NFU............do they want clients?

KBIS are FAB!!! I had a very basic insurance plan with them Death, Theft & Straying + Public Liability. Horse was insured for £700 value plan was just £63 PER YEAR! Very sadly I had to make a claim and they paid out the full £700 for her value had the cheque 17 days after accident happened including a hand written "sorry for your loss" card from the claim handler. There is nothing worse than having all the heart ache of having to make a claim for vets fees or any thing else and then having to argue every detail with the insurance company (have been with E & L in the past - never again!) I think KBIS are great and will be going straight back for a full policy for my new horse when i get one. :D
 
Having had numerous quotes from NFU over the years, they have always been dearer than Petplan. Last year was the first year I claimed a substantial amount and Petplan were great. Paid up quickly with no hassle and renewal this year was only very slightly more. Very happy with their service. Also met huge bills for daughters dog. Have never understood why NFU were so expensive.
 
After hearing all the good things about KBIS I thought I'd see what their online quote came up with and it was even more expensive. About £180 more per year.
I selected Gold option for vets fees as with £5000 per incident and alternative therapies included that was the closest to what I had and have made use of.
I also ticked quite a few activities which I think pushed it up but they are all ones included in my NFU level 1 cover.


One of the things I have always thought about NFU is the cover is pretty comprehensive but not very flexible. When you compare like for like they come out OK but they include alot of things that people don't want or need.

So you are covered for hunting, eventing to quite a reasonable leveland jumping whether you do them or not. Other companies like KBIS and Petplan get you to tick the activities you do and the level so if you just want to hack then and do a little unaffiliated dressage your premium is lower.
Likewise with the vets fees, KBIS has 3 levels of cover, some companies also let you have a higher excess and lower premium.
 
criso said:
Other companies like KBIS and Petplan get you to tick the activities you do and the level so if you just want to hack then and do a little unaffiliated dressage your premium is lower.
Likewise with the vets fees, KBIS has 3 levels of cover, some companies also let you have a higher excess and lower premium.
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This is true but make sure you have a proper look at the site as there is two levels of initial cover depending on the answers to the questions about use and your horses age, "Riding and Competition" which has bronze, silver, gold, platinum levels of vets cover and "Leisure" which has vet fees cover scale A,B,C depending on what you would like and the excess you want to pay etc. First quote i got from them was not very good but when i messed around ticking and unticking boxes it updated to a good figure for example i ticked that i would do Jump Cross because i would like to try it (never have) but nearest course is like 50miles away so anything i was likely to try would have been via my local riding club so just ticked riding club activitys - need to think about things a bit more i guess. :confused:
 
HingeFarm said:
This is true but make sure you have a proper look at the site as there is two levels of initial cover depending on the answers to the questions about use and your horses age, "Riding and Competition" which has bronze, silver, gold, platinum levels of vets cover and "Leisure" which has vet fees cover scale A,B,C depending on what you would like and the excess you want to pay etc. First quote i got from them was not very good but when i messed around ticking and unticking boxes it updated to a good figure for example i ticked that i would do Jump Cross because i would like to try it (never have) but nearest course is like 50miles away so anything i was likely to try would have been via my local riding club so just ticked riding club activitys - need to think about things a bit more i guess. :confused:
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You're right I didn't spend ages trying all the combinations but I assumed as my activities would include hunting and hunter trials that would push me into a higher risk category in a way that ticking dressage might not and I quite like the fact I don't have to go and get my insurance reassessed just because I decide to try a new activity.

But NFU don't give you the choice so I think someone who mainly hacks would be overinsured whereas someone who is out there doing a little low level affiliated eventing, jumping etc would find it better value.
 
I've just started using NFU (used E&L for years with my last horse, only to find that when he died, I couldn't claim anything as "he was too old"??!!!@@?). Anyway, the basic policy - third party, public liability and all that is about the same price in both. I found them very helpful, NFU, on the phone and the people seemed to know what they were talking about. Also, I'm told that NFU are the only company who will pay for MRI scans for your horse if you have the vet's fees insurance.
 
I'm with nfu my mare was pts on 15 July and not had a penny from them yet, I have paid vet and bought replacement all out of my own pocket then wanted me to send them cheque to insure new horse, told them to contra off existing policy.
 
Waffles said:
I've just started using NFU (used E&L for years with my last horse, only to find that when he died, I couldn't claim anything as "he was too old"??!!!@@?). Anyway, the basic policy - third party, public liability and all that is about the same price in both. I found them very helpful, NFU, on the phone and the people seemed to know what they were talking about. Also, I'm told that NFU are the only company who will pay for MRI scans for your horse if you have the vet's fees insurance.
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No idea about other companies, but NFU will only pay 50% of an MRI scan and you have to have permission 1st. It states it on your certificate.
 
Toby_Zaphod said:
CeeBee I'm afraid you are wrong.......KBIS insure for £5000 per incident, I have ther policy in front of me!
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It also depends upon the type of policy you take out. I switched from NFU to KBIS for all the reasons previously mentioned and now have my two insured thus : one is on the basic competition horse cover (up to BE90) and her vet's fees are £5000. The other one is on their pleasure horse cover with vet's fees of £3000
 
Toby_Zaphod said:
CeeBee I'm afraid you are wrong.......KBIS insure for £5000 per incident, I have ther policy in front of me!
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£3000 is what it says on their on-line quote. However, I believe they have different policies for Competition horses and Pleasure horses, mine being the latter, so perhaps that is why they only offer the £3000.
 
I have always been insured with NFU and my fathers farm has been for about 100 years (no dads not that old!) and I think our discounts are bundled up together.
The ponies renewal was about £10 more than last year, and is cheaper than lots of places because of the driving he does.
My horsebox is dirt cheap to insure.
The big boys renewal is due in November and I'll keep an eye out for it because the pot of money can only stretch so far but I'm not worried at the moment.
I love their approach and having the branch in my local town which i can easily drop in to the amend and add things about the policy is fab.
Hope they are not stopping - may go in and ask...
 
galaxy23 said:
No idea about other companies, but NFU will only pay 50% of an MRI scan and you have to have permission 1st. It states it on your certificate.
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That's correct they will only pay 50% as I found out, my vet said there are some companies that will pay 100% However as at the time I did not have transport, I claimed about £500 worth of travelling costs which alot of other companies would not have paid so it can balance out.
 
Can I ask, for the people who found a massive increase in their bills, do you have vets cover and/or loss of use on your policies, or just loss of animal and public liability?
 
Have not bothered to read all the drivel on here but am going to stick up for NFU, yes I had a massive hike in my insurance renewal earlier this year with them, but was about to cancel anyway as I was selling that horse. Anyway fast forward two months and I was phoning round for quotes and had avoided NFU as I thought it would be huge, but then decided to phone them up anyway to see what they could offer, they quoted me for a similar age horse to the one that I had previously and my quote was cheaper than the previous renewal quote, plus they reinstated my loyalty thing.

So they do want new clients - They quoted me cheaper than KBIS for the same cover.
 
Wolfie said:
Can I ask, for the people who found a massive increase in their bills, do you have vets cover and/or loss of use on your policies, or just loss of animal and public liability?
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good question.... and NFU actually itemises what each one costs and you can check....

My £70 increase was all on loss of animal.... why?? I have no idea!!!
 
galaxy23 said:
good question.... and NFU actually itemises what each one costs and you can check....

My £70 increase was all on loss of animal.... why?? I have no idea!!!
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NFU didn't ever itemise my cover costs. I always had two horses insured with them and I didn't even get individual premiums; I just got one figure for both so I had no idea what I was paying for what. I liked KBIS online quote because I could choose the level of cover and it showed exactly how much each bit of cover cost.
 
Faithkat said:
NFU didn't ever itemise my cover costs. I always had two horses insured with them and I didn't even get individual premiums; I just got one figure for both so I had no idea what I was paying for what. I liked KBIS online quote because I could choose the level of cover and it showed exactly how much each bit of cover cost.
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really? every year on the renewal they send out 3/4 pieces of paper. Has the grand total at the top, but on the bottom of one of the sheets gives a break down of each sections (vets fees etc). They send it to me every year. I have 7 years worth. i have never asked for it. They sent it out as stanard to my friend too.
 
mon said:
I'm with nfu my mare was pts on 15 July and not had a penny from them yet, I have paid vet and bought replacement all out of my own pocket then wanted me to send them cheque to insure new horse, told them to contra off existing policy.
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I had my mare PTS on the 13th of July and also not had a penny from them yet, I've also paid the vet and bought a new horse out of my own pocket.

I also insure my business with them, all will be cancelled and moved else where after the weekend.

My husband insures the farm, house, my lorry and our cars with them, because of their treatment towards me, he is considering moving too.

I've been with them for at least 10 years, always paid on time and never made a claim before.

My husband has been with them forever.

:mad::mad::mad:
 
Ashgrove said:
I had my mare PTS on the 13th of July and also not had a penny from them yet, I've also paid the vet and bought a new horse out of my own pocket.

I also insure my business with them, all will be cancelled and moved else where after the weekend.

My husband insures the farm, house, my lorry and our cars with them, because of their treatment towards me, he is considering moving too.

I've been with them for at least 10 years, always paid on time and never made a claim before.

My husband has been with them forever.

:mad::mad::mad:
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My horse died 2 years ago at the end of July. They paid out mid Sept. I wish they'd paid out quicker, but there was no problem with the claim and they have always paid out so I stayed with them. My husband rang them every week to find out where the claim was. :(
 
Ive had 3 claims with them, and one PTS. It's taken them on average just over 2 months to process the claims. Then any vet fees after that have been paid toe within 2 weeks. I admit I do chase them. When my horse was PTS they paid out in full again just over 2 months. I pay the vet and then they pay me. They always say that they try and process the claim within 14 days. They do say they are inundated with claims, no excuse I know. But I personnally find they still provide a good service.
 
Try Amtrust. I have certainly tested their claims handling over the last couple of years and they have been fab. Very fast payout and proper horsey people on the phones :)
 
Both of my policies have gone up but they paid out £5k vets fees for one and £1700 for the other, no questions asked, no fuss, brilliant.
 
It has took nfu 2 months to pay out on my claim for cob with bone spavin. I rang twice a week to ask what was happening to always be told it was awaiting being looked at, got fed up and told them because of them taking their time he couldn't have his tildren and they put it as an urgent claim and paid out two days later. Can't begin to think how much the renewal will be next month though :/
 
I just my renewal letter this morning and I'm not too happy about the increase. My boy's only valued at £1500, no loss of use, just vets fees and death and my trailer, for which the premium for that is £60. But it's gone up 33% from last year. Last years total was £428 & this year they want £567!!! Also, I've had this horse for 3 years and never had a claim, so I'm really disappointed. I have claimed in years gone by, but that shouldn't be relevant to this horse. I would love to stay with NFU, but I really do think that they are taking the ****, especially on a horse with such a low insured value. Looks like I'll have to get a few quotes from elsewhere. Apart from KBIS & SEIB, does anyone recommend anyone else. NOT petplan or E & L though thanks! I'd rather be uninsured than give them my money! In fact, when it comes to claiming from them, you may as well be uninsured, as they'd rather commit murder than pay out. I know people who've worked for E & L and the tales they tell would make your hair stand on end!
 
Hmm, well NFU are their own worst enemy really. Last year (i think it was last year anyway, time goes by very fast!) was their centenary year and so they were offering 20% discounts as far as I am aware.

Soo, roll on another year, another year of horrendous storm/weight or snow claims etc across the farm policies (running in to millions i would guess) and what do you know, they have hiked their prices up across the board!

It was bound to happen sooner or lager to be honest. Within the insurance industry (I also insure farms and estates) they are well known for quoting ridiculous premiums to win business. That practice is only going to bite you on the a*se in the long run as you won't have enough premium in the 'pot' to support the claims. So, what do you do? You start hiking premiums up!!!

Sadly horses insurance does NOT make an insurance company any money. Ok, so many people may not ever claim on their policy or maybe haven't claimed for say 5 years and have been paying say £350 on average every year for their policy. Even after 10 years that's only £3500 you have given to the insurance company. It only takes one large claim to wipe out all that earned premium. There are not many policies that will be claim free so, as you can imagine, horse policies in general run at a loss.

Insurance is a business, they need to make money so unfortunately the customer is the one who has to pay the price. No doubt once they recoup some premium they'll start offering 'silly' discounts again down the line!
 
I will not use NFU in our experience they are rude unprofessional and treated us on the phone hideously! You would think they didnt want the money!

However yesterday I spent almost an hour on the phone with an agent for SEIB, who I currently use for freelance instructing insurance and are fab for that, just discussing potential options and prices for them for the livery yard I am getting planning consent for. Unlike NFU they were uber helpful and couldnt do enough for me despite it all being provisional. Then today I rang up about horsebox insurance (its difficult as I am under 21) after being advised the day before that they could likely help. They did and again offered me a quote, its not cheap but it never will be with an U21 driver but they were straightforward and honest, again knowing that I wont need the policy for a while (box currently in build). I spoke to two different agents and was impressed with both, friendly, practical, efficient and tried to help for instance telling me my insurance would be cheaper by cancelling my current freelance instructor policy and inc it with the livery yard. To say my natural distrust and resentment of a lot of insurance companies I wouldnt hesitate to recommend them :D. (I havent however had to make a claim yet :p *touches wood frantically*)
 
criso said:
That's correct they will only pay 50% as I found out, my vet said there are some companies that will pay 100% However as at the time I did not have transport, I claimed about £500 worth of travelling costs which alot of other companies would not have paid so it can balance out.
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Petplan paid for my MRI in full without me asking them first!!! They were brilliant and settled direct with Animal Health Trust - no problem!!
 
We have insured our stables with NFU for the past seven years, never claimed anything, it went up this year by 100% when I phoned to query it was told quite rudely to take it or leave it, needless to say I left it......
 
My NFU policy nearly doubled when I got my renewal in May, going from £36 a month to £68 :eek: I've been with them 4 years had 2 small claims in the first 2 years (less than £500) and nothing in the last 2 years.

I went to KBIS, I went for the comp gold cover, so £5000 for vets fees (£7500 for colic) and ticked the activities I do (hacking, dressage, SJ, HT, RC). What I did do was value him for only £1500 (he is worth more than this) as so often insurance doesn't pay out on death, it also meant i didn't need a vetting. I also took my tack off and now keep half of it at home so it's covered on my house insurance. All of that bought my quote down to £28 a month :) He's 12 by the way, and the only exclusion they put on was for sarcoids as he had one removed 3 years ago which is fair enough.

I tried the same reductions in cover with NFU and my cover would still of been £55 a month.
 
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