Equine Insurance :: Nixon Equine Vets

An accident can happen to any horse at any time. The old adage "don¹t purchase a horse unless you can afford the loss of the purchase price" may still be correct but other unforeseen costs may arise.

Equine insurance options

We suggest that you consider the following equine insurance options:

Equine third party liability insurance

Third party liability insurance is absolutely essential but check that this is not already included in your household insurance policy.

Equine mortality only insurance

For a horse to be insured against mortality only most insurance companies will require a 2-stage veterinary examination certificate. The requirements to satisfy a claim under a mortality insurance policy are defined as: the insured horse must sustain an injury or manifest an illness or disease that is so severe as to warrant immediate destruction to relieve incurable and excessive pain and that no other options of treatment are available to the horse at that time. If immediate destruction cannot be justified then the attending veterinary surgeon should provide effective first-aid treatment before requesting that the insurance company be contacted or, failing that arrange a second opinion from another veterinary surgeon.

Veterinary fees insurance

Veterinary fees can be unexpected and high particularly for accidents, colic surgery (for which you are likely to receive a fee for veterinary services for at least £3000 whatever the outcome), in-depth diagnostic work for "lack of performance" and lameness.

Types of Insurance

All Vets Fees: In general there is an excess or percentage of the bill which you have to pay and a limit to the amount that is covered for any one particular condition. After a condition has been treated it may be excluded from the policy cover in future years ­ especially if it is the type of condition which recurs (e.g. Navicular disease, Tendon Strains, Stable Coughs etc)

Catastrophic vets fees: We strongly recommend you insure your horses/ponies in this way, i.e. for veterinary surgeon's fees up to £5000 per incident. We consider the premium for this type of insurance extremely worthwhile and having this type of insurance may make the difference between a much loved horse being successfully treated rather than euthanased for financial reasons.

Loss of use: There are two categories for loss of use:
1) accident or external injury (AEI) as the cause of the "Loss of Use"
2) causes other than AEI (e.g. arthritis, navicular disease, tendon strains)

We recommend insuring for loss of use against AEI as the premiums for these are extremely competitive. Other forms of loss of use insurance may be difficult to substantiate and often require a full 5-stage vetting certificate in advance of insurance. It should be remembered that a horse which "passes" a full 5-stage vetting examination is unlikely in the near future to be the cause of a claim for loss of use.

Insurance companies

The insurance companies with which Nixon Equine have regularly had good claims experience on behalf of their clients include:
Pet Plan 0800 7827777 website: www.petplanequine.co.uk
KBIS 01635 247474 (inc. THB British Equestrian - formerly BEIB) website: www.kbis.co.uk
Shearwater Insurance +44 (0)8700 767666 website: www.shearwater-insurance.co.uk
National Farmers Union (NFU) 01280 821910

24 hour equine veterinary emergency telephone: 01280 813258.