You can insure immediately if you DON'T vet your new horse, but not if you do!

[galaxy]

Feeling this is a little unfair!!

Spent a long time on the phone to my current insurance company last night. I am having a horse 5 stage vetted on Friday. NFU told me that if I have the horse vetted, they would not give me ANY cover AT ALL on him until the underwritters have seen the certificate. However if I didn't have him vetted, I would have the usual new horse cover (death, accident to begin with then full cover after 14 days).

It's really peeved me off. I can't see why they can't at least insure him for accident, like a kick in the field. My vet isn't going to be able to instantly produce the certificate to send to them.

My OH doesn't want me to turn new horse out until I have cover (he'd be in 2 days anyway, but I can imagine this may take slightly longer). This is going to be hard.

Anyone found a way of getting around this?

 

[muddy_grey]

In the past when I have had horses vetted, the vet has filled in the certificate there and then.
Seems crazy though to not give the standard new horse cover in the mean time.
You should ask if they will accept a scan of the certificate, even as an interim. Then if you get the certificate on the day you can email it off straight away.
Hope it works out and the horse passes of course

 

[hudsonw]

Most insurance companies don't pay out in the first 14 days for illness but basic cover for accident and 3rd party liability.
It also depends how much your insuring your horse for and if your including loss of use?
your vet can fax the vetting to your insurance to get the ball rolling quicker. I was given my vetting cert on the sameday of being vetted.

 

[MurphysMinder]

My vet issued the certificate there and then when he did the vetting. We arranged to pick Murph up a couple of days later when we brought the cash, and by that time the insurance co had got the certificate so no problem. Are you planning on paying for and taking your horse home straight after vetting, if not you should have enough time to get the insurance set up.

 

[CBFan]

go to another insurer!! I never had any bother with Scottish equestrian. Very good cover and cheaper than most.

 

[galaxy]

I have never had a horse vetted myself before, but have attended 2 vettings for friends... The 1st def didn't get the cert immediately, don't recall the 2nd. But they didn't ask either. It is my usual vet doing the vetting (who I know too well! ), so maybe I could ask for it. I hadn't even thought about it. I thought they'd need time to type it up or something?

I'm planning on going back and picking him up later in the day if he passes... (I'm hopeful, he passed a vetting when he came over from Ireland earlier in the year, but luck has been worse than rubbish for over a year!) I like to pick them up asap as a vetting is only a snapshot of time.

 

[MelenR]

I thought NFU were really good. The lady I brought my horse off had him vetted when she brought him and gave me the certificate (which was about 2 years old). They just asked me to scan it in and send it to them...and he was insured from then onwards. Maybe it was easier for me as my horse was already with NFU so they knew of any claims the previous owners had made.

 

[galaxy]

I know about the 14 day thing (did put it in my origianl post)... But was hoping they'd at least give me accident. I suppose at least I'll have 3rd party throught the BHS...

I know it's tempting to change companies. But I have had HORRIFIC luck with horses over the last 18 months and the NFU have been nothing but BRILLIANT. They have paid me out around £13k!!! Don't think I could bring myself to change.

I'm quite hopeful now that I'll get the certificate on the day after what has been posted. Typically it's being done on a Friday and no underwritters will be in over the weekend, but at least I could get cover on the Monday which he'll be in until anyway.

 

[monkeybum13]

It's crazy isn't it, when we found this out when we insured Lacey we did have a bit of a laugh.

 

[ladyt25]

I'm sorry - i worked for an equine insurance company (competitor to NFU) for nearly 7 years up til April this year, and what NFU have said to you is idiotic and makes no sense! is that definitely correct, there's no cirossed wires?

If your horse is of a value or age and value where a vet certificate is required then the standard procedure would be to offer cover from the date you wanted/purchased the horse and it would be on an accidental death/accidental vets fees cover only. Upon receipt of the vet certificate the insurer would then extend the cover to 'full' (ie illness and disease) although your 14 day exclusion period would still apply. All other covers you required (ie anything other than death, vets fees or loss of use) should be on cover immediately - for example liability cover, personal accident, tack etc.

I would go back to NFU and query what they have said, make sure you have heard right. If that IS the case then quite frankly I would just go elsewhere. NFU are doing some odd underwriting at the moment!!!

 

[*hic*]

I got caught out really badly with this. I agreed with NFU and the vet that he would fax the vetting certificate to their office as soon as he got back to his practice so that my mare was fully covered on her drive home - I was to take her home that day if she passed the vetting. I have my copy of the vetting certificate with the fax number clearly written on the top. He gave me a pass certificate, I bought the horse and took her home after phoning the NFU to make sure that she was covered as soon as they got the vetting. All fine, or so I thought.

13 days later she fell in the field and injured herself seriously. I rang NFU and at first the agreed she was covered for accident - but they couldn't find the vetting certificate. I emailed them a scan of my one, they passed it to their underwriters - who refused cover, any cover. Although she had a certificate to say that she was fit for the purpose I wanted her for - to event to Novice level - it had been noted that she was lame for six strides after flexion (I queried it with the vet at the time, he said that she would be fine and that the insurers would have no issues) and because of that they cancelled the policy.

Whether it's as a result of that they've changed their procedure I don't know. Certainly they were looking at a greater than 60% chance that the horse would be pts and she wasn't exactly cheap!

As it happens the mare has recovered but is now uninsurable with NFU.


As a reaction to this I now won't have my animals vetted. The horse I bought to ride whilst the mare was out of action wasn't vetted, he fell off the lorry ramp and injured himself - no vetting, no problem, they were prepared to pay out for all sorts of exotic treatment to within the fees limit or would have happily paid to pts had I not wanted to persevere.

 

[nic85]

I would ring them back and double check. It makes no sense!!

Im with NFU and when my filly was vetted ( 2 stage) she had xrays on her hock.....I decided to wait for the results of the xrays before deciding to buy or not....thankfully xrays came back clear and she was happy to pass her for what I want to do with her.....I rang NFU the next day ( after previously getting a quote from them) and started the policy straight away, she was covered for the first 14 days for accident/death/injury but not illness, I told them she had been vetted and xrayed and I was told thats fine, when you get the certificate just send it to us to see...( I will say they asked for the original and I asked a few times if a copy would be enough but was told no....they still have my original copy but I have 2 copies of it...bit miffed as I was later told I could have sent a bl00dy copy..Duh!)

 

[galaxy]

Oh we checked and double checked that we weren't talking cross wires!!

I know it makes no sense. But that is 100% what they said. He even went away and checked!

It's not just an NFU thing apparently. My friend said when she had her horse vetted and rang around that Petplan and SEIB have the same policy. KBIS was the only one who would immediately insure her.

 

[jack9]

i got cover straight away and didnt get her vetted....

my last horse i got 5 stage vetted and got the certificate there and then and was insured.....

 

[pricklyflower]

I'm with NFU and my horse was insured from the day I purchased him and I definately didn't have the vet cert straight away (live in the Channel Islands so wasn't present for the vetting). I used a broker who sorted everything out for me but he was definately covered! In fact it took about 2 weeks by the time the vet wrote up the note to me receiving it and forwarding it on.

I'll have a look at the wording on the temporary cover note that I had before I received the vet cert in the post. I cant remember off hand what it said. I needed this as there was the possibility of him travelling to me before the vet cert arrived and I definately didn't want him travelling uninsured, especially on the ferry.

 

[kezimac]

I'm sorry - i worked for an equine insurance company (competitor to NFU) for nearly 7 years up til April this year, and what NFU have said to you is idiotic and makes no sense! is that definitely correct, there's no cirossed wires?

I was told exactly same by NFU when i bought mine - So I went with another insurer !!!!

 

[kezimac]

Oh we checked and double checked that we weren't talking cross wires!!

I know it makes no sense. But that is 100% what they said. He even went away and checked!

It's not just an NFU thing apparently. My friend said when she had her horse vetted and rang around that Petplan and SEIB have the same policy. KBIS was the only one who would immediately insure her.

Amtrust insured me immediately

 

[Maisy]

The NFU wanted an 8 year old vetting certificate when I was going to change to them after being with a different insurer.....just because that was when I had had my horse vetted!!!

Would it be wrong to insure the horse the day before the vetting, stating that you havent had it vetted (which would be the truth), then have it vetted??

I know Petplan wont insure a horse over £2.5k if you havent had a vetting (or is that just with LOU cover?!)....

Insurance is all a scam.....it really annoys me!!

 

[ladyt25]

It isn't a scam but something isn't adding up - petplan will usually cover you immediately (you can get cover online) but, should you need a vet cert then they would just give you restricted cover pending receipt of the vet cert. That is how it works as standard.
Try some other insurers if this is truly what they are saying - Lloyd and Whyte will give you a quote online/over the phone, they use KBIS a Towergate AIUA. Also you can get cover online through insuremyhorse.co.uk (no that is nothing to do with E&L), Amtrust, SEIB - there are numerous companies to choose from. Other than that try a broker who will find a policy for you - Julie Andrews insurance brokers for example. They specialise in horse insurance.