Is insurance worth it when...

[ceristan]

I am a 'happy hacker'? I have never insured my horse which I have owned for 8 years. Last year I moved to a yard and became more aware of insurance, before that it was simply something I had never considered. Due to a mild injury of his suspensory ligament I have been offered vet cover with the exclusion of both forelegs. I ride on private land the majority of the time, so the possibility of causing any form of accident is virtually nil. The insurance is 292.30 at 26.57 per month. I wonder if I would be better off simply putting money aside each month in case I face significant vet bills in the future? I understand the logic of insurance for competition horses etc. Opinions would be much appreciated, does anyone else feel the same as me?

 

[bex777]

I am a happy hacker and have just faced a bill over £1500 for a tendon injury on a heavy cob which it sustained in the field.... I was very glad to be insured, even if I had put money aside in the 2 1/2 yrs have had him I would not have had enough stashed...

 

[MizElz]

Personally, we would never NOT insure ours, whether they were happy hackers or competition horses. The thing you have to ask yourself is, does the fact that you only hack make your horse worth any less to you? If he were to be injured (even a freak accident in the field can cause the most devastating injury - my mum's pony broke his leg by tripping on a stone when she let him go

) could you be certain that you could afford his treatment? A couple of years ago, Ellie started suffering from random nosebleeds, and as the vet did not know what was causing it, he decided to endescope her to have a look. The fact is, we could never have afforded to have that done if she hadnt been insured! Likewise when my previous horse Mickey went lame, we were able to get him booked in straight away to be xrayed and scanned - it would have cost a fortune had he not been insured. And when he died unexpectedly four months later, the insurance company (NFU) were utterly angelic, and paid out for his death even though we did not post mortem him. The fact is, with the way things changed in our family around the time that Mickey died, without him having been insured, we would never have been able to afford Ellie!

If you have been without insurance for the past 8 years, I can see why you are reticent about paying out for it now. But in my eyes, it just isnt worth the risk - I cannot think of anything worse than being told that treatment for my uninsured horse will cost £££££s, and knowing that I am unable to pay it.

PS. I'm only a happy hacker too, now

But Ellie means just as much to me now as when we used to compete several years ago - she will always be insured

 

[Blodwyn]

My friend at my yard thought the same then her horse fell down a ditch in the field and had to be lifted out by the fire brigade, 100 staples and a £2000 vets bill after i think she is regretting not getting insured! i know when you pay out all that money it doesnt seem somehow worth it but accidents happen and i think its nice to have some security when you are worring about the health of your horse and not needing to worry about where the money is coming from, its a personal decision though and depends how your finances are and where/how you keep your horse.

 

[cellie]

I bought my horse 3 years ago and have never had a chance to progress because of injuries.He is only 7 and has had £7000 worth of injuries I wouldnt hesitate to insure.I think you have been very lucky up until now. You ever know whats round the corner

 

[ceristan]

I understand what you mean bex - I faced vets bills last year of nearly 1000 which I paid uninsured which now means both front legs are excluded in the quote. I paid out this money on a mildly lame horse just to be told to box rest him, which others had told me to do before I called the vet (lesson learnt there!) I suppose it is prudent to insure - just wonder how people managed before insurance became so popular. I have grown up with horses which have never been insured, it was just never thought of. And like I mentioned earlier I have only become aware of it's popularity as a must have in the last year.

 

[MizElz]

I think it has become more common to have a horse insured, but then I would also hazard a guess that vets bills have risen considerably in recent years to match this trend. Ie. the more likely people are to insure their horses, the more vets feel they can warrant charging way over the odds for call outs/scans etc. Just a thought!

 

[ceristan]

Thank you for your replies I have 14 days to make up my mind - even though his two forelegs are excluded I think you are right that insurance is sensible because anything could happen.

 

[ceristan]

I agree with you before I knew it I got caught up in a wave of xrays nerve blocks etc - the way the vet carried on I thought his leg was about to fall off!

 

[ladyt25]

Sorry, just couldn't help but put a comment on this thread. Everyone seems to worry about vets bills more than anything else when it comes to insurance. Nobody seems to have thought about the liability!! To be honest, if you think your insurance premium is too much then I would maybe suggest insuring for the minimum cover only (to include Public Liability) and maybe self insure (ie put money aside) in case you did have big vets bills to pay out.

Vets fees can be expensive but believe me liability claims made by a 3rd party can run in hundreds of thousands!!! PLEASE think about this, we have had that many claims submitted where horses have escaped from fields or riders have fallen of and the horse has then run off and caused an accident (ie damaged 3rd party property/injured a 3rd party) and the claims can be HUGE even if the horse has not even been injured.

I looked at claims recently where a horse had got loose and collided with a car and a lorry. The man in the car was severely injured (the horse was killed) also another incident where a horse being driven got panicked and the carriage turned over and it took down some other carriages - the claim is still outstanding but believe me the reserve is much more than I would be able to pay if I wasn't insured!

That to me is the most important part of insurance cover. Make sure you have sufficient liability cover!!!

there, i shall get off my soapbox now/

 

[Daisychain]

Yes the best way is too join the BHS for £50.00 a year and you get 3rd party and personal accident cover for anything you own.

 

[bex777]

[ QUOTE ]
I understand what you mean bex - I faced vets bills last year of nearly 1000 which I paid uninsured which now means both front legs are excluded in the quote. I paid out this money on a mildly lame horse just to be told to box rest him, which others had told me to do before I called the vet (lesson learnt there!) I suppose it is prudent to insure - just wonder how people managed before insurance became so popular. I have grown up with horses which have never been insured, it was just never thought of. And like I mentioned earlier I have only become aware of it's popularity as a must have in the last year.

[/ QUOTE ]

My horses front legs are now excluded frome next year but only for tendon and ligament issues....if he were to (godforbid) break it or cut it he would be covered. It seems harsh not to be able to insure them at all.

 

[jojoebony]

I'm also a happy hacker.

My vet bill for new horse, who was kicked in field just two months after I got him and fractured his leg is £4910!!!

The youngster I bought last year was with me two weeks when he was shot in the leg. I wasn't insured as I was waiting until he was cut as I thought it would be cheaper! Stupid me, it cleaned me out. He has a multitude of exclusions but it's still worth it for me.

I keep my insurance costs down by insuring for the minimum value (50% of what I paid for the horse). It does mean if anything happened to them I wouldn't get the money back to purchase the equivilant but that's not really a factor for me.

J

 

[Dressagebabe]

Horse insurance covers not only the Vet fees but public liability also, for this reason it is invalueable. Should your horse kick another horse or livery you would be liable so you definately need public liability.

 

[LCobby]

If a horse kicks another horse, eg in the field, or kicks a lperson on the yard, you are not necessarily liable, unless you were negligent.
However, if it got loose and caused a mishap, bill could be into 6 figures. BHS Gold gives 10 million cover for £60 a year, plus lla the other BHS benefits. eg Free ticket to RIHS, discount from BHS shop/books, Legal Helpline, etc.