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Deciding whether to insure your horse or not is a very personal decision. Many factors should be taken into consideration, such as your view on risk and how likely you believe your horse is to suffer from illness or injury, how much financial risk you are willing to take on, and the treatment you would want to offer your horse. For example, putting your 20 year old retired horse through colic surgery may not feel appropriate, but it may feel essential for your 8 year old Riding Club all-rounder.

When considering the benefits of insurance, it is important to understand two key points about how insurance works:

  • It covers unforeseen incidents, illnesses and injuries that may occur to your horse (with the exact cover being specified on your certificate). Remember that insurance will not cover anything pre-existing, as the risk of a pre-existing condition reoccurring is higher than a non-existing condition occurring. Plus, if underwriters were happy to take on pre-existing conditions, the cost of insurance would have to be much higher to enable them to cover the higher cost of claims made.
  • Your premium goes into a ‘pool’ and it is this ‘pool’ where the money is drawn from when claims are paid. It is the underwriters job to set the premiums at a sufficient level to keep the ‘pool’ topped up enough so that they are able to make all claim payments required.

 

So what are the benefits of horse insurance?

 

1. It offers financial protection

By insuring your horse, you have financial protection should your horse become ill or be injured (as the cover on your certificate specifies), meaning that you can treat your horse for the conditions suffered without significantly affecting your own financial position.

2. It enables you to feel less restricted by the cost of diagnostics and treatment

You are able to access expensive diagnostics tools and potentially lifesaving treatments which you may not have otherwise been able to afford, meaning you are not having to make a difficult decision between your horse and your bank balance.

3. You can tailor your policy to suit your needs and budget

At KBIS, we have up to 10 different veterinary fees insurance options to choose from. These range from limited, stand-alone cover, which enables you to purchase protection against certain incidents and injuries with the benefit of a reduced premium, to our most comprehensive cover which offers up to £6,000 per incident for accidents, sickness and disease, allowing you to feel that you are able to investigate and treat any problems that occur with a good amount of money. More comprehensive options also include the added benefits of cover for complementary treatments (such as physiotherapy when recommended by your vet) and hospitalisation costs, should your horse need to stay the night at the vets.

Along with this, you have a choice of excess options. Choosing a lower excess will mean you have less to pay in the event of a claim. The advantage of this is that you are able to claim for lesser amounts should you choose to, but this does mean your premium will be higher to reflect this. Higher excess options are available and bring down your overall premium, but do mean you would have more to pay in the event of a claim. This is a popular route to ensuring you are getting the most cover for your money, but consider whether this is affordable if you were unfortunate enough to need to make multiple claims within a short space of time.

If you would like to discuss your insurance needs or to get a quote, please call KBIS on 0345 230 2323 or go to the KBIS website.

KBIS British Equestrian Insurance
Equestrian Insurance Provider
Published on 26-04-2021
KBIS is the largest independent equine insurance provider in the UK, offering insurance on anything and everything equestrian, from your horse, horsebox or trailer through to liability or specialist property insurance.