper as I got a loyalty bonus. Would recommend both as equally easy to deal with.
 
Try SEIB, KBIS, or Stoneways - my vet recommended them all, and he said that these companies are all reliable and he hasn't experienced any problems with them.

I've had a horrible experience with NFU, they were extremely unprofessional, and despite being told by the Financial Ombudsman to reinstate the policy, they refused. I'd never recommend them after my experience.
 
KBIS. Been with them for years and never had a complaint to make about them. Always polite and friendly, usually another horse person on the end of the phone so they know your problems and they have always paid out very promptly plus their premiums are reasonable too.
 
NFU - they were really brilliant when I lost a pony. Paid up very quickly, less than a month and lovely sympathetic people to deal with.
Petplan did also pay out for another horse that died - but they took ages and it was bad enough losing the horse without all the toing and froing of letter writing. I got the feeling they were looking for a way out of paying. Eventually settled months later, I'd given up on getting anything.
 
Be sure to look at the Policy Keyfacts and Policy Terms etc...and read all the small print. These are available on most of the insurer's websites. If you can't find them, request ciopies and review carefully before giving out your bank details. Some of them list their exclusions and their right to cancel for no reason in these policy documents... these documents may look the same across the different insurers, but if you read them carefully, you will find some major differences in what they cover etc. Some of them will demand payment of the full year's premium (if you're on direct debit) if you make a claim. They demand that you pay it before they will pay out. Then they reserve the right to cancel the policy. For example, Petplan have some pretty nasty terms & conditions...

Check the fine print!!!
 
Im with Petplan and when my horse was pts I was able to cancel my policy... it didnt effect my claim in anyway :) I was told I didnt need to pay for policy as no longer had the horse but had paid for time he was covered so claim not effected.. :)
 
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