Putting pony down and insurance

[irishredwood]

We have with much sadness decided to have our pony put to sleep. He has a lameness which is not cureable and suffers badly from EMS so cannot go out into the paddock as grass sets off his laminitis. He is on one bite a day but has started to sweat. His quality of life is poor. How will we stand with our insurance company? He is not insured for loss of use and we have used up the £5000 vets fee. We are with NFU.

 

[irishredwood]

Bute not bite

 

[rabatsa]

I doubt they will pay out. The insurance would not pay for one of ours with heart failure as she could still stand and eat in the field. The vet reckoned that she would live no more than 2-3 weeks before she would be bad enough for a pts claim. Rather than see her suffer we went ahead and took the financial loss. I have never insured anything since.

 

[bonny]

What do you want from your insurance company ? If you think it’s time to pts then you should go ahead but I expect you will need to pay for everything yourself

 

[Trouper]

I have lost 2 - both insured with NFU and they paid the purchase price on both (not insured for LOU). On the first occasion they refused because the pts did not strictly meet BVA guidelines - ex-racer with multiple issues which my vet and I agreed not to try to treat. Because there were medical treatments "we could have tried" they initially declined to pay out but I challenged this on both welfare and cost grounds and my vet wrote a supporting letter. NFU responded quickly, apologised for the way the claim had been handled and offered some small compensation. The claim for my second horse went through without problem.
I would certainly use them again.

 

[Shay]

So sorry for you. A very hard decision made with the best interests of the pony. Better focus on that than what the insurance company might do later.

 

[Midlifecrisis]

NFU paid out when my mare was put to sleep because the vets report showed everything possible had been tried and she was suffering and wouldn’t even be field sound with her stomach problems. I googled the guidelines and if your situation is covered by them you ought to get purchase price payout.

 

[Tala08]

Really sorry for you, never an easy decision to make.

It completely depends on what your policy covers you for. I'm not insured with NFU but loss of use and death from illness/injury are two separate sections on my policy. If you do have some kind of death benefit included, it should cover sum insured if horse is PTS for an illness/injury that first showed signs within the last 12months and complies with BEVA. They don't often cover euthanasia or burial/cremation costs. I think a lot of insurers request you notify them before the horse is PTS (unless in an emergency), so it might be worth giving them a call and seeing where you stand with your policy as they are all different. Sorry again.

 

[Cassy]

Thanks I will contact them tomorrow.

 

[JillA]

I suspect you will need your vet to tell them euthenasia is the only option on welfare grounds. But TBH why bother unless the costs are covered in the policy- costs of PTS and disposal which can be the most expensive part. Just do it - I suspect this is displacement activity which is entirely natural when you are facing a tough decision.
You may be surprised how relieved you feel (as well as the grief) when it has been done and the pony is no longer suffering.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

NFU paid me market value when my Holstein was PTS when his broken olecranon couldn’t be fixed.

 

[Squidge90]

NFU didn’t pay out for my horse when he was put down in 2014 with arthritis. The vet on his final examination said we could try de-nerving the front legs or PTS and de nerving didn’t sit well with me so I opted to put him down a few weeks later. So we didn’t meet the BVA guidelines and I had to pay for the PTS and disposal. Not that I have ever regretted my decision.

 

[L&M]

The main thing is to contact them and let them know your planned course of action, regardless of any expected payout.

Years ago I had a mare pts due to wobblers, on vets advice - the insurers refused to pay out as a. they hadn't been informed prior to my decision, and b. felt that as the horse was isn't in pain as such, did not warrant euthanasia (ie she could still remain alive as a field ornament).

And she was insured for loss of use......I no longer insure and have a separate savings acccount for vets fees.

 

[misst]

It depends what you're insured for. This is not a LOU claim it is a euthanasia claim. All mine over the years were paid out for their insured value - petplan nfu and kbis. Petplan refused to pay out as we could have tried another treatment but we had done 9 months of treatments and had been to Sue Dyson at the AHT who advised pts. They still refused but I put in a claim anyway on the off chance and they paid in full a month later to my astonishment. I would do what you have to do and if they pay - great - if not you have done the right thing. It is never easy or nice but you will feel ok knowing you have done the right thing. Sorry for your pain. x

 

[eggs]

My mare was pts this time last year following a very early morning phone call on Sunday morning. She was up at Newmarket Equine Clinic and fully met BEVA guidelines. NFU paid out market value which was lower than purchase price but I was expecting that and also vet costs. They pay out a maximum of £250 for cremation costs (NEC are not cheap - I think it was about £500).

Sorry to hear you are in this position but calling NFU would be your best option.

I previously had another mare pts but as she did not meet BEVA guidelines (but would have if I had left her overnight) nothing was covered on insurance but again I was expecting that but made my decision based on what I felt was best for her.

 

[Cassy]

We had him put to sleep last week and the vet said we had no hope claiming, so didnt bother.

 

[teddypops]

We had him put to sleep last week and the vet said we had no hope claiming, so didnt bother.

What have you got to lose putting in a claim? They will either pay or they will say no. It will be in your policy if you are covered for this.

 

[sunnyone]

It's only been a few days then, so not an unreasonable delay. Yes, you will feel rotten whilst making the claim, but if you don't ask you most definitely will not get. If you are not worried about the money, then how about donating any payment from NFU to your favourite horse charity?