Vetting and insurance

casinosolo

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If you don't get a horse vetted at purchase does that have an impact on being able to get insurance or the cost of insurance? If so, how?

I'm buying a horse for light hacking and the vet wants £380 for a 2 stage vetting and £450 for 5 stage!

I'm keeping the horse on the yard where he is now and the seller will still be there with her other horse so I doubt she would try to sell me a dodgy horse. However, I understand that the horse could have problems she's not aware of.

Any advice please on the vetting/ insurance question!
 

Elbie

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The insurance company will normally ask when you take the policy out if you had a vetting but it shouldn't affect your premiums.

In the event of a claim it shouldn't matter. If as far as you know the horse was fit and healthy when purchased and you have been honest with the insurance company when taking the policy out then you're ok. Essentially, the insurance company can't refuse to pay anything based on speculation, they have to have a pretty good reason. Make sure you have asked about any previous illnesses/injuries, just so you can tell the insurance company that. Also, may be worth asking the old owner if you can have a copy of your horse's veterinary record? May be worth having a copy just in case she moves and/or you lose contact with her.

Some insurance companies will refuse to cover without a vetting (2 or 5 stage) if your horse is being insured over a certain value.
 

mandwhy

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The policies I was looking at only wanted a vetting for horses over 2500, if you do get one anyway then legally you still have to give the insurance company a copy, so in some cases I reckon it would be helpful if they were trying to dispute something... Then again something might come up that you would have otherwise been insured for.
 

bryngelenponies

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The value of the horse will affect whether a vetting has to be done but under that price it's up to you. Different insurance companies will probably have different prices at which they require vettings to be done- KBIS is £5000 for example. The vetting doesn't alter your premiums it is just for the insurance company to have the information, checking the horse is indeed healthy and any information regarding previous incidents. Those prices for vetting do seem quite high, but I'm not sure where you are so it may be the norm. I had a thorough 2 stage vetting done two weeks ago and it was £100.
 

ossy

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It really depends on the insurance company. If the horse is only being isured for a low value they might agree to insure, I only required a vetting to take out mine as I wanted loss of use on mine. If the insurer agrees to insure without a vetting they can't then come back at you later. I would say though that sounds very expensive for a vetting, my 5 stage was about £280, it was own vet and paid for by the seller.
 

Elbie

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If the insurer agrees to insure without a vetting they can't then come back at you later.

Well...you have to be careful there! Yes they may accept on cover without a vetting but that doesn't mean if you had a claim early on they wouldn't seek proof your horse was in good health at inception to confirm that you were fully honest when you took the policy out. They may ask for a copy of veterinary records, including those from the previous owner.

If you're not getting a vetting you need to make sure you are clear of your horse's previous history and tell the insurance company of any problems.
 

casinosolo

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Thanks for all the help everyone! In the end I found a cheaper vet (£230 for 5 stage) so have booked that.

The horse is only cheap and only for hacking but it's the first time I've bought so I thought it was better safe than sorry!

Hopefully all is well and he passes!
 
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