Horse Insurance

[crazyhorses1]

hey guys just wondered who you all use/recommend and if there are things not worth having or having on ur insurance, cheers!

 

[sandi_84]

Asked this question myself not so long ago
I'm with KBIS who are cheaper than pet plan and NFU and cover for more, most of my yard is on KBIS and have great things to say, they also are quick to sort out claims and pay out when the claim is processed.

STAY AWAY from E&L and it's sister companies, even though they are really cheap they have an awful reputation for not paying out and I've read about some vets who refuse to deal with them because they are so difficult.

Hope that helps, good luck!

 

[Bikerchickone]

Have Petplan for my two, £44 a month total solely to cover £5K of vet fees per incident and 3rd party liability, although I'm considering taking out BHS Gold to do away with this. I have no cover whatsoever for loss of use etc and would only get about £120 for each of them if they had to be PTS. Reason being I could afford to replace one if I eventually ever felt I needed to, (that's not meant to sound heartless, more that I couldn't ever see me wanting another if I lost them) but I cannot afford to lay out thousands if one of them has a freak injury in the field and needs dressings twice a week, scans, skin grafts etc, as one poor baby on our yard has. My insurance is my vet bill safety net, and not a means to fund replacing my horse if the unthinkable happened. I suppose it depends on what you want from your policy.

 

[kingzeus]

I would recommend petplan I had a very bad experience with E&l

 

[Black_Horse_White]

I was with the NFU but are now with Petplan, had no problems with NFU paying out. Both not cheap but reliable.

 

[crazyhorses1]

thanks very much so by the sound of it you would recommend loss of use cover? if you do 75 or 100%? cheers

 

[Black_Horse_White]

I don't have loss of use as it's very expensive. I have loss of animal, third party liability & vets fees.

 

[crazyhorses1]

thanks, who are E&L sister companies? would anyone recommend loss of use and 60 or 100%? not too sure about having third party liability or not? help appreciated

 

[sheep]

Think 3rd party liability is a must, no matter what else you choose to cover. I think that's why quite a lot of people who choose to not have full insurance cover / self-insure will still become a BHS Gold member so they have that cover.

 

[Bertolie]

If you don't already have third party liability through the BHS or similar, I would fully recommend you take this out. One of my horses was involved in a RTA a couple of months ago that wrote off the car he was in colliding with. I am so thankful I had third party liability and was therefore covered for the damage to the car.

 

[crazyhorses1]

wow im sorry to hear that bertolie thanks very much, SEIB underwrite it by the looks of it, wondered if its cheaper doing it directly?

 

[crazyhorses1]

what are stoneways like?

 

[Luci07]

Third party liability is not a legal requirement but should be! You are legally responsible for any damage your horse causes too third party, be it directly your fault or not. At the least it is worth considering what was mentioned earlier, i.e BHS gold membership. Also if you are affililiated, then you could get cover there. Loss of use, grand idea but when you see how MUCH it hikes up your premiums you might want to think again. If you have a mare, you would also need to consider carefully as she could still have value as a brood mare. Another one who says stay away from E and L, utter waste of money. Do check your policy carefully though, i.e 5 bar locks on the tack room. If you don't want to meet the insurance companies requirements, then you are NOT covered. Finally, if anyone else rides your horse, again check carefully. NFU insure mine, but if anything happened to someone else riding them, the riders do not have cover and cannot claim on mine. My sharers have their own riding insurance.

 

[cassie summers]

i am with stoneways as they are local to me never had a problem with them but then again have never claimed they are underwritten by axa i also insure my dog with them i pay 41.00 per month for my horse which is full cover except loss of use as i didnt have her vetted when i bought her so they wont cover lou

 

[crazyhorses1]

thanks very much, yeah definately going to get third party, petplan are so expensive! defo going to stay away from E&L and SEIB is so expensive too

 

[Maesfen]

TBH any insurance, doesn't matter what it's for, car, horse, house; they're all expensive until you need them and they pay out. It's if they don't pay out when your problems start so that is why it really is worth being with a reputable company that specialises in what you want to insure so that they know what you're talking about and why/how it's happened.
For me, that company is KBIS, can't speak highly enough of them and I've been with them about 15 years now. They do what it says on the tin.

One thing to remember is to be realistic with your value as no company will pay out full whack for a 'donkey' if you've over valued it. One way to keep costs down is if you want vet cover then you could insure for just a minimal amount, say £500; that would give you your vet cover but would only pay out your basic £500 if the worst happens. Because I have too many and have a brilliant vet friend, all of mine (except riding mare) are only insured for a basic death, theft & straying (with BHS Gold membership for third party) but I insure them for enough that I could go out to replace them if necessary; if yours is a one and only then I would certainly go for vet cover especially if you're like the majority of us - hard up or a novice owner when insurance takes the sting out!

 

[Black_Horse_White]

I've always insured my horses for what i paid for them, and the NfU paid the sum insured out for both no question, I didn't have to prove there value. I also got £250 towards disposal costs.