peoples experiences of horse insurers

[Sammy85@]

Hi Everyone,
I'm looking to ensure my new horse and having researching people reviews I'm really torn with who to choose, especially as the difference can be between paying £20 a month and £50! that adds up over the years, at the end of the day I definitely don't mind paying £50 but from the horror stories i'm worried i would have difficulty making a claim?

I've got a hopefully healthy 13 year old cob and just use him for general all rounder.

I would be interested to know how much other people are paying roughly and does anyone have some good experiences?

Thanks

 

[FestiveFuzz]

From what I've heard the cheaper ones are a bit of a false economy, sure they may be cheaper but they're often a struggle to get to pay out, which is the last thing you need when you're stressing about a poorly horse.

From personal experience I can't fault Towergate. I'd only owned my mare a month when she suffered a potentially career ending injury. They paid out in full within 4 weeks. On the flip side, my best friend's horse also suffered an injury around the same time which ran up a significant vet bill, she's still waiting for E&L to pay out now despite them agreeing to pay 6 weeks ago.

 

[Tronk]

The NFU have been brilliant- although monthly payments quite steep. But I guess it depends what your horse is valued at. There have been zero quibbles & prompt payment on a big & lengthy claim I've recently made.

 

[Shay]

You only have to look around the forum to find the two to avoid (which are in fact the same company with two names.) We've always insured with SEIB or KBIS (KBIS offer hefty discounts if you are affiliated). Friends have also had good experiences with Petplan and NFU.

Have a very careful think about exactly you want to insure against and make sure that the policy reflects that at the level you want. Watch out for exclusions arising from vetting / previous history which can make the policy pretty much worthless. And don't bother with things like loss of use for an all rounder.

You may find - as many have - that the limitations on vets fees cover is such that you are better off putting the money to one side in a savings account and you can get very good third party liability (which is an absolute must) through BHS, WHW and a number of other providers. Tack is often better covered under your household policy.

 

[SEL]

I went with KBIS - ended up claiming about 8 weeks after I had the horse. They paid out without issue, but my list of exemptions is pretty long now.

My friend is with Pet plan and found her horse in the field with a nasty gash on its leg. £700 in vets bills which they haven't paid up for yet. She keeps getting lots of questions about the field it was kept in so I'm not sure whether they are trying to pass the buck...

 

[Midlifecrisis]

NFU all the way...expensive yes ..but fabulous service and payout.

 

[Sammy85@]

Thanks a lot everyone! I've ended up going with animal friends, £42 a month and they pay up to £6000 in vets fees per condition which I found the highest. I did ring NFU for a quote and they didnt get back to me, which is weird, anyway fingers crossed I never have to make a claim anyway! I can always shop around more next year to see if I can get a better deal, its reading all the small print thats a problem!