When do I claim off my insurance? Long one sorry...

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Chumsmum

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Sorry to be an idiot
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but this is the first year that I've had horse insurance and I'm not sure what to do regarding Chum's treatment for stiffness...

My 15yo pony got kicked in the field a few months ago and I had noticed that he seemed a bit stiff when stabled tho' he was walking it off quite quickly so decided to get vet in to check both. He was put on bute for a week to get over the kick and then vet came back a couple of weeks later to check stiffness. She wasn't overly concerned, it isn't in any one particular area and she thinks it is his age. I don't know anything about his history so don't know if he has worked hard in the past. She recommended to get the back lady out - back lady said his back was fine - very good infact. Back lady said that because stiffness was so general and not specfic to one area, NOT to go down the route of xrays for arthritis etc but to try out some joint supplements, giving 3 months trial on each one and see if they make a difference. If no difference after a year or if he gets worse, investigate further.
Vet is coming back out tonight and will see what she says. If she recommends further treatment/x-rays I will obviously do that and claim off the insurance.

However, if she agrees with back lady and says try out supplements for a year will this rule out claiming for further investigations in the future?

The bill for three vets visits is approx. £300 so far - I could afford this if it meant that nothing would be excluded in the future.

I wanted a bit of knowledge before tackling the insurance company
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Hope my ramblings make sense
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A very big slice of cake and a glass of wine for anyone who made it this far....
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Hmm you may have a problem. Did you notify the insurance company at the very begining when your pony was first kicked? If you did'nt chances are you are going to struggle to get them to pay.
 
Firstly check your policy - you usually need to inform the insurers at the time of the incident and at least put it on record /get a claim form sent otherwise that could be a breach of the terms and they may not pay out. You may be able to argue that you didn't think a claim would be required but also you may not.

Sorry not intending to be negative just know these are loopholes that insureres have tightened up on over the years.

In the past I notified them when one of my horses got kicked on the bum but I didn't claim just paid for some physio - next year got an exclusion for anything to do with back?! Have changed insuerers since then as that company were awful so it depends on who you are with and what your policy says.
 
I have never rang to tell my insurance company about any incidents before i have sent them my claims forms and i have not had any probs with pay so far. *touches wood*!!

But i suppose it depens who your insured with?
 
[ QUOTE ]
Do you think I should ring them now whatever I decide to do?

[/ QUOTE ]
I would.

I've always rung my insurance company to give them a heads up if I think there is even the remotest chance of wanting to make a claim.
 
I would call them asap. I hate to say it but as the original incident happened months ago, if you've got a b*****d of an insurance company they might use that to wriggle out of paying (your policy will have a clause in that says you have to notify them within 60 days). Hope not though!

I told mine straight away and they still tried not to pay!
 
Personally, I would claim for your vets fees so far, and ask your vet to prescribe the joint supplements as you will be covered for a year, and they can be very expensive. For example, Mobifor (which is vet strength Superflex), Newmarket Joint Supplement and Cortavet. You will be using your cover very profitably to try these during the coming months. If there is no improvement I would be asking for further investigations in about 6 months rather than a year, while you are still covered.

A non-prescription anti-inflammatory that I have found very effective is Pernamax Equine, but even that you should be able to get from the vet, as extract of green lipped mussels.
 
Just contacted the insurance company - they are sending a claim form out. They asked for the date of the kick and didn't say it was too late or anything.

I'll see what the vet says tonight. Might be worth trying the supplements for 6 months as someone suggested and then investigating more if no better - his policy runs out end of May so he would still be covered.

Flipping eck - I thought that insuring him would stop me worrying about unexpected vet bills and now I'm worried if I've messed up any claim - doh
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Thanks for help everyone
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