Insurance help - what to do!?

[zoon]

Have just received my renewal notice and am glad to say price hasn't gone up that much.

But, and this is a big but, they have excluded
- back
- spine
- neck
- and any connected soft tissue
- anything to do with his heart
- anything connected to his shoulders
- any form of neurological disorder
- personal liability cover

So basically my horse is covered for colic and legs so suppose they are the main ones!

The reson for these exclusion was a massive veterinary investigation involving MRIs, CTs, gamma scintography, ultrasound, nerve blocks, drug trials - you name it and he's had it. Despite this the vets found absolutely ZERO to fault with him and concluded everything was normal so his issue remained undiagnosed. The reason personal liability was removed was that my vet contacted the insurance to ask if they would pay in event of his destruction as he was becoming dangerous even though there appeared to be nothing wrong with him apart from his erratic behaviour.

In the end he went completely back to normal over night after seeing a "healing man" a couple of days before he was due to be PTS as a last ditch attempt to put him right.

My dilema is - do I bother insuring him again? I think after reading the veterinary reports all companies will err on the side of caution and either refuse to insure him or slap on millions of exclusions. He is probably worth about £4000 - £5000 at the mo, more when I get him out competing again.

 

[chestnut cob]

I would ask your vet to write a letter of support to them stating that there is nothing wrong with any of those parts of his body.

My last horse had his soft palate operated on and when the renewal came through, the insurer tried to exclude "all respiratory conditions". Vet helped me out and the exclusion was changed to "directly or indirectly attributable to soft palate displacement". I would definitely challenge it and I would get quotes from elsewhere as well, just to see what other companies say.

 

[zoon]

I've rang an insuracne broker (so deal with a few companies) and they would require a 5 stage vetting and his full veterinary history to look over to decide on the exclusions to apply

 

[chestnut cob]

You need to speak to your vet and get some support to help you get the exclusions lifted. Most insurance companies back down once they are challenged.

I wouldn't deal with a broker either, I would deal with the insurance companies directly. Who are you currently insured with? Try Amtrust Equine, NFU and maybe Petplan.