Horse Insurance
Should Your Horse Be Insured?

Horse insurance comes in a wide variety of forms.  You can buy a policy for full or limited mortality (life insurance), major medical, surgical, theft, loss of use, stallion infertility, commercial or personal liability, horse club liability, horse show or event liability, horse hauler liability and care, custody and control liability. There are farm and ranch policies, as well as many other specialty policies.

Horses are a financial investment.  Even our $2500 riding buddies are expensive when you think of the cost of raising them and what the cost of one surgical procedure could be. 

The decision whether to insure your horse or not needs to be given some thought.  Not all plans are alike, and there are many out there.  You can't just shop around, get a few quotes, pick the cheapest and think all is well.  Ask someone with an auto policy what "full coverage" means.  When they have a claim, they find out "full coverage" did not include a rental vehicle.  That is an "optional" coverage.   

The same holds true with horse insurance.  You must ask questions, read the policy and understand terms and conditions BEFORE you decide to buy. 

A few definitions you need to be familiar with:

1. Mortality insurance covers for the death of a horse as a result of accident, illness, injury, humane destruction or transportation. Sometimes this coverage includes loss as a result of theft, but sometimes not. Mortality coverage is the basis of all horse insurance policies.  You can then add on other coverages to make your policy fit your needs.

2. Major Medical covers veterinary medical diagnostics and procedures as a result of accident, injury, illness or disease, and sometimes includes surgical procedures.  Other times surgical must be purchased separately.  There is usually an upper age limit cut-off. 

3. Surgical is coverage for surgical procedures and may be included with major medical or it may be a separate coverage that can be purchased without having to pay for major medical. There is usually a maximum annual limit that will apply.

4. Loss of Use is an additional coverage that provides for payment if your horse becomes permanently unable to perform as a result of an accident, illness, injury or disease.  This normally applies to horses insured for a certain purpose or intended use.  Read the policy carefully.  Some policies are full loss of use, meaning they will cover any injury that disables your horse.  Limited or external loss of use policies only cover accidents. 
   
   
5. Reasonable and Customary means benefits are based on what the insurance company deems should be charged and may be less than what your veterinarian actually bills. 
   
   
6. Agreed Value/Fair Market Value are terms used in mortality policies.  If a policy has wording similar to "the value shown on the attached schedule is the value agreed by us to be the current market value of the animal” then it is an agreed value policy.  You know up front the amount you would be paid should your horse die. 
   
   Some policies may state something similar to "the most the company will pay is the fair market value or actual cash value of the animal at the time of the loss." This gives you no guarantee that the amount you have insured the horse for is the amount you will collect in the event of a claim.
   
   
7. Guaranteed Renewal is a term used in mortality policies that guarantees renewal of one more year of coverage should your horse become injured or ill during a policy year.

Most insurers have a basic policy of mortality insurance with the option to add additional coverages, such as major medical and surgical, theft, etc.  In other words, you must purchase mortality insurance to get any of the other coverages you want or need.

Major medical and surgical coverages vary significantly among horse insurance companies.  It is important to carefully read the terms and conditions.  Good questions to ask and/or consider are:

• Does the company pay all or a percentage of diagnostic or follow-up surgical or medical treatment?
• For how long of a period will the company pay for follow-up treatment? 
• Does the company pay all or a percentage of surgical treatment? 
• Does the company pay for veterinarian-recommended treatments such as chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, corrective shoeing, aqua-tread, treadmill, whirlpool, magnetic, laser, non-elective dental, and non-surgical lameness?

There are hundreds of insurance agencies, many online, that you can purchase horse insurance from.  Some of these agencies write for one company only; others write for several and can give you more options to select from.

One of the major horse insurance agencies in the United States is Agri-Risk Services.  They and Kiki Ward Platt Insurance have been insuring horses, farms and trainers throughout the United States since 1976.  They represent several companies and have many types of policies to choose from.

Another well-known US horse insurance agency that works with several companies is Markel Insurance.  They have been in business for over 40 years and offer a variety of products, yet their plans are markedly different from each other.

In the United Kingdom, horse insurance is very common as well.  Equestrian Direct is a company offering horse insurance quotes online.  KBIS is another UK insurer offering online quotes and a variety of policy options.  There are many others.  This is just to give you a sample of what types of plans are available.

In Canada, Colley, Borland & Vale offers a full mortality insurance policy and a named perils plan.  Named perils means they cover those things (perils) specifically mentioned only.   Classic Equine is another well-known insurer in Canada and they offer discounted rates to members of certain organizations. 

Logans is a large horse insurance company in Australia.  They offer a large assortment of insurance plans.  In addition to horses, they also insure many types of livestock, including aquaculture, alpacas, stud cattle, feedlots, dogs and exotic species.  PetPlan is well-known in the US and abroad.  They offer horse insurance in Australia. New Zealand Bloodstock (highlighted below) offers equine insurance in Australia as well as New Zealand.

New Zealand offers horse insurance too.  New Zealand Bloodstock Insurance has provided the focal point of the New Zealand thoroughbred industry since 1927.  I did not find any major medical or surgical coverage listed, but they insure for many other options.