Insurance and changing owners

[Caol Ila]

As of tonight, Caso became officially not mine anymore. My friend has bought him. However, he is still on the mare, since we decided it would be better to wean him at eight months instead of six (better for him anyway... I will be quietly going insane in a corner).

I've never sold a horse who was insured. What's the SOP? Do I just phone them up, cancel, and the new owner takes out her own insurance? He's insured as a separate horse, not a part of Hermosa. I had to wait until he was 30 days old to get him insured as his own horse because she wasn't originally insured as a broodmare (ya think?).

Does it matter that he's still with his mum? Am I overthinking?

 

[Tiddlypom]

You can cancel your policy for Caso as he has now been sold.

Has the new owner not already got him insured under her own policy? She could have prearranged that.

Keep your copy of the signed and dated sales receipt in a very safe place, just in case something happens before he is weaned. He is now the new owner's responsibility, though, insured or not.

 

[EmmaC78]

Yes you just cancel your policy and she takes out her own.

 

[SEL]

When I took on the microcob her owner spoke to petplan and we could have transferred the policy over "as is". Turns out she had tack insured which I didn't want so although I stayed with pet plan it was under a new policy

 

[Polos Mum]

Have you received all the full payment for him? and does she understand that if there is a vets bill it will be her responsibility.

While the new owner should be clear that he is 100% her responsibility before you cancel his insurance I would double check.

If she's only paid a deposit and something nasty happens she could walk away leaving you to pick up the pieces.

My now 5 y/o I bought as a yearling after he was 'sold' as a foal then never collected as he had a minor injury that prevented showing (no bother to me)

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I've just contacted the insurance and say I've sold the horse ans provided whatever documentation they requested (proof of sale). As for what the new owner did, was on them. They just contact an insurer (or not) on their own.

Transferring a plan could be an option, I've just never gone that route.

 

[poiuytrewq]

If it was a friend I’d sold too I’d probably mention to them that I was cancelling and offer to postpone it a fortnight until their own policy was up and running.
Otherwise yes just ring and cancel.

 

[Caol Ila]

Yes, he's paid for in full now.

Can policies transfer? Obviously if I cancel mine today and she takes out hers, there's 14 days where the horse won't be covered. Assuming they all work like that.

Or do what poiuytrewq said.

 

[criso]

I would talk to your friend and look at transferring if that works.

When I've looked into cancelling a policy, it's never been a case of getting all the money back. There were charges for admin and a notice period and also couldn't be cancelled in the first so many months so I would have ended up severely out of pocket.

 

[Caol Ila]

I've been on hold with NFU for half an hour. I'm going to have to go out and do things at some point.

I was also wondering if the notice period applies to selling a horse. With cars, that's a valid reason for ending a policy, and they don't charge you for it. Insurance was paid in a lump sump, not monthly.

 

[Ossy2]

When I bought my mare off my friend I had her transferred off her policy and onto mine. It helped that we were both NFU customers so straight swap. If she’s a friend I’d definitely discuss first before just cancelling.

 

[Caol Ila]

Blah. Spoke to NFU. They said I could not transfer him to a new owner. I have to cancel his policy, and she has to take out her own , which leaves the horse 14 days without cover.

Your NFU office must be more cooperative than mine.

 

[Tiddlypom]

The new owner should have sorted this out well in advance, she agreed to buy him weeks ago.

Cancel your policy with a clear conscience and let her do any worrying, if she's so minded. He is her full responsibility now.

 

[AmyMay]

Blah. Spoke to NFU. They said I could not transfer him to a new owner. I have to cancel his policy, and she has to take out her own , which leaves the horse 14 days without cover.

Your NFU office must be more cooperative than mine.

That seems incredibly inflexible.

 

[Caol Ila]

The new owner should have sorted this out well in advance, she agreed to buy him weeks ago.

Cancel your policy with a clear conscience and let her do any worrying, if she's so minded. He is her full responsibility now.

Would it matter? Can you start a new policy on a horse two weeks before you buy it, so your policy overlaps with the previous owner? That was not something that’s ever been suggested when I’ve bought horses, in this country or the US.

That seems incredibly inflexible.

Yeah. The conversation I had could have been from the Little Britain “computer says no” sketch.

 

[AmyMay]

Sorry deleted as irrelevant.

 

[milliepops]

generally speaking you can't cover the same thing (any thing, not specifically horses) with 2 policies at the same time can you? like if you double up with having your own third party then any you get automatically via membership of BHS etc sort of step aside as they are last resort cover.
Could OP have kept up her policy and the new owner start up her own so they overlap without some sort of hanky panky? granted it would be easy for 2 friends to fudge it should an issue arise. Dunno. Never been in that situation so it's a genuine question though I'm unlikely to be in that position. Hope you got your premium back pro rata at least CI. i pay mine monthly and when i've cancelled mid term they've just stopped taking the payments if there hasn't been a claim.

 

[Caol Ila]

One friend told me that she tried this when she sold a horse years ago. The horse colicked shortly after the new owner bought it, and since the new owner's insurance hadn't yet kicked in, the old owner kept her policy. My friend said she had to do some very fast talking in order to not have the policy invalidated for her other horse. So I didn't think Tiddlypom's argument -- that this would not be a thing if new owner had taken out insurance weeks ago -- was above board. Or possible. Especially with other horses on the policy. They ask for passport details, and do you know who usually has those? The current owner. They ask when you purchased the horse. When I bought Hermosa, I arranged it a couple weeks before I paid for her in full, but it only kicked in the day she became mine, with that 14-day exclusion.

I guess the 14-day thing is designed to stop people from taking out insurance when they know they have a problem, but it ties you up. Years ago, I changed Gypsum's insurance from one company to another, because the first company raised the premium by a f*ck-ton, and I could get a much better a price with someone else. I just had to hope she stayed out of trouble for fourteen days. But I had more faith in her than a six-month old foal.

 

[Leandy]

You cancel your policy on sale (when the risk passes) and the new owner arranges their own or not as they see fit. It is quite possible (and normal) to arrange in advance when buying a new horse so the policy kicks in immediately on purchase. If you haven't cancelled your policy yet, the new owner should not assume they (or you) can claim under it if anything happens (unless it has been officially transferred). An insurance policy covers the insured's loss in respect of particular property ie the horse, so whilst the horse is yours, it covers your loss in respect of the horse. If the horse is no longer your risk, ie when you sell it, then even if something happens to the horse you cannot claim on your policy as the loss is not yours. So it is a waste of money for you to keep up the policy after sale. The purchaser needs to insure themselves. I have never insured a foal at foot so don't know if there is any issue if the mare and foal aren't in the same ownership except that I'd imagine you do open yourself up to potential liability if you are still caring for the foal along with your mare and something happens to it. I think personally I would have sold the foal at weaning to prevent such complications.

 

[Tiddlypom]

I did not mean to suggest that the new owner indulged in any funny business to defraud the insurance. I'm as straight as they come. I meant that the new owner should have prearranged a new policy to kick in as soon as ownership changed from you to her.

I've done just that when buying a horse subject to vetting. The ins co had all the horse's details and the level of cover that I wanted, and the policy started and payment was taken as soon as I phoned them to confirm that the horse had passed the vet. The horse was paid for but this was before I collected him.

 

[Caol Ila]

Yeah, but even if her insurance kicked in today, there would still be a fourteen day exclusion period. It doesn't change that. Only way to fix that would be to transfer the policy, which sounds like a thing some people have been able to do, but not me.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Yes. It's a risk you take when buying a new horse. As it is, if she hasn't yet got a new policy sorted, the 14 days haven't even started yet...

 

[quizzie]

generally speaking you can't cover the same thing (any thing, not specifically horses) with 2 policies at the same time can you? like if you double up with having your own third party then any you get automatically via membership of BHS etc sort of step aside as they are last resort cover.
Could OP have kept up her policy and the new owner start up her own so they overlap without some sort of hanky panky? granted it would be easy for 2 friends to fudge it should an issue arise. Dunno. Never been in that situation so it's a genuine question though I'm unlikely to be in that position. Hope you got your premium back pro rata at least CI. i pay mine monthly and when i've cancelled mid term they've just stopped taking the payments if there hasn't been a claim.

Actually you can technically insure something more than once.....but what is illegal is claiming for the same thing twice...so its a bit pointless in most circumstances...but this might be one where it makes sense?

 

[iknowmyvalue]

I’m sure some companies cover accidents in the first 14 days? At least they did when I first took insurance out for mine. Not illness or anything ongoing. But for example horse gets kicked and needs vet for the wound, that should be covered. It’s not full insurance by any means, but it’s something

 

[Caol Ila]

I’m sure some companies cover accidents in the first 14 days? At least they did when I first took insurance out for mine. Not illness or anything ongoing. But for example horse gets kicked and needs vet for the wound, that should be covered. It’s not full insurance by any means, but it’s something

Turns out Harry Hall does. She's got it sorted. And they are a lot cheaper than NFU. I might look into them for my two when renewal time comes up in March.