*Insurance Recommendations & 5 Stage Vetting! First Time Buyer Advice*

[kegs.forever]

Hi All,

I have a five-stage vetting booked in on Friday for an epic super cob I'm hoping to buy. We've settled on £9450 (I know ?) with tack sale agreed, providing that he passes his 5 stage vetting. A couple of questions from me...

- I have the option to do strangles and GHP bloods in addition to the bloods they keep and store for 6 months. Would you recommend this? This would be an extra cost. X-rays? He's not over 10k so I'm inclined to avoid.

- Secondly... talk to me about insurance. It's a minefield out there! I got a quote from The Insurance Emporium which was £99 p/m! I definitely need to insure as I don't have the kind of money to pay vet bills up front without making myself seriously upset. Do you guys have any insurance recommendations or ways of doing it cheaper?

For info, he's a 14hh 11-year-old super cob who's been there, done that. A really smart type. I hope to have him as a low-level all rounder with happy hacking and the odd bit of hunting.

Any other words of advice would be gratefully received.

Thanks all! ?

 

[Birker2020]

Hi All,

I have a five-stage vetting booked in on Friday for an epic super cob I'm hoping to buy. We've settled on £9450 (I know ?) with tack sale agreed, providing that he passes his 5 stage vetting. A couple of questions from me...

- I have the option to do strangles and GHP bloods. Would you recommend this? This would be an extra cost. X-rays? He's not over 10k so I'm inclined to avoid.

- Secondly... talk to me about insurance. It's a minefield out there! I got a quote from Harry Hall which was very reasonable at £41.25 p/m whereas The Insurance Emporium was £99 p/m! How can they vary so much? I definitely need to insure as I don't have the kind of money to pay vet bills up front without making myself seriously upset. Do you guys have any insurance recommendations or ways of doing it cheaper?

For info, he's a 14hh 11-year-old super cob who's been there, done that. A really smart type. I hope to have him as a low-level all rounder with happy hacking and the odd bit of hunting.

Any other words of advice would be gratefully received.

Thanks all! ?

I paid the extra £28 or whatever it cost for bloods for the vetting but just be advised that the cost is around £200 - £250 to get the blood analysed should you wish to do so.

Xrays are really subjective, my friend who is a physio said you can xray 10 horses, 8 of them can show changes on xray but only one of them may be in pain, so I think they are a waste of time imho.

My insurance is basic insurance with £5000 vets bills and £200 rehab with no tack covered. Insured for unaffiliated SJ and dressage so basic cover. Horse undervalued by £2.5K to keep the premium down so I pay £95 per month through SEIB. My excesses are £250 per claim. I naively didn't think I'd be making claims the first year for a new horse which is turned out on its own, which is why I allowed my excess to be so high but unfortunately its cost me around £750 so far in excesses and I have a potential another £250 if they don't clump it all together under one claim.

I have been pleased with SEIB so far to date insomuch they have paid for the claims I've made in a timely fashion.

 

[Midlifecrisis]

Yes take bloods..I wouldn’t X-ray unless I was high level competing but it’s up to you…insurance will be expensive because the horse is…I ve always been with NFU…2 horses costing around £160/month for both excludes loss of use but riders insured too.

 

[TPO]

Yes take bloods, this is part of 5 stage anyway or at least was.

Personally I'd strangles test too. A new yard might ask for it to be done too.

I'm pretty sure the HH insurance is only for injuries and not full vet cover.

The option "only if I could afford it" is kinda ironic because if someone couldn't afford the insurance premium how could they afford not to be insured.

I used to insure but chose not to with current horse. I do have access to decent amounts of money for all bills should it be required.

If I thought for one minute cost would be a factor in the decision making for a horse then I'd insure.

As a first time owner I'd recommend insuring. Far better to be in a comfortable position to call a vet ASAP than wait to save money (it never works out that way).

 

[kegs.forever]

Yes take bloods, this is part of 5 stage anyway or at least was.

Personally I'd strangles test too. A new yard might ask for it to be done too.

I'm pretty sure the HH insurance is only for injuries and not full vet cover.

The option "only if I could afford it" is kinda ironic because if someone couldn't afford the insurance premium how could they afford not to be insured.

I used to insure but chose not to with current horse. I do have access to decent amounts of money for all bills should it be required.

If I thought for one minute cost would be a factor in the decision making for a horse then I'd insure.

As a first time owner I'd recommend insuring. Far better to be in a comfortable position to call a vet ASAP than wait to save money (it never works out that way).

You're so right. Harry Hall is just for external injuries. That's outrageous.. I wonder how many people have been caught out by that one before! Do you have any particular recommendations for insurers?

 

[TPO]

You're so right. Harry Hall is just for external injuries. That's outrageous.. I wonder how many people have been caught out by that one before! Do you have any particular recommendations for insurers?

I was always with PetPlan but no idea what they're like these days.

I had one horse with NFU but their renewal quote was ridiculous so I moved to PP.

 

[Annagain]

I would stick to the standard bloods unless your yard demands the extras.

I choose not to insure but I pay £100 into a savings account to cover any vets bills and I have a very good credit rating so I can get a credit card with a 0% on purchases deal pretty quickly in a really big emergency. With my last horse, I saved over £3,0000 in 2 years by not having insurance and he cost me £700 in vets bills in that time (to investigate and treat a problem). If you'd struggle to save or don't have a decent affordable credit card option, it's worth getting insurance.

I doubt many would have been caught out by it, they make it very clear that it covers accidental injuries with an external wound only.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

We don't insure but we know that we could afford to pay the vet bill for anything we decided to have done (definitely not colic surgery/prolonged box rest). If you can't afford to pay the vet you need to afford the insurance, or you can't afford the horse. If I did want to insure, I would look for a very well established company.

 

[w1bbler]

I have always insured a new horse for the first year with me whilst i assess if they are a sick note sort. Twice this has worked out for me with horses costing alot in their first year ( including one pts with full payout).
After the first year I put the premiums aside each month into a savings account, I do this for all my animals. My cat paid for a horse back safari when she die of old age having never cost me more than about £100 at the vets ?

 

[Parrotperson]

If you’re going to hunt make sure he’s covered for that. I know someone who took a mare out hunting, tried to jump a ditch and hedge, failed. She broke her back and had to be pts eventually. Wasn’t even their horse. Not insured by the owner for hunting.

I think you also need to be v careful if ‘cheap’ quotes.

I always used NFU and Pet plan because they always paid out without quibbles.

As to the bloods it’s only an extra few quid you might as well. X-rays not necessary unless insurance demands it which they shouldn’t.

Pics when bought please!

 

[Red-1]

I have one insured and one not...

I insure if everything will be covered. Baby Horse is covered in this way.

If there will be exclusions, I don't insure. My reasoning being that the one thing that is most likely to go wrong is excluded, so I need to use the insurance money to build up a pot to cover that. My old cob, Rigsby, falls into that category. He had a colic that was over £1,600, and some blood test type investigations etc. but TBH it is only around what insurance would have cost anyway as I have owned him for almost 2 years. I did have means to pay from the start though.

One thing, I insure as soon as I know I am likely buying. This is because the first 2 weeks are accidental injury only, so such as colic would not be covered. You can cancel within 14 days at no charge, so if they fail the vet I cancel and am refunded. If they pass, we are generally a week into the 14 days before I pay. The insurance companies have agreed this.

Good luck with the vetting.

 

[kegs.forever]

I have one insured and one not...

I insure if everything will be covered. Baby Horse is covered in this way.

If there will be exclusions, I don't insure. My reasoning being that the one thing that is most likely to go wrong is excluded, so I need to use the insurance money to build up a pot to cover that. My old cob, Rigsby, falls into that category. He had a colic that was over £1,600, and some blood test type investigations etc. but TBH it is only around what insurance would have cost anyway as I have owned him for almost 2 years. I did have means to pay from the start though.

One thing, I insure as soon as I know I am likely buying. This is because the first 2 weeks are accidental injury only, so such as colic would not be covered. You can cancel within 14 days at no charge, so if they fail the vet I cancel and am refunded. If they pass, we are generally a week into the 14 days before I pay. The insurance companies have agreed this.

Good luck with the vetting.

That’s good to know about the two week thing- thank you!

 

[MuffettMischief]

I always under insure. Unless your going all out for loss of use etc, you are unlikely to ever get the full value back if the worst we’re to happen. Sorry to be morbid but The beva guidelines for pts are very strict and actually not particularly humane! My vet said a while ago when I had a horse that potentially wasn’t even going to be field sound, that if he could stand in a stable 24/7 on bute not in pain, they wouldn’t pay. So I always unsure for 3-4K and just have it for the 5k vets fees

 

[Barton Bounty]

At that kind of money I would do every extra that is necessary. I am with E & L and I have found them to be absolutely amazing!

 

[milliepops]

Yes take bloods, this is part of 5 stage anyway or at least was.

Personally I'd strangles test too. A new yard might ask for it to be done too.

I'm pretty sure the HH insurance is only for injuries and not full vet cover.

The option "only if I could afford it" is kinda ironic because if someone couldn't afford the insurance premium how could they afford not to be insured.

I used to insure but chose not to with current horse. I do have access to decent amounts of money for all bills should it be required.

If I thought for one minute cost would be a factor in the decision making for a horse then I'd insure.

As a first time owner I'd recommend insuring. Far better to be in a comfortable position to call a vet ASAP than wait to save money (it never works out that way).

this is good advice.

Be aware that some vets won't accept payments direct from E&L or any of the other brands they operate under. If you are unfortunate enough to run up a big bill then you would need to settle it with the vets and wait for the claim to be paid to you. I prefer to be able to get my claims paid direct to the vets really. I use KBIS for my ridden horse and have my 2yo insured via a broker with British Pet Insurance.

 

[Barton Bounty]

I have had a £2500 colic claim and it was not an issue , all settle smoothly

 

[kegs.forever]

this is good advice.

Be aware that some vets won't accept payments direct from E&L or any of the other brands they operate under. If you are unfortunate enough to run up a big bill then you would need to settle it with the vets and wait for the claim to be paid to you. I prefer to be able to get my claims paid direct to the vets really. I use KBIS for my ridden horse and have my 2yo insured via a broker with British Pet Insurance.

thank you!

 

[Orangehorse]

I always found the NFU paid out when I had a claim but I no longer insure my horse as he is old, but I am a BHS gold member so I have 3rd party.

Good idea to get insurance cover asp - wasn't there a post from someone recently whose new horse was in trouble but they weren't insured.

The insurance is for unexpected things, that is why they don't cover previous injuries or payouts. Unless you are a dealer wanting to make money from a horse, a purchase is a one-off and you don't expect to get your money back (unless you are very lucky) so although you want to insure it for a reasonable amount should the worst happen, really the most value in insurance is the vets fees cover - which is why it is expensive.

Agree that its a good idea to insure for the first year at least to see what you have got. I have had horses that never needed a vet for anything apart from routine visits, others are always in trouble.

 

[Melody Grey]

this is good advice.

Be aware that some vets won't accept payments direct from E&L or any of the other brands they operate under. If you are unfortunate enough to run up a big bill then you would need to settle it with the vets and wait for the claim to be paid to you. I prefer to be able to get my claims paid direct to the vets really. I use KBIS for my ridden horse and have my 2yo insured via a broker with British Pet Insurance.

On balance, Some vets will happily deal with E&L directly- mine do. I’ve had several large claims with no problems. Might be worth checking this out with your vets/ closest referral practice? In my experience E&L have been good, and so much cheaper than other insurers (though mine are all low value horses)

 

[Barton Bounty]

On balance, Some vets will happily deal with E&L directly- mine do. I’ve had several large claims with no problems. Might be worth checking this out with your vets/ closest referral practice? In my experience E&L have been good, and so much cheaper than other insurers (though mine are all low value horses)

☝? What this says!

I claimed for colic and they have not excluded it for further claims