NFU Insurance " Loss of Horse"

[Carlosmum]

Just wondering if anyone has gone through this with the NFU. Thankfully they have paid the vets fees following Carlo's colic surgery & treatment afterwards (including pts). However they could only go to the max on the insurance which was £5K. I am now waiting for them to payup on the loss of horse part of the policy so I can settle another approx.£1200. I am hoping they will stump up the full £3K but they seem to be taking a jolly long time thinking about it.

Do you think they will? He was a 19 yo 15hh gelding in regular work, but low level competition & happy hacker. No purchase price as he was a gift as yearling. I plucked the value for him out of the air based on what I thought I might have to pay to buy a replacement.
Apparently the claim has gone to the independent assessor, I wish he'd hurry up and decide, I want to draw a line under it all and leave Carlo in my happy memory box!

Glass of wine, but no nibbles ( cupboard is bare) if you got this far!

 

[be positive]

Sorry about your loss, dealing with the insurance after such a traumatic time is tough. As for the insurance value I hate to be negative but think you will be very unlikely to get a payout of £3k for a 19 year old, it is not the replacement value it is the market value that they will give you, market value for him is possibly £2k max, it will be a difficult one as you had no starting point but having sold a 16 year old with an affiliated record for under £3k I think you probably overvalued him for insurance purposes, it is tricky as they are happy to accept your valuation when you take out the policy and the premium will reflect that value to an extent but getting a full payout is unlikely and would be difficult to fight if they fail to pay in full.

 

[Hungey]

I have been through this with NFU too in the past couple weeks. I lost my boy back in August and they have only just paid out. We had to wait for the horse valuer to value how much my boy was worth. They have now paid out but it has taken quite a while to be honest.

 

[gryff]

I had no trouble claiming at all when I lost my mare at the beginning of July. But it did take about 6 weeks to come through - I didn't think this was an unreasonable amount of time to wait.

 

[Goldenstar]

I think you will be extremely unlikely to receive 3k for a 19yo.
If I were you I would see if you can get a well respected professional to write a valuation for you .
I am so sorry you lost your horse .

 

[eggs]

Unfortunately I've lost a few horses over the years that were insured with NFU. Provided they were PTS within BEVA guidelines they have always paid out. However I have had to deal with their loss adjusters and they do tend to leave it a few weeks before contacting you.

Like others have said I would imagine that they will argue that £3k is more than they believe he is worth and will want to reduce the payout.

I did have a filly insured with Amlin who refused to pay out on a technicality after we found her dead in the field.

Keep the happy memories.

 

[dixie]

I claimed via NFU a few years ago. They paid out relatively quickly but I had to get a couple of letters from professionals as to their opinion on her value. I think they then paid 80% of the value which was as per the policy.

 

[hairycob]

They paid out very quickly when I lost Jason but he was 8 & only insured for the £2300 I had bought him for aged 4.

 

[Nari]

I had quite a wait for them to settle, but they never quibbled about paying & I will continue to use them for my other horse.

 

[Equi]

As far as I know the pay out is not for "cost of replacement" but for what you paid. I doubt you will get anything to be honest.

 

[Goldenstar]

As far as I know the pay out is not for "cost of replacement" but for what you paid. I doubt you will get anything to be honest.

No it's the current value of the horse , which you will have to be able to justify .

 

[gunnergundog]

No it's the current value of the horse , which you will have to be able to justify .

Precisely. So, a 15hh teenager is not going to have a sale value of 3K unless it has a fantastic competition record and has been a downgraded schoolmaster with recent record to prove. Am very sorry if that sounds harsh OP, but got caught out myself years ago with a LOU claim on an aged eventer.

 

[DressageCob]

NFU's position is fairly clear now - the value is the market value. I would be looking on the horse sale websites for comparable horses. Then, if you think they are undervaluing, you can show evidence of similar horses for a similar price (if they exist).

 

[Midlifecrisis]

NFU paid out full purchase price - for which Id declared and insured her- for my mare within a month of her being put to sleep in March this year.

 

[BlackVelvet]

I used NFU to claim after the loss of my horse after colic, he wasn't PTS, he died from heart failure whilst a patient in the vets. They wanted all past vet records, his passport, any proof of purchase and a full and detailed vet report to process the claim. We were told to cancel the direct debit by someone over the phone, only to receive an automated letter days letter saying because we had cancelled the direct debit, the claim was not going to be processed any further. This caused a lot of unnecessary upset but I have to say the people in NFU's office were lovely, even with my phoning crying my eyes out. A lady actually contacted me through here after seeing a post I had written and gave me her direct number.

The claim was processed and completed probably a month or two later (it was delayed due to them waiting on the vets) we received a full payout for him and £250 disposal cost, the rest will have been paid to the vets i'm guessing. We had no questions asked about how much he was worth etc.

Sorry for your loss x

 

[frostyfingers]

I had a completely different experience with my boy who was PTS in December after failing to recover from a hock infection. Initially the insurer (not NFU) wouldn't pay out as technically it wasn't within the BEVA guidelines however after reports from 2 vets saying that there would be no quality of life for a horse 6/10 lame ON bute they changed their minds. I'd already arranged for him to be put down as there was no way I was going to leave him hobbling round the field.

When I asked about the claim they asked me to give them a figure, I asked whether I needed a professional market value or anything to support the value they said no. So, bearing in mind he was insured for £5k four years ago & before KS surgery I asked for £3.5k and was amazed when the cheque arrived within the week. I don't know if that was normal or unusual but I was gobsmacked at how simple it was.

 

[MagicMelon]

I'm so glad I moved away from NFU and onto SEIB - shortly after I also had to claim vets fees, then loss of use (not loss of horse). They paid out extremely quickly. I think it took 2 weeks to agree a price for the loss of use. They sent me a letter with a suggested figure they'd worked out which IMO wasn't enough so I wrote back with supporting evidence (showing other adverts for horses with less experience/competition records for more money) and they then agreed immediately and paid the full amount minus £500 which is I think the "meat value" they always take off. So remember OP that you can argue it as well if you disagree with the figure. But you may well have to prove it. NFU might not work the same way but worth a try. I think for a 19yo, you'll struggle to find many for sale ads for a similar aged horse for near that figure... Basically its the current market value they look at, so if you were to go out and replace the horse with a very near identical, what would you have to pay.

 

[doodle]

They paid out for my horse about a month after he was pts. They paid what he was insured for with no quibbles. They did need his passport with the vets sent but they helpfully 'lost' which delayed things. I also got a renewal through which upset me but you have to keep up policy and paying premiums until everything settled although they then repay you from the day they are pts.