Loan question - who pays for insurance??

marmalade76

marmalade76

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I am looking into loaning a rock steady happy hacker as a second horse, mainly for taking family and friends out for rides (I have made this clear the the owner). I asked (via message on FB) if she was happy to continue insuring him (my Dad loans his horse out and pays the insurance himself), and her reply was yeah, £30 a month if I wanted to cover it. Now I'm not sure exactly what she means by that, does she expect me to pay it, or would she like me to pay it??

Now, first of all I thought £30 per month for a 15 yo happy hacker was a little steep, and secondly, I thought it was not unreasonable for her to continue paying the insurance as I'd be taking a horse she has no time for off her hands for the winter, saving her the livery fees, shoeing and hay costs. Then Today I've read a comment on here on another thread where someone said that the owner should continue to pay the insurance during a loan.

So, before I mention this again to the owner (who I don't want to upset in any way!!), and as I haven't loaned a horse since I was a teen I just wanted to get a bit more clued up first, so, what's the norm for insurance whilst loaning??
 
I have a horse on loan from a charity and I am expected to insure 3rd party at least. I don't think there are any hard and fast rules, it's up to the parties to agree, but if you are to be responsible for things like vets' fees it's as well to get this sorted out.

I think she may have thought you were asking if you could carry on insuring him under the policy she has. I know you think you are doing her a favour by taking on her horse, but on the other hand you haven't had to lay out any money to buy a horse! If he is a genuine, safe happy hacker he is worth his weight in gold.
 
I always leave it down to the loaner, however, for piece of mind, it can be a good idea to carry on the insurance yourself but either have them give you the money for it, or provide proof each payment so you know your horse is insured and you don't end up with an accident the loaner cannot deal with.
 
Tammytoo said:
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I know you think you are doing her a favour by taking on her horse, but on the other hand you haven't had to lay out any money to buy a horse! If he is a genuine, safe happy hacker he is worth his weight in gold.
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True, but she has said that she never rides him now (he's a bit fat and rather unfit ATM) and was intending to get him fit over the winter with the intention of either selling or loaning come the spring. I have suggested a six month loan, so I do feel that this would be a mutual exchange of favours :)
 
When I loaned my horse out I kept him on our insurance but the loanee paid me the money for it (bank transfer).

Insurance company were given her contact details and she had our account number etc so she could contact them in an emergency.

As she had full loan I took the view that she took on all costs and happily she was more than happy to cover the cost :)
 
It depends on the agreement, there is no rule as to who pays. I have had loans where I paid...either the owner wasn't that bothered so I paid it for my own peice of mind as I would be paying vet bills, or they asked me to continue the policy and pay as I was the loaner and taking over ALL costs.

I have also had a few loans where the owner paid for their own piece of mind (even though I offered). I even had a short term loan where the owner paid for insurance, farrier and vets bills! It all depends on what the owner wants you to pay/what they want to keep in control off.
 
I have a horse on loan for my daughter at the moment. The owner and I agreed that she keep the insurance in her name (partly due to previous medical history of horse) and I pay her the premium amount each month.
I always expected to insure a loan horse.
 
When I loaned mine they paid the insurance mainly to cover any vet fees so they didnt have to decide if to spend the money on his treatment. I wasnt bothered about his value as was never going to sell him.
Recently we were going to lease a pony for £1000 a year in that case I would expect them to insure.
 
If I was putting my horse on full loan I'd expect them to pay for it. Part loan I'd pay. But if its a short term loan and she's having him back after 6 months to sell him after you've fittened him up then I wouldn't expect you to pay.
I'd say to her that as its a short term loan and your keeping him fit and fed over the winter to enable her to sell him then its not fair for you to pay for it all.
 
I paid for my share horse's insurance - £48 a month. Admittedly I think it is more usual during part loan for owners to insure, but I didn't know that at the time and also her owner didn't have her insured at the time - it was my choice, so I paid the bills.

My veteran's insurance is £45. If he was part loaned/shared (as he has been before) I would just continue to pay it. However, if it was full loan then I would expect loaner to pay it (by paying me for it, as others have said, to guarantee insurance) - insurance is 'running costs', like farrier, bedding, etc. I wouldn't want the argument over vets' bills, to be honest, and certainly wouldn't want a loaner declining important treatment (e.g. surgery - can be several thousand pounds needed out of the blue!) because they were concerned about the cost (or, on the other hand, asking me to pay this bill because they didn't take out insurance).
 
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