Is it worth insuring?

[noblesteed]

Hi all,
Debating whether to renew my insurance. Just wanted people's opinions - I think not to renew, whereas my husband thinks I should.
Horse is 16 yo gelding. Has bone spavin in both hocks, melanomas (he's grey), has exclusions for laminitis as he is lami-prone. He's got exclusions for arthritis too. Currently undergoing investigation by vets for possible tendon injury which is ongoing and covered by current policy.
I only now use him as a hack and he loves that job - we have heaps of fun and our hacking is incredible. I ride him a few times a week as I am a busy working mum and he is happy with that. We can only just afford to keep him but he's a member of the family and a truly lovely animal.

The question is, is he worth insuring at a cost of £50 a month or £500 a year? I wouldn't want to ever put him through an operation now as he's not good on box rest and given the arthritis it would do him no good at all. He has a home for life with me but I wouldn't ever let him suffer.

So am I better to just save the insurance money for emergencies and get myself a BHS gold membership?

 

[Wishful]

I'd work out what is covered, how likely they are to occur and how you'd cope if you had to PTS due to lack of funds for something that would have been covered. Non surgical colic costs can add up with several OOH calls. Having the option to do joint flushes (often referred) in case of a badly located cut can help a lot as well.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

I think you have to have a good look at the exclusions on your policy. You may find that with the issues your horse has there may be little he will actually be covered for. If that is the case I wouldn't bother insuring but would put the money in a savings account & keep that handy for any treatment your horse mat need in the future.