Numpty insurance question

springgrass

springgrass

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Hello, I'm hoping to get some advice. I went to try out a horse today...I have fallen for him completely. He isn't without issues though...a few minor things that I think would be mentioned in vetting report (sorry to be vague!) thus triggering insurance exclusions. I'm not 100% sure I even want to go through with a vetting....how will I stand with insuring him if I don't have him vetted?
My brain is hurting! So much to think about. Trust me to fall in love with a bit of a problem chap 😁
 
Depending on his value your insurers may require a vetting certificate.

Technically you would be committing fraud if you tried to claim for something that you know now is likely to cause a problem. Insurance companies often now ask for a full medical history whenever you make a claim.
 
Depends what the 'minor things' are I guess. You don't have to get a horse vetted but insurance companies have different criteria for insuring horses and hey may request you have a vet cert (either 2 or 5 stage) depending on the value you want to insure for and also often the age and value. Plus, if you purchase the horse for £s that would mean you choose to insure them for less in order to avoid having to produce a vet cert, the insurers may apply Average in the event of a claim.
 
springgrass said:
This is what I feared. So, anything mentioned in vet report is likely to be excluded?
I have a huge decision to make!
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Totally depends on what is mentioned. If it has sarcoids for example then yes they would be excluded. if the horse has arthritis then yes that would be excluded. If it just has a cut on its leg then an insurer is not going to exclude that. I would be questioning buying a horse if it had some condition already that's going to be an insurance exclusion.
 
springgrass said:
Does anyone happen to know the value of horse when insurance companies insist upon a vetting? £5000 is ringing a bell....
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It's a while since I worked in horse insurance. We used to request a 5 stage if the horse is valued over £5,000 or a 2 stage minimum I if the horse was over 10 (or 12?) and the sum insured was over £2,500. The criteria will vary with insurers though. Some may want a vetting if you want to cover for LOU for example.
 
Sometimes they don't ask for a copy of the vet cert. But it may be that if you make a claim and they have it on record that you had one done they could ask for it.

Depends on what the 'little' issues are. If it was a slight lameness then it is likely they will exclude but it's not likely that that would stay a permanent exclusion.

You need to remember though as Eggs has said, if you are aware of an issue before you insure and you don't mention this when you take the policy out and then try to make a claim on it that is fraud. You have an obligation to tell the insurers all information that you are aware of
 
So I could hedge my bets and insure him for less then I bought him for, avoiding having to provide a vet report? Then providing he hasn't seen a vet for the issues there won't be any exclusions.....?

One thing is a rather hefty sand crack which is being dealt with well by farrier and may never cause any issues, but I know they can do, so it is a worry :-/
 
But really if he has some issues that you obviously know about, you should still be telling the insurers what they are regardless of whether you have a vetting carried out or not.
 
It is not wise to insure them for less as this wouldn't be a true reflection of their marker value and could mean that, should you claim (for say vets fees or death), the insurance company could apply average to your claim on the basis that you haven't insured for the full value. This means they may only pay say up to 85% of the actual cost of your claim.

Personally I think it's a daft rule to apply to horse insurance as, in reality (IMO) a horse doesn't have a 'market value', not in the same way a house/car etc does anyway.

A sandcrack could be excluded but is the type of exclusion that could later be removed if the farrier sorted the feet. Also, if the vet didn't mention it or noted that it could be sorted with decent farriery then, a decent insurer/underwriter is unlikely to exclude it. As said you don't HAVE to have a vetting done and certainly if the horse is fairly young and valued under say £5000 then the majority of insurers wouldn't want a vet cert.
 
Even though he is sound, they may still exclude. However, you may be able to get them to remove the exclusion after 6 months/1 year if he remains sound.
 
Thanks for your voices of reason guys! I guess if I go ahead I will have to be fully upfront. Would feel better about myself then too. Will just have to hope there are no problems with the crack or anything else. Or just walk away :(
I love him though!!
 
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