Anyone got a recommendation for a horse insurer?

(If you thought insuring a bike was expensive…)

Well, this will go one of two ways.

My wife has hers with pet plan.
I think they are good at paying out to the vets if need be

We self insured the last one…ouch, that backfired!

Now the vet fund is depleted, we are coughing up for at least the first year on the latest one.

(Petplan and NFU are meant to be the best in terms of cover and paying out, however this is reflected in the premiums…)

(I think we will still self-insure long term, the premiums are outrageous. However, with a new purchase there is extra risk to start with)

Nfu mutual. Not heard great things about e&l.

That’s just thinking on the hoof.

Wither to choose petplan or nfu. That’s the mane question.

Avoid: Animal Friends.
We are down not only the premiums of a number of years, but also a £2k vet bill in the last 6 months because one of their clauses hidden deep in the list of conditions is that they wont insure injury as a result of fencing – irrespective of how good condition the fence is. Not really sure how you are meant to keep a horse in a field otherwise … but there you go. And they were so proud to send a letter boasting of how they’ve spent £3 million on animal welfare … just not on the welfare of my horse however. I cannot recommend them in anyway whatsoever.

Currently with: Petplan. Apparently they are owned or linked with Scottish Equestrian. Before taking out the policy, it was checked that they cover fence injuries and like … so the wife went with them. The premium was also the cheapest as well … even after the injury the horse had this year.

Also worth bearing in mind that a lot policies / premiums vary greatly on what you specify you are going to be doing with the horse. If you’re not doing badminton 3 day events, then don’t insure for that if you know what I mean.

Bravo 🙂

Don’t think we’ve checked out NFU yet, will take a look…

Hmm yes we (I say ‘we’ like I’m something other than an incompetent groom) are doing BE 1 day events now so I guess that’s not helping the premium.

Just got the renewal in from E&L; it’s gone up 20% and noticed that fencing clause too… another horse at our yard just ran up a 5-figure vet bill due to a fencing injury so it’s fresh in the mind!

Ours is insured for BE eventing. Bumps the price up! We had the joy of a fencing injury during the period of non-insurance last year…annoyingly the horse didn’t clear the fence! We ended up using newborn nappies to re-dress the wound every few days whilst it spent a winter on box rest recovering, and sections of guttering and rolls of duct tape to splint the leg. (on the advice of the vets) I think the proper dressings cost about £10 each so about £40 a week for a large open wound, and thats without ointments, salines, special honey, multiple bandages and drugs needed every time.

What kind of “horse insurance” are you after (not a flippant question)?

For vet bills we’ve found NFU brilliant – they’ve paid out without quibble when we’ve needed them and, to be honest, their admin side is ten times better than our vets’.

If you’re just after 3rd party, it would be well worth looking into joining the British Horse Society. Last time Mrs Pz looked their gold membership covered her riding/handling any horse, and anyone riding her horses. Good prices for membership, too.

Even though our two are minimal-maintenance, every-expense-spared, native nags, there’s no way we would ever consider “self insuring”. Might be OK for vets’ fees but I wouldn’t dream of going without 3rd party. Any horse can spook and if a driver swerves to avoid and ends up having an accident I don’t want to be liable for the cost of someone’s lifetime care. I think the guilt would be enough.

We’re currently looking into whether it’s possible to get vet bills cover for our old mare and any-rider 3rd party for the youngster on one policy…

3rd party is fairly affordable, all responsible owners will hold that sort of cover. Although I think BHS recommend if someone else is riding your horse regularly, they should have their own 3rd party cover. (simply as we had to check someone held insurance as they were riding ours regularly)

My wife has her two with kbis.

They’ve been ok on first pay outs but very particular on not covering previous conditions.