insurance advice please

[sianandtonto]

Hi there my horse is insured with a well known insurer for eveything basically, costs me a fortune. which i dont mind paying as i think he is worth it. Although recentley my horse has been diagnosed with COPD which he has had inhalators and treatment to correct and is fine now, although it is likely to make a reoccurence.
my question is ' the bill ive recieved is just over £200 pound with the excess of £120 and me being a student and abit strapped for cash but dont no whether or not to claim as if my horse has a reoccurence and it costs me alot of £££ next time, ive been told he wont be covered for anything to do with related to the condition by the girls on my yard, as it will go on his file as a COPD case and wont be able to claim for it if there is a next time.
What does every one think? should i make a claim or am i best not letting my insurer know about the condition???
Thanks for lookin and replying in advance:D

[Pale Moon]

Trouble is with this, you are supposed to let your insurer know whenever your horse is ill, whether you claim or not.

So, say you decide not to claim and don't tell them, but a year later you have another, bigger claim to make for maybe the same condition, the insurers are entitled to look at your Vet's records and if you haven't disclosed the fact that he had the problem now, then they could use this as an excuse for not paying.

[cinammontoast]

Definitely tel the insurers or you could be done for fraudulently obtaining continued insurance-was a question I was asked when I got new insurance today. Look around for a cheaper policy for renewal-I gather Petplan offer the Hilux plan quite cheaply-£3500 vets cover but excess is £350-bit huge but I think the premiums are low because of this.

[harleemonster]

hi firstly is this something thats arisen since first insured with insurance company or before?
if since then you should tell them and claim. depending or the fine print and type of insurance youve got (check this first) thay should payout for ongoing treatments of this illness. as its not something that just goes away is it? its like humans lung disease. it will affect to a certain extent the rest of their life.

also a bit of info i found that may help.

Here are some management techniques to help you to improve your horses environment and help him to cope with this allergy. These tips are also good as preventative measures too.

If your horse has a persistant cough it should not be doing any work at all.

The lungs will be put under even more stress and more permanent damage will result. After all would you run about for half an hour or more if you had a lung disease?

Horses with COPD should receive as much fresh air as possible and ideally live out.

Many horse owners make the mistake of trying to keep the horse warm if it is stabled in the winter by closing windows and doors. Ventilation is vital in the stable.

Don't muck out or brush up while your horse is in the stable.

Firstly many owners sprinkle the hose pipe through their hay. This is a waste of time, hay needs to be totally submerged for at least twenty minutes. Better still feed an alternative forage such as haylage as soaking hay also reduces the nutritional quality.

Stay clear of straw beds. Shavings are more suitable.

Even though COPD is an allergy to mould spores breathing in dust when the lungs are already damaged cannot be good either. Don't use the cheapest form of shavings you can find you will often find these are the most dusty. There is a big difference between dust extracted bedding and dust free. Do a test. Take a small mirror into the stable with you while you are mucking out. When you have finished see how much dust has accumulated in the short time you have been in the stable. Your horse spends hours in there and you have only been in there for a short while. This is the air that he is breathing. Does the sun shine through the stable? If so you can usually see the dust present in the air. If you can't find good quality bedding then rubber matting would be better.

More articles and research can be seen at the following links

Small Airway Disease And Equine Respiratory Health
Depth Veterinary Article about COPD
Recent And Current Research by the Equine Pulmonary Laboratory

hope this is helpful :)

[diplomaticandtactful]

some insurers now ask for a statement of account from your vet on renewal and if you don't tell them about anything then it does invalidate all your cover so sadly it isn't worth it.

when my horse got copd, my vet took the view that given we would get one shot at it and then it would be written off, she then did every test in the book, bought a nebuliser and nose bag and supply of drugs for it, everything that it might need in the future if the condition occured again or deteriorated.

also if you can prove that no further treatment has been required for say 2 years there is a chance they may reinstate the cover, as often copd can be a one off caused by bad hay, just a set of circumstances, which you can eliminate.

rubber mats are helpful, and my horse is absolutely fine, doesn't heave or cough at all.

[patchwork]

Unfortunately this is where the insurance companies have the upper hand. Once you have had the vet out whether you claim or not is is down on your record. Soon as a claim goes in for whatever they ask the vets for a statement for all treatment etc that horse has had within past year.

Perfect example my pony had laminitis last year, very mildly but I got the vet as I needed bute. Recovered well after 2 weeks box rest, so didn't claim as excess much higher.

This year same pony has laminitis really bad, box rest 10 weeks, currently in vet hospital and been informed has very high insulin levels. Unable to claim as it is a pre-existing condition but now I really could do with claiming..........That is why I dislike damm insurance companies.

[dragzb]

Hi, I totally agree with other's when saying you really need to tell your insurance company or you might run the risk of them cancelling the total policy and refusing to cover for anything else, which if they do this could exclude you from being able to get any insurance with any other company in the future.

COPD can be managed. As others have said if you can keep your horse out rather than stabling that's a much better option, avoid over rugging, avoid anything dusty and if you have to feed hay then make sure that its soaked for no less than 20mins. Steaming is also a good option which keeps in the nutrients but makes the spores swell. There are also really good supplements on the market, my personal favourite is Winergy Ventilate.

Hope that your hoss makes a good and speedy recovery, its not a nice condition and you have to constantly manage the situation but it can be done.