What to look for when buying insurance?

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Sally Moore

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Hello everyone.

I am now the lucky owner (On loan, looking to buy) of Darcy.

Absolutely well behaved and very funny, so pleased! It has been a life long dream to have a horse.

Now I want to make sure I am doing everything right for Darcy and myself so everything was ordered and prepared months ago... just need insurance.

I do not know where to start? What do people look for when purchasing both rider and horse insurance? oh and public liability.

What do you look for to ensure you are with the best company for you and your horse?

It's my first time and I want to know I am going to get the best for Darcy, any help would be gratefully received.

Thank you

Sally and Darcy
 
I chose a company that I knew my vet would deal directly with. Certainly my farm animal vet would only deal with a handful due to problems being paid. Choosing the company I did means I don't have to pay the vet then claim from them

A good google of each company name will tell you who to avoid
 
Consider what is important to you - a quality product normally has the price tag to go with it so consider what is essential & what isn't. Some vets will deal direct with the insurer, some it will depend on who the insurer is and others will not deal with the insurer directly regardless as to who they are.

You will be asked the value you want to insure the horse for (this comes into play in the event he is lost/stolen/dies or you claim loss of use (LOU)) The higher this amount, the more the premiums increase. In order to claim for value in the event of PTS the horses condition will normally need to meet BEVA criteria for destruction of horses (google for more info)

Vet fees - do you have money to one side to cover if something happens and you need the vet, what if there are 2 or 3 incidences close together? Vets fees will be capped at different levels depending on the company, normally between £3500 and £7500 of cover per incident is available and it normally covers any injury/illness for up to 12 months from when clinical signs are first discovered or up to the vet fee limit whichever comes first. You will have an excess to pay on any vet fee claims (1 excess per condition claimed) there are fixed excess' available where you just pay the first £x amount of the claim and insurance cover it thereafter, or % excess you pay a fixed amount & then a percentage of the treatment costs thereafter too. If you put a higher xs on the policy your premiums will likely reduce (you cost the insurance less money this way)

Personal accident/rider cover - consider if you need to cover just you on this horse, anyone riding/handling the horse or you riding this & other horses. Is it necessary to have basic cover (if you die/lose a limb) or is it important to have cover if you break a leg & are off work for 6 weeks as a result (which will cost you more)

Public liability - you can get stand alone policies for this through schemes such as BHS gold membership or can build it into your horse insurance. Horses are horses and no matter how 'safe' accidents do happen - if you cause a 3 car accident where drivers are injured, could you afford the following legal battles & payouts?!

LOU - this means if your horse is 'written off' by the vets & can no longer fulfil the purpose for which it was intended (but isn't in a bad enough way to be PTS and claim value back that way) you can proceed with a LOU claim for his value, usually a percentage of which agreed when you choose this cover.

Disposal - normally a set amount towards the cost of disposal if horse is pts, usually only payable if a mortality claim is valid & paid out.

Tack cover - insurers may have a list of security requirements that will need to be met in order for a theft claim to be paid out but this cover should also cover if tack is damaged (depending on insurer) which may be something to think about.

Hope this helps
 
I have liability through bhs gold membership and vet bills and loss of use and loss of horse through south Essex.
Loss of use seriously puts up the price and unless owner insists on this I would not have it for a horse on loan
You need to choose a company you know are good at paying as some are awful!
South Essex have paid out nearly £12k for 3 horses for me. Always paid without any trouble and been excellent with exclusions
 
Thank you everyone.

After calling around I have narrowed down my options.

May I ask, who are you with? the whole "company that pays out" but does worry me.

Clearly I will read through all the paper work but what things would you recommend I look into more.

Just want to make sure I'm not left out of pocket and can afford the very best for Darcy.

Thank you

Sally
 
One thing I would recommend is reading all the T&C's of the policy. Yes it is boring and most are very lengthy but you want to make sure you know what you are getting and that you are happy with it.

For example, if your horse has to go to the vets and stay there, some companies will pay for the hospitalisation costs, others won't pay at all and some will pay a proportion (i.e. nursing costs but not livery). Would you be happy to pay for it?

Another one is diagnositics. Some companies may only pay a proportion for an MRI scan whereas others will pay the whole thing. What a company won't pay will be listed in the terms and conditions so make sure you are happy with them before you buy cover!

If you search for insurance on the forum there are loads of threads about who people use and who they recommend (or don't recommend!)
 
Agree with comments above, if you want the very best I'd look at the limit on vets fees, many have a £5k limit - which actually with current vet practices is easily reached - a colic surgery with some common complications could easily be £8k. A nasty kick in the field could reach the limit if you have to have the joint flushed under general.

Insurance companies are set up to do their best not to pay you, they only stay in business if you pay them more than they pay out so which ever you go with read all the details and stick to their requirements to the letter - common mistake is to forget to tell them about minor vet visits which are below the excess and hence you didn't claim.
If they are being really picky a £80 vets visit for mild mud fever could invalidate your future claim for £8k of colic if it's in the Ts & Cs you are required to inform them of all non routine vet visits.
 
I was with KBIS & had gold membership. Cost me £40 a month but good cover, 5k vet fees i think, up to 7500 for colic, that included public liability, hospitalisation costs etc. They were excellent (have only just cancelled as sold horse). I know a lot of people who have cheap insurance that only cover them for the basics, but when it comes to horses nothing is cheap so I think it's way better to spend the extra to cover you! Hope this helps, there are millions of companies to look through.
 
chaps89 said:
Tack cover - insurers may have a list of security requirements that will need to be met in order for a theft claim to be paid out but this cover should also cover if tack is damaged (depending on insurer) which may be something to think about.
Click to expand...

Hi Chaps

Thank you so much, In relation to tack, it seems to increase cost considerably. Would you recommend adding tack or insuring it in home cover?

Sally
 
I can tell you what I have.

I am with Amtrust Equine who are fantastic. Not cheap but you get what you pay for - they pay out quickly, without fuss and pay the vet directly the day they receive invoices. I have my trailer insurance with them too. I don't currently have public liability with them as for a time I had 2 horses, so it was cheaper to get it through BHS Gold membership plus the BHS offer better cover (£10M as opposed to £1M).

I have £5000 vets fees, per incident, £135 fixed excess. It is more expensive to have fixed excess but I didn't fancy the whole 17.5% of total cost. If you max out your vets fees, that's rather a lot of money! When I've claimed (and I claimed a lot with last horse), Amtrust made the decision immediately and paid vet the day they received the invoice. Only once had to quibble and it was actually because my vet hadn't filled in the paperwork properly. Within the 5K, Amtrust also cover £500 for remedial farriery, and £500 for "alternative therapy" which includes physio, osteo etc as long as recommended by your vet for the condition they are paying out on.
I also have hospitalisation fees - if your horse needs hospitalisation it can be expensive and I wouldn't be able to afford to pay for a lengthy stay. Again, this makes your premium more expensive.
I have something like £1500 of tack cover, with my saddle on as a named item as I know how much it would cost to replace.
I have death, theft and straying. The pony is insured for the amount I paid.

You need to consider whether your chosen insurer requires a vetting - mine don't for a horse you pay less than 5K (I think) for. Also consider the age of the horse - some insurers will only insure a 16yo+ horse for accidental injury, not vets fees.

Rider/accident insurance - I have this as part of my horse insurance and it doesn't cost a lot. You should have it though.
 
Ok so I have phoned round all sorts, repeated myself so much. But I am glad i did, customer service to me is important and it sure put me off a few places.

I have narrowed it down to Animal Friends and Petplan. Both seem good policies but Petplan are the larger company.

What are peoples thoughts?

Darcy is doing really well, so pleased with his progress.
 
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