just been made to renew my dead horses insurance for a year!

luckilotti I am sorry for your loss, but you need to be a bit more rational!

You have an 11 horse policy? So you would be better off paying by direct debit monthly, which is easy to stop

The NFU are very good about refunding, so you just need to keep them informed

If the horse was insured then you should claim, as otherwise what is the point of insurance?
 
luckilotti I am sorry for your loss, but you need to be a bit more rational!

You have an 11 horse policy? So you would be better off paying by direct debit monthly, which is easy to stop

The NFU are very good about refunding, so you just need to keep them informed

If the horse was insured then you should claim, as otherwise what is the point of insurance?

i dont think i am being irrational TBH!
the horse died in the previous policy year - they were told that day - so no need to have to pay insurance for a dead horse for another year!

They have been kept informed and i've gone with what they have said... ie. called to renew the day he actually died (for the other horses, after he had died so told them wouldnt be needing to renew for him) and was told to leave it for a week or two as they knew i was upset. From what the girl today said is that i shouldnt have been told that etc.

I dont pay ANY of my bills/insurances monthly, not for cars, council tax even as i prefer to pay the lump sum there and then so i know it's all paid for the year, i have always been like this and it's how i prefer to operate, i know it's car insurance november, horsebox december, horses feb, council tax april time etc etc.
 
That's an awful thing for the company to do when you're already dealing with such a sad loss 80(

They're in the wrong though: make sure that you or your mum ask to speak to the person's supervisor. I've found with insurance companies that selective use of the word 'ombudsman' usually gets them moving.

Hope it gets sorted soon, so you've one less thing to deal with. *hugs*
 
NFU are a very good company, if not the best. I have every confidence that this will be sorted out to your satisfaction as soon as you have the head space to deal with it.
 
so i've dug out the claim form they sent me, it's very brief though?
i have just written an account of what happened to go with it, is there anything else i have to do apart from passing it on to my vets for them to complete their sections?
He never had a PM, as the person at NFU my mum spoke to said it wouldnt be required, (TBH i wouldnt have let him have one anyway unless it was poss a disease or something which could affect my others etc)
it's a veteran policy and i doubt i will get anything but i supose if filling it in is the way to make it so i dont have to keep paying for him to be insured etc...

i dare say i have just got someone in the office who TBH hasnt much of a clue about how it works, what was discussed with the lady when he died and who has no clue what its like to lose a lmuch oved animal who has been around for over half of your life.
 
Last edited:
Very sorry for your loss.

It is very unfortunate that this has all happened around renewal time too. But it is entirely normal for you to pay for the policy to continue until the claim is finalised then you will get a refund. I pay monthly and when I was going through my claim for Tia last year I was still paying for her for a few months and in that time I bought my new horse so had two monthly payments going until I got my cheque for Tia then a refund for the direct debit backdated to when she was pts.

If you do not intend to claim then you'll need to call the horse claims department and advise them of this then set in motion the refund process.

NFU are very good.
 
I have to ask why you are paying insurance for 11 horses?

Surely the premiums would be better put to an account for emergencies and just join the BHS for third party liability?
 
NFU are a very good company, if not the best. I have every confidence that this will be sorted out to your satisfaction as soon as you have the head space to deal with it.

They used to be! Not that great lately. I left them a couple of years ago as I found them totally inflexible and pedantic. Most insurance companies are, but NFU used to be a bit "sensible" and are usually more expensive than other companies.

As for why insure 11 horses - thats totally up to the OP. Why insure any number of horses? We could all have an emergency fund and 3rd party - the no of horses you have makes no odds really. TBH its the best way to be if you can afford a big enough pot for emergencies. We did that with ours for a year on leaving NFU, and immediately had all the tack and rugs stolen and a worrying kick to a horse that needed several vets visits!

OP you really ought to follow this claim up - even if it comes to nothing. I'm a bit like you and "can't be bothered with the fuss", but the way they have treated you would fire me up! Get your dad on the phone!
 
I'm so sorry to hear about your horse. NFU customer service has gone downhill a bit in the past few years. The staff they employ seem to get confused and muddled very easily these days, and I have had to set them straight a few times recently.

However, all of the recent muddles they got into regarding my policies and claims, did get sorted out satisfactorily once I made them aware of and pointed out their mistakes.

I'm sure if you talk to them, and explain clearly what's happened, they will refund you the money you paid for insuring the deceased horse.
 
i 'm so sorry for your loss of your horse

just an idea but have you rung the main equine claims unit for nfu (not your local branch)i think it is in york but the number is on the nfu website --explain what as happened with the phone calls and advice your local branch as given you and your mum and i'm sure you will get more clearer answers from them

i have always dealt with nfu and (touch wood) never had a problem they have always sorted any payments for vets/horsepitals direct for me which as been great
 
We are currently going through this, we had to keep paying our premium until the claim had gone through, but they aren't going to reinburse us that money because its their "policy". Its outrageous and we're currently waiting to see what they are going to do about it.
 
OP - I am a little confused here to say the least!

IF your horse died/was PTS BEFORE the renewal date then the horse should NOT be included in the renewal and should have been removed from the date of death. IF you are claiming for the death (often a PM would be required) then you would not be entitled to a refund for the time it would have keft on cover (ie 1 day in this case) but you could put a claim in. In theory you shouldn't have to renew the policy at all - you could lapse the policy at renewal and move to another company if you so wished but as your horse died within the insured period you could still claim.

IF the horse had died ON the renewal date (take this as 00:01 hours on the renewal day)or just after then you would in effect have to pay the full annual premium for all the horses covered (inc the one that had died). If you then put a claim in for the death of the horse you are unlikely to get a refund as well as the claim being settled. If you did not claim you would get a refund for the horse that had died as he would be removed from cover from the date of death.

The confusion here seems to be that they may think the horse died after renewal/on renewal date? Even so, you should be able to remove the horse from cover and, if you are not claiminh, would be entiltled to a refund for the time the horse is now not going to be on cover for.

It all sounds a bit confusing to be - seems some wires have got crossed somewhere. I would call and double check the situation. Do you have your current schedule? Is the horse who was PTS noted on it?
 
IF the horse had died ON the renewal date (take this as 00:01 hours on the renewal day)or just after then you would in effect have to pay the full annual premium for all the horses covered (inc the one that had died). If you then put a claim in for the death of the horse you are unlikely to get a refund as well as the claim being settled. If you did not claim you would get a refund for the horse that had died as he would be removed from cover from the date of death.

This isn't the case with the NFU. My boy died 2 weeks after the renewal and they refunded any money I paid towards his premium after his death. I pay monthly, but it is the case if you pay yearly too.

I had the same experience a year later with a mare I sold.
 
That may be the case, that is down to NFU to decide whether they refind money as well as pay a claim but it is not standard procedure as yo wouldn't normally get a refund of premium as well as the settlement for the claim as at the end of the day you pay the annual premium to cover these claims. Anyway, that's by the by. IF you didn't claim hyou should certainly get a refund of premium. In this case though it sounds that the horse died before renewal date and, in that case the horse should never have been included on the renewal docs in the first place. That does not make sense and comes across as NFU not being made aware of the date the horse died. The simple solution to that is for the vet to confirm in wiriting that the horse was PTS/ died on 'x' date and even send a copy of the invoice for their attendence on said day.
 
To answer a few points/questions.

He died literally 1 hour 45minutes before the insurance expired !
NFU were told about 45minutes before the policy expired.
so he was dead and they had been notified before the policy renewal time.

Why do i insure 11 horses, well as someone said, thats my business but i am an open book and it's as simple as this.... i used to insure for vets etc before i had so many....but now i have quite a few youngsters and veterans, so insure for loss of use and death, theft. I last year decided that i was paying a horrendous amount for 3rd party for each horse so cancelled that off and took out gold BHS membership, this also meant that i got rid of my extra cover for me if i got injured that i had with NFU for quite a few years as this is also partly covered by the BHS insurance. I have a large 'emergency' fund which touch wood, is rarely touched. (hope i havent just jinxed myself).

I've filled in the claim form now but he was 29 this year! they are not going to pay out anything for him, he died before the vet arrived so who knows if they would have had to PTS sleep on humane grounds etc. i will be very suprised if they do.

Regardless it just seems wrong that i am now it seems being forced to claim (wasting their time), have been made to renew for a year when quite simply he died before the renewal date, and i have no need to renew it.

i am not sure if the vets charge for doing the claim forms etc, but that will be quite annoying if they do as that will be more expence when its not needed.
 
Top