Should i insure?

[Sol_Gemma]

The ownership of my 26 year old loan horse has been transferred to me as the owner has been taken very ill and it will be years before she is well. Previously, she had an agreement she would pay for any vets bills (in 2 years there have been none) but now as he is solely my responsibility i am worried incase something happens to him :eek: i know he cant be insured for illness, and when i got quotes for accident it was £30 ish a month. I can't decide if i should insure for accident, or just put the money away in a pot which is what someone has suggested

[joey_olop]

I would put money up in a pot for him-that way if something happens to him (god forbid) you have some savings there to help you out accident or no accident.
xx

[JustJas]

Great that you own her now!
Tricky one... but I would insure if the cover level was high enough and not a ridiculous excess.

[cinammontoast]

Insure! My last big bill was £5000! For £30 a month (NFU;)), you get total peace of mind. As my OH keeps telling me, horses can be very expensive.:p

[LisaLovesHorses]

I'd insure for accidents/injury and then save for anything major.

It's easy to say in theory but an altogether different thing to physically save - I find saving money a very difficult concept when there's so much lovely horsey stuff out there just willing me to buy it ;)

[spikeylaura]

Personally I'd say insure - loan horse arrived, paid two month insurance (£60) then he punctured his knee and I received a £900 bill which they happily paid out for (admittedly less excess and cost of stay at vets)

Have a quick look at KBIS - I was worried as couldn't find anywhere that would cover Tio for illness as well as injury (although he's not as old as yours, only 19) and they were happy to

[Walnut]

I'd insure if you can as you'll be able to rest assured that you'll not have to make a difficult decision alone! My insurance is only vets fees as I have a veteran and it's not that expensive for the peace of mind it gives me. If you put it in a pot there'll always be rugs, supplements etc that you'll want to dip into it for (if you're like me).

[connieD]

i no longer insure my 26 year old veteran as i could only get her insured for accidental injury and to me the big fear (and massive cost!) would be a colic surgery which would not be covered. i put money aside each month for any vet bills. however i also know if i had an unexpected large bill (such as an operation of some sort) i would be able to get hold of the money i needed which for operations can be in excess of £5000

i think it depends on your personal circumstances. if you would be able to get hold of the money required for vet treatment if the need arose then maybe it wouldnt be worth it but if you dont have that kind of back up some form of insurance is better than none, even if it doesnt cover everything

[pooh]

Get the BHS gold membership, it will give you the cover that you need to have and is only about £55 per year (or cheaper if you are young) but it doesn't cover the vet bills - for that I suggest you put your money it to a shavings pot.

[Cloverwood1]

i no longer insure my 26 year old veteran as i could only get her insured for accidental injury and to me the big fear (and massive cost!) would be a colic surgery which would not be covered. i put money aside each month for any vet bills. however i also know if i had an unexpected large bill (such as an operation of some sort) i would be able to get hold of the money i needed which for operations can be in excess of £5000

i think it depends on your personal circumstances. if you would be able to get hold of the money required for vet treatment if the need arose then maybe it wouldnt be worth it but if you dont have that kind of back up some form of insurance is better than none, even if it doesnt cover everything

Ditto that! Had a massive argument with my insurance company and told them where to poke their policy when my horse was declared too old at 17! He's been uninsured for nearly 10 years now - so I got a credit card - low interest rate etc, just in case.

It is very unlikely that your insurance would cover what you REALLY need it to cover - and for external visible injury only (which is all my boy would be covered for now - he's 26) your excess will probably be more! Not worth the effort. The only thing you do need to make sure you're insured for is third party injuries/damage etc when hacking out etc, but sometimes you can be covered for this under household insurance.

[connieD]

ditto bhs gold membership, thats the only insurance i have as i still hack out etc so need 3rd party. also incase, god forbid, they escaped or something

[Cloverwood1]

It does amaze me in this day and age, where horses are living longer and being ridden well into their 20's (and even early 30's!) that some clever insurance company hasn't come up with a proper veterans insurance! My oldie is in better shape than some of his younger friends.