Horse insurance

Keira 8888

Keira 8888

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 June 2020
Messages
880
Visit site
Hi guys!

wanted to ask what horse insurance you have - do you always include vet fees, public liability and cover for death?

I have just bought a 16 year old gentle giant and don’t imagine him causing too much havoc but conscious that I want to have good cover in place just in case!

Would you advise that I got standard or veteran cover?

how much do you guys pay roughly per month and who with?

Thanks so much!
 
I exclude PL from policies as I take out BHS gold that covers all the horses.

I insure strategically - anything that I’d want to throw the veterinary works at I insure for as much cover as possible. I however try and keep their value as low as I can get away with as the death cover (which is usually mandatory in order to get vets) isn’t my primary concern.

If there are multiple exclusions / horse (semi)retired / not competing I usually stop insuring. I generally wouldn’t spend thousands to keep an unsound horse alive, so pay for routine bits and bobs directly and they then take their chances.

Veteran cover will usually exclude a few common veteran ailments so read the small print carefully. I think you probably need to decide what you can/are willing to find out of your own pocket should disaster happen, what your attitude is regarding PTS for something potentially expensive but fixable and then that will drive the type of insurance coverage you should have.
 
ihatework said:
I exclude PL from policies as I take out BHS gold that covers all the horses.

I insure strategically - anything that I’d want to throw the veterinary works at I insure for as much cover as possible. I however try and keep their value as low as I can get away with as the death cover (which is usually mandatory in order to get vets) isn’t my primary concern.

If there are multiple exclusions / horse (semi)retired / not competing I usually stop insuring. I generally wouldn’t spend thousands to keep an unsound horse alive, so pay for routine bits and bobs directly and they then take their chances.

Veteran cover will usually exclude a few common veteran ailments so read the small print carefully. I think you probably need to decide what you can/are willing to find out of your own pocket should disaster happen, what your attitude is regarding PTS for something potentially expensive but fixable and then that will drive the type of insurance coverage you should have.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much :)
 
Veteran insurance is really not worth it. The amount of things they will cover is very small. I think external injury only.

Pl is important (my yo insists on it) but you can get it through bhs membership or similar. A friend once needed it when her horse accidentally kicked a car while unloading at a show

I then have vets fees and loss of animal. Be aware that in order to get loss of animal the horse needs pts under BEVA guidelines, which are that horse is suffering and there is nothing else the vet can do.

Also be aware that pre existing conditions will not be covered and then anything you claim for will be excluded after your 12 months treatment window. They will ask for a vetting certificate if you have one and may exclude things on the basis of that.

I have always had my horses insured and have definitely got more back from the insurance companies than I have paid them.
 
if you search on here you will find insurance is a minefield and some of us don't insure. ie we keep the premiums and self insure others insure for everything possible. It is well worth reading old threads about this to see what has happened in various instances which may give you some ideas as to what you want to cover. .

It is easy to get PL insurance if you don't insure.
 
I sadly learned how valuable insurance was when my 5yo did her DDFT in the field shortly after I bought her and rapidly ran up vet bills into 5 figures before we lost her, for this reason I would always insure where possible.

Although that said, only my 2yo is currently insured as unfortunately when I came to insure my older boy after 3 years of loaning him I discovered that despite us only ever claiming for ulcers in the time I'd loaned him we had many exclusions due to his age (he was 16 at the time). For him, I put money aside each month, as well as having a credit card with a rather large limit in case of emergency, but I'm also very clear in my own mind what I would and wouldn't put him through treatment-wise.

We get PL through our BD and BHS membership.
 
FestiveFuzz said:
I sadly learned how valuable insurance was when my 5yo did her DDFT in the field shortly after I bought her and rapidly ran up vet bills into 5 figures before we lost her, for this reason I would always insure where possible.

Although that said, only my 2yo is currently insured as unfortunately when I came to insure my older boy after 3 years of loaning him I discovered that despite us only ever claiming for ulcers in the time I'd loaned him we had many exclusions due to his age (he was 16 at the time). For him, I put money aside each month, as well as having a credit card with a rather large limit in case of emergency, but I'm also very clear in my own mind what I would and wouldn't put him through treatment-wise.

We get PL through our BD and BHS membership.
Click to expand...

I’m sorry to hear that :( that must have been very hard for you. Hope you don’t mind me asking, but what kind of treatment would you draw the line at for a horse? Especially one at 16+. It’s good for me to get a feel for these things. Thank you xx
 
Keira 8888 said:
I’m sorry to hear that :( that must have been very hard for you. Hope you don’t mind me asking, but what kind of treatment would you draw the line at for a horse? Especially one at 16+. It’s good for me to get a feel for these things. Thank you xx
Click to expand...

It was an awful time, but at least the insurance money gave us the peace of mind that we’d explored all possible options before PTS, although in hindsight I’d have probably let her go sooner. Personally I wouldn’t want to put him through colic surgery and would probably err towards time and dr green when it comes to soft tissue injuries, especially if the prognosis wasn’t great as he owes me absolutely nothing at this stage.

I’m probably more focused (or possibly neurotic!) on maintenance where he’s concerned as I’m a strong believer prevention is the best course of action where possible. So he’s on a daily joint supplement, has regular physio/chiro sessions and where necessary has injections to help where his joints are concerned and also has an activo-med rug which I use before riding to help keep him supple.
 
Have a look at petplan. They would do a full policy or veteran policy for a 16yo horse. The full policy will be more expensive but you are covered for injury and illness with £5000 vets fees. The veteran policy will give you £1000 vet coverage for accident, lameness or injury but nothing for illness but it’s pretty cheap.
 
I think it is a good idea to examine your personal attitude to risk. If you have just bought the horse you know its monetary value (to you).
My horses have low or no monetary value so I don't insure and have a fund for vet fees. I have liability insurance elsewhere.
With regard to vet fees I prefer to be in control of what treatments or procedures my horses have without having to get insurers agreement. An example was when my mare had peritonitis, the vet suggested colic type surgery which I wouldn't do, she was treated in hospital with antibiotics and was fine but if she had died she wouldn't have been covered by insurance as I hadn't agreed with the vets primary suggestion. She was covered at the time for loss of animal.
 
I’ve never bothered with death cover. I don’t have expensive horses and feel that the last thing I’d want to be doing after loosing a horse is filling out insurance forms.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top