When to use insurance?

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kgj66

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I have my horse insured with KBIS for vet fees, gold standard.

She has been lame since Xmas now- see past posts for details but to cut long story short- I didn't think she was 100% in back end, by time I got her to vets she was hopping lame- abscess. Took a long time for this to heal(1 month). 3 weeks later still not 100%- X-rays taken and an area of lightness in bone density seen in same foot as abscess, in same area abscess was. Vet suggested 6 weeks off, pads on hind feet as she in thin soled and see how she improves.

That was 3 weeks ago- I feel that the problem is higher up and that the darkness on X-ray is just from where abcess was rather than having been there before abscess. she looks ok in trot, maybe 1/10 lame, but won't canter on the right lead leg(not riding at the min- this is on lunge or when loose to assess her) so will be going back to vet next week.

Bill for X-rays around £300, haven't paid yet. With insurance- if I need to get further X-rays/scans I of course will, but if it turns out to be something perfectly curable, are KBIS still likely to then put an exclusion on that leg as such?

I can afford vet bills so far, and almost want to see how major it is before using insurance! And if I decide to use it, do I have to tell them straight away or can I claim with them say a couple weeks after scans/X-rays?

Thanks
 
There is no advantage in waiting imo. Any veterinary advice/visits for your horse will be examined by your insurers in the future if you make a claim. Your vet would be the one to establish if a problem is related or 2 seperate claims.

My horse had ulcers for which I claimed. He then went for a lameness workup and he was diagnosed with chronic SI dysfunction. It is likely that the ulcers were a symptom/caused by the latter, however it was certainly advantageous for me to have it claimed separately so my whole vet's bills were covered.
 
As I understand it you have to inform your insurer of any vet treatments anyway, regardless of whether you claim. They are then likely to exclude whatever was treated.
So you may as well claim because the exclusion will apply whether or not you claim so you may as well get the benefit of claiming the money back.
Speak to your vet - they deal with insurance companies all the time and know the score.

ETA you don't need to claim straight away but your should let them know what's happening and keep them in the loop (ie let them know there may be a claim to come)
 
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Being able to pay for treatment yourself doesn't really have anything to do with it. If the horse has received substancial treatment from the vet then the insurance company needs to know. If you don't tell them & they find out later there could be real problems in the future. When you do notify them they may put an exclusion on that leg the next time you renew, so what? One of my horses had an exclusion on a leg & I spoke with the insurers, KBIS same as you, & I got a vet report/printout & sent in a letter accompanying the printout & got the exclusion removed. This was because the treatment was a complete success & there was going to be no recurrence of the problem.

In short don't hide substancial treatment that required veterinary intervention from your insurance company because it will cdome back & bite you in the back side in the end. ;)
 
As above, you are obliged to tell the insurance company of vet investigations whether you make a claim or not, they will place exclusions for whatever they think they can get away with.
You then need to get your vet to explain that whatever it was is fully cured and won't have any long term effects and they 'should' lift the exclusion, or narrow it, or agree to lift it in say 12 months if no reoccurance
 
Ah- look who didn't read the small print! It never occurred to me that I would have to let them know anyway!

Thanks for the advice- I think I will talk to vet about it all when I go next week.
 
Agree with the majority put a claim in. I know so many people who have insurance but don't claim. What's the point in having IT??? Unless your vet is dodgy he/she will have any treatment your horse receives on its medical history record so it's a no brainer.
 
You might want to just double check the small print to see how long you have to give the insurance company the notice they require.

If this has been going on for a couple of months now and you haven't mentioned it they might add the exclusion and refuse the claim because you didn't tell them soon enough.
 
You have insurance to pay for these things so you may as well use it! You would have to disclose it anyway and the insurer could still exclude the problem/condition. If you do have more treatment then it woud depend on what the outcome was (ie if a problem was diagnosed) as to whether they put exclusions on.

Abscesses can and do last for a long time (I've been there) and, when i was an underwriter for horse insurance it wasn't something I would necessarily exclude if it was just a one off incident. Of course, if a horse was prone to abscesses then I would consider excluding them
 
Whether you claim now or later they will only pay for 12 months when horse first shows signs of problem.

Also whether you claim or not you need to let the.insurance company know or any issues.
 
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