Loss of use?

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nomini

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Alisha has injured her left fore, vet thinks it's something to do with the coffin joint but could be more serious. Am waiting now for a phone call from them as she is at vets at the moment for them to try and diagnose the problem. Anyway, one vet has told me there is a good chance she will showjump again, but the other vet siad he's not sure. We bought her for showjumping, so if she can't jump again would we be able to claim loss of use for her, as to me if she can't jump then I know this sounds horrible but there is no point in us keeping her. Or is loss of use if the horse can never be ridden again??
 
yes you would have had to have told them that i would have thought as they would say that she is still suitable for other riding activities
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Yes she would have to be insured as purely a showjumper- if she is insured for RC activities and hacking etc and she can still do those then they won't pay up. It is one of the hardest things to get- you have to have various vets opinions and wait a certain period of time. They also dont always pay 100% of the horses value.
 
We have a horse at the yard who has a loss of use claim, he has a big 'L' freeze marked on his shoulder, he still competes but couldn't event at the level he was bought for so his owners claimed loss of use and he is leasesed out a s a PC horse.
 
if you claim loss of use the horse will be branded with a l in a circle like a freezmark, so you would struggle to sell her on. i dont think you can insure them again for any ridden or driving actvity either.
 
We had one horse that we got 60% loss of use (he was a headshaker in the summer). He went on to compete the rest of the year very successfully in hunter trials, and hunts ever season. We no longer bother to insure for loss of use as it is almost impossible to prove. I think I would have to have a very expensive show jumper or dressage horse before I took it out again!
 
i was just sitting thinking the same as fmm why the heck do we bother to insure for lou, i have mine insured for it, the little bu--ers of insurance companies seem to get you every which way dont they. most seem to put class 1 or 2, 2 being for higher compt stuff, so hacking and riding club stuff is going to come into class 1 so does that mean that if you tried to claim for it they would just say your horse is ok for you to keep to hack then? think i might change my lou and canx it then do other people pay for it
 
First of all Nom, you have to be insured for loss off use. A straight forward vets fees and mortality policy will not cover you for LOU, it's somethig you have to ask for. It also rockets the cost of your premium. Insurance companies work out how much they'll pay out by deducting the amount your horses is now worth from what he was worth before his accident/illness. So, if you have 100% loss of use cover for your £10,000 show jumper who gets a foot problem meaning he'll never jump again but could hack, they'll say: Right. He's now worth £1,500 as a hack so you'll get £8,500 minus your excess.
To claim, insurers usually ask for a written letter from the vet, plus whatever x-rays/scans/tests they want. This will all be checked out by their vet, who may come and visit your horse. Then, they will only pay out when youer horses is freezemarked with a L. This was decided by the equine insurance forum in the 80s, I think.
Some companies will let you insure for accidents/external injuries afterwards. Some may even insure you for all vets fess and mortality, albeit with tight exclusions.
Hope this helps.
I used to work in insurance, so I know a bit about this topic.
 
Some insurance companies will only give 50-75% of value on a mare as it can be used for breeding. You need to check with the insurance company Im afraid!!
 
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