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You are here: Horses > Horse Care > Equine insurance |
Choosing to Insure Your Horse
There are a number of reasons why individuals may choose not to insure their
horses. It may be because insurance is too expensive, the owner may not know the
true value of the horse or some owners may believe their horse isn’t valuable
enough to insure. By asking yourself if you could afford to lose your horse is
the best way to determine if you need to get insurance on your horse.
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The value of the horses shouldn’t play a part in your
decision; rather you should base your decision on whether or
not you can pay out of pocket to replace your horse should
something unforeseen occur. It is a rare exception to find
someone who can easily pay over a hundred thousand dollars
out of pocket should a horse be lost.
About half of the horses currently insured most have a value
of under fifteen thousand. Even a thousand dollars can be
difficult for owners if they have a mortgage, college
tuition or child care to pay for as well.
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This then brings the question to the owner of how much their horse is really
worth. There are several factors that can help an owner to determine the value
of their horse which includes the horse’s sale price and record. The correct
value of a horse can be established by an experienced equine insurance
underwriter and make sure you horse isn’t over insured or under insured.
A horse that is worth under fifteen thousand and is younger than fifteen can
have an annual rate of three percent of its value. This means that it would cost
you three hundred a year to provide full mortality insurance on a horse that is
worth ten thousand dollars. The insurance covers against death from an accident
or illness in addition to death from natural causes no matter where the horse is
when it dies. This means for your insurance you are paying a premium of less
than a dollar per day.
There are some finer points you may want to consider if you choose to have
mortality insurance. You should always carefully look over the insurance
contract. The owner may be allowed to humanely destroy the insured horse in some
mortality policies only with the opinion of a veterinarian that destruction is
necessary. A good thing to check on the policy is whether it requires the
opinion of a veterinarian linked to the insurance company or if the veterinarian
must be pre-approved by the insurance company. A good company will understand
that some times emergencies require a decision on the horses well being
immediately and that the vet and owner can’t wait long period of time before
making critical decisions.
You should also make sure what specific perils your horse is covered for and if
you need to get a specified peril policy you should do so. Some of the specified
perils in a policy can include fire, lightning and transportation accidents. All
possible causes of death should be encompassed in your policy.
A loss-of-use policy can also be purchased by owners which can be a supplement
to your mortality policy. However, what qualifies for loss-of-use in a policy
will vary. Generally this type of policy compensates the owner for the decreased
value of an insured horse in case the horse becomes ill or injured and can no
longer perform at its declared use. There are generally very specific notice
requirements for a loss-of-use policy that require the owner to notify the
insurance company of any disease, injury or illness that a horse sustains.
A good example of this would be when the court upheld a denial by the insurance
company for a forty thousand dollar claim after a show jumper horse was
diagnosed with a serious and debilitating lung disease. Two years before the
lung disease diagnosis the horse had a tendon injury and the owner never
reported the injury. While tendon injuries don’t affect the lung the insurance
company was never notified of the tendon injury as specified in the requirements
of the policy and as a result the claim was denied.
Another increase in popularity has been medical insurance for horses. Medical
insurance for horses has two different types. The first covers surgery for
colic, ligament damage and other such injuries as well as all post-operative
care. The second is a major medical policy that not only covers surgery, but
also all veterinary care if a horse can be saved through non-surgical methods.
However, either of these policies typically has to be purchased along with a
mortality policy. These policies will generally cost between $75 and $150 per
year with insured expenses up to five thousand.
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Read the next horse care article on Equine Management Software. |
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