Is insurance worth it

milliepops

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none of the 3 things I have just claimed for have been for surgery. All 3 are not life threatening (spavin, ulcers, lung infection) but no question that the horse has needed treated.
yeah you've had a run of terrible luck. it shows how the bills can rack up so quickly.
 

blitznbobs

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It all comes down to how
Many horses / animals you have and how
Much you can afford to pay out should you need to... if you can afford a whopper of a vets bill then no it’s not worth it. If you have a lot of animals, it is probably not worth it. If you are fatalistic and think if he/she gets colic or a big injury I’ll call time then no. If you have one horse and it has never had anything wrong with it so doesn’t have lots of exclusions and you’d want everything done and you can’t afford to pay that big vets bill then yes it’s worth it . I have 5 horses, 2 dogs and 4cats none are insured but I can and do pay the bills as and when - over the years i am seriously in pocket and I have forked out for colic surgery in the past.

I also like the control to be on my hands - not that of the insurance company.
 

Leah3horses

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If you are fatalistic and think if he/she gets colic or a big injury I’ll call time then no. /QUOTE]

Sorry, don't know why this next bit hasn't posted properly :
I don't think it's fatalistic not to put your horse through major surgery. I've had horses for 43 years and , thank dog, not one even suspected colic ( touching wood feverishly ) , I've sadly lost horses to other causes but I've never changed my mind about not wanting to put mine through any major surgery. Maybe because I'm a vet nurse , and my experiences of 30 years in the job mean I couldn't put any of mine through a lot of the things I've had to help do to other beloved animals, maybe I've seen too much suffering . At least I'm fully informed, and have always said I wouldn't put any of mine through major surgery, even though I'd get it at 50% cost through staff discount . Now with ponies at 27, with Cushings, 19, and 5 with PSSM , sadly, and 18 and 16 year old pups, all the insurance I have or need is £1500 visible external injury for the 5 year old cob and public liability, of course.
 
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blitznbobs

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I think I probably used the wrong word ... I am not criticising anyone’s decisions - I just meant that some people accept that things are the way they are and don’t see the need (or think it’s right) to put an animal thru major surgery.., others will want to try everything and anything to keep their animal alive... I wasn’t judging... just acknowledging different ways of looking at the world.
 

ponymum

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I was glad of my insurance when my horse managed to slice his leg open on an electric fence and maxed out my claim limit and also when he was diagnosed with navicular and had an MRI. However, he is now nearly 17 and most things are excluded. I wouldn't put him through surgery and the premium was over £100 per month. I now have Harry Hall PL + vet fees which gives me some cover for injuries. After nearly a year, I have saved over £1K so I have a contingency fund. You have to weigh up what you are comfortable with, but I'm a little cynical when the first question you get asked when you call a vet is "Is he insured?"
 

Shilasdair

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I don't think it is worth it for me for the following reasons;
1. You still have an excess to pay.
2. The insurance is only really full for a year - as soon as your horse develops a condition, it is excluded the next year.
3. I dislike an insurance company being in control of my horses' treatment.
4. I dislike the vets asking 'Is your horse insured' and taking a 'yes' as an indication that they can undertake a multitude of (invasive) tests when often rest and some pain relief is the treatment. I sometimes wonder if they are in the interest of my horse, or of their profit margin. :confused:
5. If you save money instead, then you have more freedom as to how you use the money for your horse's welfare.
 

Circe2

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I’m 3rd party insured and insured for external injury - however, not for colic surgery. I think at that point I’d probably be ready to let the boy go, and not put him through the ordeal (unless my parents stepped in and offered to pay, out of sheer sympathy ?).

I intended to have him insured for lameness etc, but unfortunately I was party to his medical records when I got him (including knowledge of some arthritis), so would be obliged to disclose those unless I’d be partial to a bit of insurance fraud. So instead I’ve just got a savings account for vet bills, and make sure that whenever I take out money from it, I try to put it back ASAP, so that it’s always around the 3k mark.

That way I don’t feel like I need to wrangle with anyone, should anything happen.
 

Roasted Chestnuts

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I do the little guy as he has no exclusions and is fairly sensible so not really into hurting himself. Kia was insured as again no exclusions and a very good sense of Self Preservation. I have separate third party with BHS gold so I don’t pay the insurance companies for that as the BHS gold amount is much more than any insurance company I have seen will Cover and my horse grazes next to a 60mph back road in summer so all Sorts of potential for incidents.

However as he got older and the insurance companies started refusing to cover things due to age I stopped paying insurance and put the equivalent of his insurance premium aside each month and built up a pot.

I also told My vets that without insurance I needed a cap on treatment and gave them a budget for them to work to as without insurance they wanted cash on treatment so I wasn’t having them rack up £1000s as I wouldn’t be able to pay it. They were very accommodating and worked to m budget for anything he needed ?
 
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