Insurance for my horse - advice - I'm confused...

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LOZHUG

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Sorry I know there are lots of posts about insurance but I really am confused and now trying to sort myself with insurance. which company to go with, what to include etc

I have had my boy 3 years and never had him insured or my Shetland either :o (shoot me down).

Jack:
Irish Sports Horse, Gelding, he is 14 years old today, about 15hh (do you have to put exact height as he was sold as 15.2hh but he is about 15hh) also another thing I haven't got round to is changing his passport to my name but have just downloaded the form to do so and need to think of four names according to passport as he is also a no name on passport - poor Jack.
Jack is a happy hacker but injury prone, laceration to hind leg, chip fracture of his hock.

Muffin:
Shetland, Gelding, he is 12 (date of birth 2000), height 39 inches. Muffin is a field ornament. But had laminitis one year.

Confused bits (I am stupid I know, don't take much to confuse me):

Height does it have to be exact height? Jacks I'm not 100%
Sum - do you insure for how much you bought them for or would it be better to go a bit less?
Class - hacking. Not sure about muffin
Third party liability - required or not required? Maybe for jack but not muffin
Personal accident cover - 10,000. 20,0000. Not required
Vets fees - prob need a higher one for Jack and low one for Muffin
Tack - can this come under home insurance?
Vet fees extension???

I have also seen mentioned about joining the BHS.
Sorry I really don't have a clue of what I really need as I have a happy hack and field ornament.

Big well done for getting to the end and big choc chip muffin :) and thanks!
 
Ok, I'll try and help.

Height: You don't have to be precise, mine was 16.3hh as a five year old and I raised it to 17.1hh when he stopped growing - no height cert or anything needed, it's more for identification purposes.
Sum: Up to you, I insure mine for a small amount as I'm not interested in recouping the full value at death (I'd be heartbroken and wouldn't be going straight out to buy another horse). Some insurance companies dictact insured sum has to be % of purchase price.
Class: Most offer a non-riding option now for retired ponies/broodmares etc.
3rd Party: Should (IMO) be on all horses - what if Muffin were to get out and cause damage to someone's property?
Tack: Can be included on house insurance (check with insurer) but will not usually be covered if damage occurs whilst in use (ie. if horse rears/falls and damages saddle). Tack usually includes rugs etc against theft.
Vet fees extension is if you want a higher amount of vet fees covered than their standard amount.

BHS Gold membership includes 3rd party liability and personal accident cover.

ETA: All previous conditions will have to be declared at purchase and you may find they add exclusions (in my case, they've excluded the entire leg because of a shoulder injury).
 
OK - best I can...

No - height does not have to be exact. There might be a query if you tried to claim for a 17hh Muffin having declared him to be 39 inches - but a hand or so here or there isn't relevant.

Sum insured: Should be thier market value. Its indicative but in the event of a loss claim you will only get the market value - not what they cost. If you opt for a value over £7,000 you may also need to produce a vetting certificate.

Class: You need to look at each policy. On the whole there is an unridden class at one end and a "very risky" class at the other with everything else in the middle. The oddities tend to be if you hunt of compete at ODEs. Some policies will call this class 3 and some class 2. If you just hack you're looking at class 2.

Third party Liability: Essential and non negotiable. Even for Muffin. This is about damage done to someone else by your horse - even if that damage was thier own fault and you were not anywhere near. This is what you get if you Join BHS Gold, Affilliate or join the Pony Club. (I'm not sure about riding Clubs.)

Personal accident cover: Your choice. Probably more useful if an accident would render you unable to work and you are dependant on your salary.

Vets Fees: Have a close think about this one. For example lami for Muffin would not be covered. On the whole this can be more expensive that justifiable.

Tack: This sometimes comes under home insurance but depends on the level of your insurance and where the tack is kept. Check first. Rugs and odd bits of kit are not covered by equine insurance but often are by your household policy. It might be cheaper to ensure coverage on your household policy rather than have an equine specific one.

Vets Fees extension: only available if offered and for specific illnesses. To be honest I don't bother.

You don't say why you have now decided to insure your horses. But other than the third party liability you may feel it is better to take the risk. Officially known as "Self insuring." For example I pay the amount I would pay for vet fees cover into a savings account. I've done that for the last 5 years and never drawn against it so I have quite a decent cushion should something happen. But had it happened in the first year I would have been in difficulties. Its a gamble and insurance companies rarely loose money!
 
Thank you Herpesas and Shay - big help now need to decide which company.

I'm just really confused as some quotes are really expensive and then others are not too bad.

Anyone ever used Horse Insurance.co.uk?
 
horse-insurance.co.uk is E&L - do a search on here or just wait for the inevitable barge+pole responses ;)

And in brief, agree with above - always third party for anything as a minimum.
 
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