Horse Insurance

[Sassy1976]

Hi everyone,

I have just bought my first horse, Bassey, and am looking at different equine insurers. The best one I have come across at present is Petplan and I wondered which insurers most people use? Bassey is only going to be used for light hacking but I would still like to be covered for medical and public liability. Any advise would be great. Thanks in advance, Helen.

[kirstie]

We use Shearwater which covers

Death of Animal from Accident, Sickness, Disease, Straying or Theft

Vet Fees up to £5,000 per incident. Includes Hospitalisation, Remedial Shoeing & Alternative Treatment

Loss of Use (inc. Accident, Sickness or Disease)

Saddlery & Tack up to £3,000 per year

Legal Liability for Injury or Damage

Personal Accident to Rider or Handler, Death or Permanent Disability

[kirstie]

There is also EandL which is suppose to be great my friend uses them and shes says its a fantastic insurance company. Here's a link

http://www.eandl.co.uk/horse-insurance.htm?0018332-0424390-BetterFinance

What does our horse insurance policy cover?
Our standard horse insurance policies provide cover for: -
Death of horse.
Public liability.
Theft or straying.
Personal accident.
Dental cover.
Stables cover.
Vet's fees.
Saddlery and tack.
Hire of horse.
Loss of use.
Loss of entry fees.
Liability of use.

[HairyCob]

Sorry to disagree, but E&L don't get a fabulous name for paying out... they are very good at taking your money however- premiums seem to rise on a regular basis for no apparant reason!

I was with E&L with HC originally, because I knew no better and they were cheapest... I changed when I realised that the premiums had 'snuck up' so much over two years that I could have insured a blimmin' eventer for less! (Never made a claim, so no idea why they kept creeping up!)

PetPlan were my last company with HC- there rates seemed fairly reasonable, but I never had to make a claim so don't know what their 'real' service is like!

NFU and KIBIS also get a good reputation!

[Sassy1976]

Cheers Kirstie, I have asked Shearwater for a quote. With Petplan they quoted £320.45 per annum which includes Vets fees £5000,personal accident £10,000, liability 1 million, saddlery and tack I wasn't bothered about as we have a good security system around the house and grounds! I will compare both quotes and see which works out the best.

Thanks again
Helen:)

[laz]

Petplan are good they paid out straight away when my horse died and covered all the vet bills.

[Imp]

I wasn't impressed with the small print on E&L or their excess policy... enough said.

I got my horse today and insured her yesterday with Petplan including public liability... believe me it's sensible to get it (I spent 3 years studying law, which always helps to frighten me into always getting that cover in any event :rolleyes: )

You need to cover your own individual options really and look, really LOOK, at the excess to be paid by you in all the options! I'd say cover vets bills: There are some that cover vet bills up to £*** amount but you have to pay the first £500 or more of any claim, others that demand 17% or more of any claim for vets bills which, if they are high, could cripple you financially or deem you forced into making a rash decision on the spot :( Think the worst case scenario before you buy.

Good luck ;)

[Jessey]

I used to be with Equestrian direct, their cover was good and whe our trailer got stolen they paid out very promptly, never had to claim for the horse though. At the end of last year I switched to SEIB, they offer the same cover but their premium was slightly less. A friend is also insured with SEIB and when her horse died suddenly they were very good and paid out straight away.
Have also heard good things about Petplan (although for my purposes they were very expensive) and also NFU (for me they were the most expensive of the lot but I think it depends on what you do with your horse).

J x

[Anna**]

Im insured with NFU and strangely enough they were cheaper than pet plan for me, not much in it tho. I've heard very good reports on pet plan and i found NFU were good when I had my last horse but that was nearly 3 years ago,luckily i havent had to claim with my new insurance yet so not sure if there service is still as good. Be careful with E&L ive heard a few people say to stay away from them.

[Mareish]

I have heard lots of horror stories regarding E&L and they wouldn't pay out for my friends mare either :(

I used to be with Petplan - they were very good and paid out as necessary when Lily had breathing problems, I am now with NFU as Petplan just got too expensive, NFU prices have shot up but they are good IMO :)

[Sassy1976]

Thanks so much everyone for your help. It would seem Petplan is the best for my requirements at present so I will go ahead with them for now. Not long now until next week when Bassey moves in, I'm so excited!! I've dreamed all my life of owning my own horse and it's taken 29 years, a husband and 2 kids later but I have managed it! Good luck to you all with your horses and I'm sure I will be calling on you for more advise in the future. I'm glad I came across this site it's so helpful when you're starting out.

Thanks again
Helen :))

[tbtess]

Leave well alone where E&L are concerned, i had one of my horses insured with them at one point and they just took out whatever monies they wanted. In the end i had to threaten them with Watchdog, but they gave me some of the money back after that. Never again. Have also been insured with Petplan didn't have that problem with them. I am now insured with NFU and have found them to be really good. And i have been told they pay out really well and that Petplan don't but considering i have never had to make a claim with Petplan i wouldn't know.

[eeyore]

we're currently with Shearwater and i think they're ok (ben was already insured with them when i got him) but i haven't claimed when i owned him.

anyway, we noticed his tack was insured too but wasn't kept at the yard so we got it knocked off this year (hoping to make it cheaper) and it was the same bloody price as the previous year!! :eek:

how come it went up that much?! pffftt

we're going to get some quotes later in the year in preparation for when our current insurance runs out.

I've heard E&L don't like paying out :rolleyes:
someone on my yard said that they wouldn't pay out for her elderly pony until she threatened to cancel her contract with her other pony.
they paid out, and then she cancelled the contract anyway lol good for her.

will look into NFU and petplan.
have they got websites?

[Sassy1976]

www.petplanequine.co.uk and www.nfumutual.co.uk

[ElvisFan]

I use PetPlan and had to make a claim last year when Remi got Laminitis.They paid up within a week of recieving the bill with no questions asked.They have also always been really helpful when I have telephoned them.I alo now have my dogs insured with them and they gave me a generous discount as I already have both my horses insured with them.