More insurance problems..

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Hoofies

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We're trying to make a claim on the death of our horse with E&L.

They are trying to delay payment as much as possible with excuse after excuse. Their most recent is that horse was not vaccinated for Flu the year she died, yet she died of something completely unrelated to Flu as vet says and did not have any history with it.

Is this right? Can they reject our claim for this?
 
So sorry to hear about your horse. :(

While E&L do have a reputation, it is usually a basic condition of the insurance that the horse's vaccinations for flu and tet are kept up to date and they would be within their rights if the policy states it's compulsory and the horse wasn't vaccinated. It's not about whether the horse dies of that condition: from their point of view (rightly or wrongly!) it's just a condition of the policy. It's also one of the measures they use to assess the 'riskiness' of covering the horse and how 'well maintained' for want of a better phrase it is. Absolutely NOT suggesting this is the case with you and your horse, but they would have certain measures for what they consider to be the desirable level of welfare (and claim risk reduction), including vaccinations, regular worming, regular dentistry etc, the theory being that an owner which "neglects" one of these may not be trying their hardest to keep their horse well. As i say, absolutely not suggesting anything in your case whatsoever, but do know what insurers are like from the inside! The more cynical view is that it's in insurance companies' interests to set out conditions of the policy which seem wholly reasonable at the time you take it out but may quite easily NOT be being met at the time of an incident resulting in a claim. Another one is the wearing of specific high viz while hacking. Sounds reasonable. Appears in a fair few policies but not everyone realises it, and even if they do realise do they remember every time they go out, even if not riding on the road?
 
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You need to check you terms & conditions.

I'm with Petplan and mine says:
You must keep your horse vaccinated against tetanus and flu and wormed as regularly as normally recommended by a vet. If you do not keep your horse vaccinated and wormed, we will not pay any claims that result from any
illness that would not have occurred if your horse had been vaccinated or wormed.
 
Really sorry about your horse.

And feel for you having to do battle with E&L, the last thing you need at a time like this.

Does your policy specifically state that the horse must be vaccinated for flu? I've just dug out one of my old E&L policies from a few years ago and in the General Conditions section it says: "You must use recognised precautions to protect the animal from infectious and/or contagious disease, for example isolation and vaccinations." If, for example, your horse lived at home and had minimal contact with other horses, it could be argued that you had taken reasonable precautions to protect your horse from exposure to flu. But it will depend on the specific wording of your policy so check it carefully.
 
My friend recently lost out to E&L. On death of her horse under humane grounds she had to choose between the value of the horse or the cost of the veterinary treatment but couldn't claim for both. I had a similar experience in 1997 when my horse was pts on humane grounds and we chose the horses value as it was £200 more than the £2.3K treatment.

There is something very clever in the small print that both she and my parents missed. My parents in particular are quite savvy and it took them very much by suprise and dismay when we found we weren't covered for both.

Unless your horse died of flu or there is an established link to flu and the reasons for your horses death your vet should be able to fight this one for you. You and your vet both claim there is no link so you must urge your vet to fight your corner for you.

I really feel that people like E&L feed off the loss and vulnerability that people feel when they have lost their beloved horses and take unfair disadvantage.
 
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Thankyou for the very helpful replies.

I've looked closely at our terms and conditions, but all I can find connected to Flu or Tet is that they won't pay a claim if the horse dies of it/become ill with it. It says nothing about whether the horse is vaccinated against it or not, just that they won't pay.
Again, her death was completely unrelated to Flu/Tet and she was not euthanised.

I'm going to seek my vet's advice soon, he's said he will sort anything with them as he knows what E&L can be like.
 
I agree, everyone I've asked who's claimed on the loss of a horse have said they will try everything to take advantage.

I don't think they realise that while I may be distraught about losing my horse, I'm not going to back down and let an insurance company have the last laugh. No way!
 
Good for you for what is worth as it was now 21 years ago I lost a horse in a thunder storm, insured with e&l , it took over a year of fighting to get them to pay out, but I kept up the fight and eventually pay out they did, would never use them again though ...,, good luck
 
I haven't heard good things about E&L. Have they actually told you your claim has been declined because you did not get the flu jab done?

If so then I suggest you ask them to deal with this as a complaint. They will have to reply to you within 8 weeks and if you are not apply with the outcome you can then escalate to the financial ombudsman service. I expect they would find in your favour if your vet confirms the failure to vaccinate is totally unrelated to her death.

I'm assuming you are a consumer (this insurance policy is not in connection with your trade/business); if so then your insurers cannot reject a claim for a beach of warranty which is not connected to the loss.

If on the other hand they are just asking you to explain why not done, you might want to write a firm letter asking what relevance this question is and request payment of your claim within 14 days before you complain.
 
Sorry to hear about your horse, i have been so incensed and frustrated battling with horse insurance claims over the last few years i have set up a company to help people out as it is such an emotional and confusing issue with so much small print that if you miss one single thing you render your policy useless!!!
My advice is to always read your paperwork when dealing with a claim - i was unable to claim the death of my horse earlier this year even though under BEVA guidelines i was well with in my rights - the issue being i did not get my insurance companies vet to assess the illness of the horse despite 4 of my own vets assessing the injury which by the way was over a bank holiday weekend!!!!!
 
Would not have occured i your horse had been vaccinated or wormed, horse didnt die from anything related to flu/virus. My vet who is reputable, wont mention names though, has told me just like dogs being vaccinatedp that when a horse is over 10 and not leaving its normal place of residence it doesnt need to be vaccinated as it would have built up immunities already, just like dogs, but to keep with the tetnus vaccine for obvious reasons, i think insurance companies need to involve those who know about horses to read and check their policies before printing them.
 
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