Sum Insured?

[tallyho!]

Have been searching HHO on information on Sum Insured and if people take this out on their policies.

Only, I have heard recently of an acquaintance whose horse was pts and insurance did not pay out on grounds that at time of incident horse was not worth sum insured. Horse was insured for over 2.5k, the sum that requires vetting if over.

So is it worth taking out? Any advice?

Rocky Road & Marshmallows for all x

 

[*hic*]

There is no sense in it, as your friend found, unless it is accurate. The policy wording will say something like, "will pay out sum insured or market value whichever is lower". I didn't think Sum Insured - or value of horse to put it another way - was optional. You can set it low if you are mainly intending to cover vets bills but I didn't think you could opt out.

 

[tallyho!]

There is no sense in it, as your friend found, unless it is accurate. The policy wording will say something like, "will pay out sum insured or market value whichever is lower". I didn't think Sum Insured - or value of horse to put it another way - was optional. You can set it low if you are mainly intending to cover vets bills but I didn't think you could opt out.

Thanks Jemima_too. No I didn't think it was but she does not now insure a value on her horses because of this (whereas she used to). I have always done it as I thought it was compulsory, however, I still wanted to know if it was a common thing not to insure the value as this is news to me!

I clearly have some small print to go and read...

 

[ladyt25]

You should always really insure your horse for what it is worth - ie if you were to sell it. usually this is based on what you paid for the horse. Howeverm you should revaluate the sum insured over time as a horse may well lose value or gain value as it ages and depending on what you do with and of course depending on what injuries etc it may have had whilst with you.

I do think the 'market value' is a bit of a funny one when it comes to animals as what someone deems worth £5000 someone else may only consider to be with half that. There is no real 'value' in my mind like there is with a car for example. However, you need to be careful if you decide that you don't want to insure your horse for any value or just a nominal amount (say £500) because you want to save premium and maybe only want vets fees cover for example. You need to check your policy wording as some insurance companies could apply average - this means, say if you only insured your horse for 25% of it's true market value, the insurance could reduce your claim payment to reflect this. It's a bit complicated and, as I said I think in reality horse insurance companies are not experts at judging a horse's value. Had I been your friend I would have argued the insurer's decision in that case to be honest and ask for the rationale behind there decision not to pay the sum insured.

 

[not_with_it]

I think it depends on what they are insured for.

I dont insure for LOU, only vets fees. Therefore I insure for a very low value as the premiums are cheaper but I still get the same amount in vets fees.

 

[Paddy Irish]

I've just had my renewal come through from NFU and this thread has prompted me to have a good look at what i've got. Paddy is insured for £4750 , which is what I paid , I have £5000 worth of vets bills and I also have public liability on two shets ( both loaned to me from charities , of which I have to have loss of animal at £500 - makes no sense at all - as who gets the pay -out me or the charity - anyway that's another thing altogether ) My premium is about £61.00 per month but I'm thinking i could reduce the value of Paddy as he's really only a hack for me and isn't likely to command that sort of money ' in the market place ' should the worst happen...better have a good look at the policy me thinks..