Is it worth insuring against vet bills?

ECRider

ECRider

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Hi All

I am putting an article together on equine insurance and wondered if you lovely peeps would help me out by sharing your experiences with me and let me use them as case studies in my article. :D

I would like to know:

1) Have you had large vet bills in the past and claimed on your insurance? How much would you have had to pay out if you weren't insured?


2) Or have you risked not insuring your horse and have had to foot large vet bills?

I am trying to help people to decide whether they need to spend money on equine insurance every year or whether they would be better putting some money aside instead? All help / stories would be very much appreciated

Thank you :) xx
 
Everyday of the week have your horse insured with a reputable company vet bills and such are just too expensive unless you have a very very deep pocket and can afford to foot the bills yourself.

I am still paying off a vet bill...almost done it now thank goodness it was rather large but i'd pay ten fold to have my lad back...he wasn't insured...
Used to be with a rather somewhat idotic company that refused to pay out last time so I cancelled and never really got round to setting up another one.
 
I have insured Lenny, as we have paid for too many big vet bills as we didn't insure for vets. In the last 2 and a half years we have had quite a bit of bad luck

1 freak bout of colic - hospital stay - £2k
1 broken hock - operation (now sound as a pound, in full work :D) -£3.5k
1 wire wound (don't ask me how barbed wire got in the field :mad:) which then caused colic (I did tell the vet the horse is VERY sensitive and not to dose her up with a massive cocktail of drugs, but alas, I was ignored) £1.8k
1 operation to remove massive chips on hocks in horse who we bought with the problem - £4k

Will never not insure again.
 
Ive never bothered with vets fees & the biggest bill ive ever had was around the £500 mark....HOWEVER ive since changed my views. My daughters section B got kicked in the hock a week before Xmas, he was on loan to her Auntie at the time, we had the call & the options were either £1000 to operate on him or PTS....we didn't have the £1000 to operate on him & it was a horrible situation to be in, thankfully my daughters Auntie offered to pay the bill as she was very attached to him (the actual bill was in excess of £2000 in the end)....sadly the day he was due home from horsey hospital the joint became infected again, & although the vets could have operated on the joint again no one had the money to try again & on Xmas eve he was PTS. I never ever want to be in that situation again, where you have to choose to have a healthy, albeit injured, animal PTS. So yes i would insure for vets fees, its just not worth the heart ache, & no, it doesn't always happen to someone else...that someone else could be you one day :(
 
I insured for years and never claimed. I then reduced my insurance to veterinary only policies; I had one claim for about £60 for laminitis treatment, but it was a high excess policy so I had to shell out about £500. I then noted that my horses were gathering exclusions and that owning 4 horses was stupidly expensive in premiums. I also noted that my vets allow payment in instalments; so I cancelled my insurance and put a similar amount into a 'vets fees' account every month. I feel this is by far the best way, unless you have no emergency funds and your vets wont allow instalments for big bills..
 
I ALWAYS insure for vets fees (good job too)

Beacon had

£1500 ligament damage in withers
£1500 minor annular ligament strain
£2000 EPSM inc biopsy
£800+ COPD (can't remember exact figure)
£500 virus
 
It all depends on luck and your financial situation.

We have been insured and not insured (ie horse too old for illness cover). In the case of the horse being too old, I am not sure its worth it - accident is one thing, but then you need to be able to confirm its an accident, not an illness.

We lost 2 last year, both insured veterans but not covered for re-occuring colic and being put to sleep and the other being put to sleep. Very expensive and I'm still paying now.

However our foal who was insured from 30days has used all of a £5k claim limit which hasn't been enough for colic surgery then a ruptured hernia, our current bill is probably between 8-9k, of which our excess and over the 5k is all down to us - how i'm going to pay is another question, but without the insurance contribution we would have probably put her down.

I'm lucky, a friend has petplan with a limit of 3.5k and she's found the hard way that this isn't enough - possible head trauma or brain tumour, we can't know as she can't afford to find out and the investigation so far has used all the money. They've never claimed before but it looks like another one of their ponies will have a lameness claim too and now they are even more grateful to have something.

Putting money away is all very well, but unless its a significant amount and you are a fantastic saver (i don't think many of us are!) then it won't happen!
 
It also depends on how many blooming neds you have.
I dont have vets on the ginger one anymore as the exclusions make it so not worthwhile anymore.
As numbers have increased, I just pay my vet a DD each month, which credits my account. If I have to call out the vet, majority of the time its already paid for!
 
I have never insured my nags. I have had a few big vet bills but over the years my guess is I have paid out less than I would have for insurance. I belong to the BHS so that gives me 3rd party cover and my tack is covered on my household insurance. I guess the decision has to be based on how lucky you think you might be and also on whether you have enough money to cope with the occasional large bill as it would be awful to have to have a horse PTS 'just' because you couldn't afford to pay the vet's bill.

Tricky one, but possibly just another instance where people who are not so well off end up paying more, i.e. by having to take out insurance year after year. I guess it would be different with serious competition horses, but for the average horse it may be worth the gamble of not insuring.
 
I wouldnt be without insurance - it gives me peace of mind that if anything did happen I wouldnt have to worry about how much its going to cost. He was diagnosed with mild arthritic changes in his hock last year and had x-rays scans and cortisone injections - that came to just under £900 when you add call outs, check ups and so on - I dont have £900 just laying around and was glad I could claim on the insurance who paid out quickly and made the whole process painless. I couldnt sleep at night if he wasnt insured
 
Thank you for all of your replies they have helped to give me a good idea of what UK horse owners think about insuring their horses for vets fees. I will post a link to my article once its complete. Thank you again :)
 
I would NEVER have a horse which was not insured.
Last April I bought an ex-racer out of the field. She was supposed to be a project over the summer, so I wasn't going to bother with insurance. What could go wrong that would be so expensive? Here's what happened
About 6-7 weeks after I bought her, she started being a cow and wouldn't turn right or do a circle to the right. Her nose started pouring yellow mucus - and I mean pouring - pints of the stuff. A trip to vet and a tooth abcess was diagnosed. She went to hospital where they said that it wasn't an abcess and treated her for sinusitis. Up to now, the cost was about £1500. She came home after a week - problem started again and took her back to hospital. This time, they discovered that it was an abcess and that the tooth would have to be removed. By this time, the infection was very severe. They tried to remove the tooth, it fractured and she had to have general anaesthetic. The sinusitis would not clear up, she got a pseudomonas infection which wasn't discovered for weeks - when that cleared up she got a streptococcal infection at the suture site. By this time, she has had several invasive procedures under local anaesthetic. She came home after two months in hospital. I got her recuperated, she got turned out, started in hand work and lunging and was just about to get back on board when her fetlock swelled up. As I was taking her back to the hospital for a check up, I asked them to look at her fetlock. They x-rayed it and found a bone chip in there which was quite large and had to be removed under general anaesthetic. I got my bills yesterday......I have totalled them up and with the hospital bills and my ordinary vets bills, the total is around £9000. It has left me with a shortfall of about £1300 as they don't cover the livery bill at the hospital
My other horse fractured his leg 4 years ago. I didn't do a full add up, but I reckon the cost of that was around £4000
So I would NEVER EVER not insure against vets bills.
And many many thanks to Petplan Equine who have been superb.
 
Yes yes yes :D
This is the main reason Iinsure, oh and 3rd party liabilty of course.

My current horse had the same problem described above with a tooth removal, bill was over £5k. Then he fractured his leg in the field and it was another £5k.

Insurance gives me the piece of mind that if something bad happens, then I dont have to worry about the money to cover it. Some people say they put x amount away each month but to cover vets bills, fine if its a small one but it would take me years and years to save £10k.
 
Hevs said:
I wouldnt be without insurance - it gives me peace of mind that if anything did happen I wouldnt have to worry about how much its going to cost. He was diagnosed with mild arthritic changes in his hock last year and had x-rays scans and cortisone injections - that came to just under £900 when you add call outs, check ups and so on - I dont have £900 just laying around and was glad I could claim on the insurance who paid out quickly and made the whole process painless. I couldnt sleep at night if he wasnt insured
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agree - i dont always have a few grand in my bank account and if anything happened and i coulodnt pay - unbearable. I did not go tfor the cheapest insurer for this reason, my insurance bills ive been told are quite expensive but i know they are a good reputable company who vets will deal with so i can sleep on a night xxx
 
My pony is insured, and if I pay out the money every month for the rest of his life and never have to make another claim I will be delighted. I won't think of it is a waste of money I will just appreciate that my pony has been healthy.

My sisters says she insures her van which is worth nothing emotionally to her so why not insure her dog which to her is worth everything.

I would never not insure as the cost of some of the procedures are so expensive and it is stressful enough when your horse is ill without having to worry about how you are going to pay for it. However I am also a cautious person and have saved up a years worth of livery costs just in case I lost my job and was not able to find another one quickly!

I do think though if you have a large amount of horses say a breeding farm it could be very expensive and then you might have to take the risk and hope that they did not all get sick/hurt at the same time.
 
I have done both and would definately say insure.

My first horse wasnt insured mainly due to age I wasnt able to find an insurance company to cover him for more than external injury as he was 16yrs when I got him. After a year he wasnt quite right, had the vet out, done the usual box rest, bute etc was then referred to Lambourne Hospital for bone scan, nerve blocks, x-rays etc. This cost £3000, my horse was diagnosed with severe navicular and was pts.

Current horse, was 17yrs when I got him and being careful to investigate insurance, i managed to insure through Petplan, who covered for vet bills. The first year no claim was made, but last year my horse came in from the field lame, after box rest and bute he still wasnt right so went to local vets for nerve blocks and xrays. They diagnosed a chipped pedal bone and he was referred to Liphook for an MRI scan and operation. He was then poorly after the op so was in their intensive care for 3days! My insurance covered the £5000 per injury and I still ended up paying about £600 on excess and the amount over the £5000. I pay £45 a month for my insurance, but has been worth every penny.
 
My old horse Billy was not insured and got re-curring choke and I spent about £1500 in the end to have him sorted! OUCH!

I still do not insure for Vets fees. I have decided that should the need occur I would get a loan instead as it would work out more cost effective.

It may be something I regret. I now only insure for Public Liability.
 
I <3 My Teddi said:
My old horse Billy was not insured and got re-curring choke and I spent about £1500 in the end to have him sorted! OUCH!

I still do not insure for Vets fees. I have decided that should the need occur I would get a loan instead as it would work out more cost effective.

It may be something I regret. I now only insure for Public Liability.
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Hmmm i see your logic sort of, but i think you need to look at the bigger picture. Say your horse in injured, your vet bill ends up coming to £5k, ok you "might" get a loan (you may not), but then say you choose to pay it off over 3 years....what happens if, God forbid, your horse injurs himself again in that time & you need to get another loan..that you may or may not get? Or worse case senario you loose your job & cant keep the repayments up on it? Im sure, knowing from experience, that your loan repayments would be pretty hefty on £5k & alot more than your insurance premiums each months. Just my opinion, like i said i can sort of see where your coming from :)
 
navaho said:
Hmmm i see your logic sort of, but i think you need to look at the bigger picture. Say your horse in injured, your vet bill ends up coming to £5k, ok you "might" get a loan (you may not), but then say you choose to pay it off over 3 years....what happens if, God forbid, your horse injurs himself again in that time & you need to get another loan..that you may or may not get? Or worse case senario you loose your job & cant keep the repayments up on it? Im sure, knowing from experience, that your loan repayments would be pretty hefty on £5k & alot more than your insurance premiums each months. Just my opinion, like i said i can sort of see where your coming from :)
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Ummmm. Ohhhh. Errnmmmm...

Well after writing this, I was talking to my OH last night after reading the other replies, and he said it might be a good idea to add it on when I go back to work. Which is in the next couple of weeks, as it's £20 a month extra on top. As you say a loan re-payment might be bigger. It certainly something I will be looking into in the very near future as should be going to work in next week or so. :)

I just hate insurance.
 
We have 2 insured and 2 uninsured. The last big claim I had was when our pony was kicked whilst on loan, the bill came to around £4000! Mind you the vet the loanees used was ridiculously expensive, costs dropped considerably when our own vet took over.
The 2 uninsured are a donkey in his 30s, and a pony with Cushings. The pony was insured until last year, but she had so many exclusions on her policy, including anything cushings/laminitis related and colic, that I decided it just wasn't worth continuing. Tbh with her health problems I probably wouldn't put her through a load of expensive treatment. Mind you she was in for over a month just before christmas with a lami attack and then a hoof abcess. The bill including x rays was just over £200 so not too bad.
 
all mine are, although must admit with husband out of work its a struggle at the minute, however after hving two claims on one horse in one year totalling £4k i cant not do it.
 
Worth every penny having insurance against vets bills.

With many thanks to petplan, they have paid out

£5000 for a fractured hock and joint infection (I was left with £1250 to pay over the top of my limits)
£1000 for large wounds after a horse was stuck in a fence
£800 for aftercare after horse snapped a wire electric fence when it was turned off

I know I have spent far less than £6800 on my insurance bills, and were it not for the insurance the horse would have been PTS after the first incident.
 
Definatly worth paying the insurance! When I got my horse the first thing I did was insure her to the hilt as I knew should anything happen I wouldn't be able to afford it. And after the amount PetPlan have paid out for me in vets fees this year it was definitely the right decision! She's had about £5000 for suspensory treatment and diagnosis tests and about another £1500 so far for arthirits tratement. So far I've had to pay £500 in livery at the hospital and the excess and I'm very glad that's all I've had to pay! And the amount I have paid out in insurance over the 3years I've had her has come no where near what PetPlan have paid out for me in the last 6months :)
 
I haven't read the replies so my penny worth.

If your horse is your one and only or it's a competition horse of some description or it is out on loan to somebody else, then I would say and do, yes to vet cover insurance, especially if you are a novice horse owner.

If you have several or they are stay at home or you are very experienced, then I would (and do) just insure for death by accident, illness or disease.
The reason being that if something does something and you need a big vet bill, the extra premiums you are paying out for vet cover on all the others would probably have paid for the treatment and more. That is a lot of money to go down the drain each year.
I prefer to have mine on basic cover; I have BHS PL insurance (as it covers all of them otherwise it's a hefty hike on each premium if you do it through horse insurance) and I have savings and a credit card for emergencies. I reckon, over the years, I have saved myself thousands of pounds in premiums by not having vet cover insurance on my mares and youngsters although I have claimed on death in the past.
I would not be without basic insurance cover for anything but I do think you have to take each owner's situation and amount of horses into the equation too.
You also have to take into account how realistic the owner is about the treatment a horse needs/gets and the probable outcome and whether, in my case, the treatment is viable for that horse as many times, people do everything to save a horse and clutch at straws but it's not to be and all you've done is line a vet's pocket and put the horse through things it shouldn't have been.
 
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I've always had insurance and always will. I have ended up claiming more than I am ever likely to spend on premiums, partly because previous horse had an altercation with a car which cost a small fortune to sort.

But even if I had never claimed I prefer to have the peace of mind. I do insure with Pet Plan which is one of the more expensive ones, but they are pretty good to deal with and prompt in payment.
 
I have been with my insurance company for 15 years and have only claimed once.

The mare I have now was diagnosed with laminitis in March last year and was under veterinary care for 5moths. My bill was £3,800.00 and I now when I renew my insurance she wont be covered for that.
 
I always used to insure my horse when i kept him at livery, but never claimed for at least 10 years. When i got my own place I decided not to bother, just 3rd party with the BHS. I have 3 horses now and havent insured for 8 years, I have spent about £700.00 on my mare for an accident and slight lameness issues. My two youngster I have had for 3 years I have spent £200.00 on one of them and nothing on the other. So at present i have saved a fair bit of money. I do think that vets are extremely quick to ask you if you have insurance, if the answer is yes they immediately start all manner of tests and investigations which generally cost a fortune, and as some of the previous posts bear out are not always the answer or sucessfull, but then thats a whole other subject.
 
I will always have mine insured for vets fees after what my poor horse has been through :( In one year alone I had 5 insurance claims!!

Lameness investigations, diagnosis & treatment (Navicular) £4,900
Hind Suspensory lameness £3,350
Investigations, dianosis & treatment (broken pelvis) £4,750
Stifle Injury £2,100
Perotinitis & 10 days in intensive care Equine Hospital £5,625

Total £20,725

I would like to add that he is back in work & happy bless him :) If I wasn't insured all I would have now is very fond memories of a special horse I used to own!! I could never have afforded those vets bills xx
 
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