Looking for recommendations on the best insurance companies …best rates and easiest to deal with for claims etc
Very happy with XL Specialty placed through Broadstone. Compare coverages AND price, because there can be big and important differences. Unfortunately I had a significant major medical claim and they were very easy to deal with. XL also has an additional rider you can add that waives the co-pay on diagnostics, which for only $150 pays for itself in one diagnostic if you have a claim.
2 Likes
I don’t have a lot of experience with this and did a lot of grumbling about all the exclusions on my policy with my last horse because of minor orthopedic findings on his PPE. But when the #$!@ hit the fan and my horse became mortally ill with an unrelated disorder, they paid every bill very fast with a minimum of fuss and when it came to his euthanasia and mortality payout, they made it as easy as possible. It was deeply appreciated. The Hartford via Broadstone.
1 Like
Long time no see, how have you been?
I use Smith Embry as my broker and Great American has been my insurer for the past few years. I have put in plenty of claims and always felt treated very fairly by GA. And SE has always been my advocate and done well for me. I am really happy going through them.
1 Like
I’ve been very happy with Hallmark. When I first got Hallmark they offered a $3,000 colic rider on top of M/M so if you had 7500 M/M and horse colicked you potentiall had 10,500 in coverage. I had 2 back to back surgeries one for a ruptured umbilical hernia (nothing like having the surgeon tell you they’ve never seen anything like this before…) and then horse had gas colic 5 weeks post-op 1st surgery. Hallmark was awesome and 8 years later my horse is a healthy happy camper still insurance with Hallmark at age 19!
I’ve also heard great things about Broadstone. Most of the insurance companies are pretty similar in coverage - what one might give here, another gives there. Some also offer different payment structures so if you need to break up payments that might also be a facture to consider.
1 Like
I posted this in May 2017: still accurate. 
“I use Laura Fetterman’s Champion Equine. The underwriter for my policies is XL. Unfortunately, I recently had a mortality claim; it was a little unusual in that I had a young horse with severe neck arthritis, but no neuro symptoms. Laura, the adjusters, and the underwriters were terrific to deal with. I feel like it is so rare to be taken care of and have a company do the right thing, which they did. It meant a lot at an extremely difficult time. I plan to stay with Champion Equine for my current and future equine policies.” [HR][/HR]
2 Likes
I will also comment on XL Insurance and Broadstone. I had a pretty large claim this year trying to figure out what the heck was going on with him and they were all wonderful to deal with. Previously I used Blue Bridle and Great American and wasn’t very happy with GA’s customer service with a smaller claim.I plan on sticking with XL and Broadstone for all horses.
1 Like
For those of you that have had insurance claims what is the typical time frame for reimbursement of bills? Specifically, once the adjuster has all the veterinary bills in hand?
1 Like
Mine is with Praetorian (agent: Jennifer Oliver), and i am very happy with this company. My young gelding had a mild case of colic, but he was a drama queen so we ha to take him to the clinic for evaluation.
They paid everything except for the emergency vet call (before taking him to clinic), and they send me the check in less than 20 days post incident.
1 Like
Less than 20 days? Wow!
I emailed the adjuster again and no response yet. Two weeks ago I asked about payment and she said she’d expedite my claim.
My insurance is through LEGIS (Praetorian) and it’s been 5 weeks since they received the vet bills and almost 4 weeks since I had to euthanize my horse. The mortality benefit was the lowest possible, only $5K, so this shouldn’t be a big deal to review and OK. I cut the coverage in half just this year to save money on premiums, which obviously you never think will matter but it does.
I borrowed money to pay the vet bills and the wait for reimbursement is stressing me out.
1 Like
I also am insured through Praetorian (my agent is also Jennifer Oliver). I’ve had a major medical claim the last 2 years (maxed out my policy). They have paid me out within 30 days. Sometimes the vet school getting the adjuster records was the hold up but my adjuster communicated well with me.
That being said - my guy ages out of MM With Praetorian this year at 16. We’ll be shopping other options if anyone is willing to take on the risk when he renews in November.
1 Like
Someone in the LEGIS office also called me to let me know my coverage was expiring and did I want to renew? This was about a week after my horse died. It made me cry at work, I wish they had better communication in their office.
1 Like
Thats horrible! I would have cried too!
My bills were typically reimbursed within 2-3 weeks of submission.
1 Like
I finally got an email today (Saturday) in response to the one I sent Friday morning. The adjuster said we’re waiting for the vet’s final report and, oh, we need a proof of loss form - let us know if you need us to send you one. WTH? This is the first I’ve heard of the form and I contacted the adjuster 2 weeks ago to make sure she had everything. The vets told me they sent their reports and I sent them, also. I’m very unhappy right now. Since it’s Saturday I now have to wait until Monday to get this moving forward.
I am already beyond crushed at the loss of my horse and having to sell all my tack and deal with not riding anymore. This makes it even worse.
1 Like
I am with Equisure and Hartford. No claims so I can’t speak to that but my agent at Equisure has been wonderful in answering any questions I have had in regards to my policy. This was the first time I took out insurance on a horse and a yearling to be exact and they were very patient and informative.
1 Like
Mine’s insured through XL Specialty; never had to make a claim but he’s 19 (renewed him at 18) and they’ve made every renewal very easy on me. This is my last year insuring him though as I think XL won’t cover him going forward.
1 Like
Mine is with Broadstone/The Hartford. So far very easy to work with and paid out very quickly/painlessly.
1 Like
I use Praetorian through Jennifer Oliver as well. She is fabulous to work with. If you would like her number, let me know, I am more than happy to pass her information along.
1 Like
I had Equisure/ The Hartford a few years back (mortality and major medical). Horse had an unfortunate year: ulcer scope and treatment, a foot abscess that the vet wanted to xray just in case, and a neck/back xray that lead to his retirement (he was 8). At renewal time they declined to renew the policy. Didn’t matter too much to me, he’s now retired in a field, and I understand their POV, they paid out a lot (though obviously less than the $7500 policy limit). But is that course of events in year REALLY so unusual for an insured competition horse? What if the findings on the neck/back xray had been better, and I’d wanted to continue riding and showing him? So I was pretty miffed about it for that reason.
In contrast, I had another horse insured through Hallmark about 5 years back, also had an unfortunate year where the company paid out much more than my premium. They renewed as usual. So overall, I’d avoid going with the Hartford again, unless I was pretty sure I wouldn’t use the major medical.
1 Like
I’ve had excellent experiences with Markel. They paid out very quickly/painlessly (within two weeks I think…it was a blur) with my last guy’s colic surgery/lengthy hospital stay and later loss. Most importantly I appreciated how compassionate they were through the entire process, especially after he died.
I insured my new horse with them and hopefully wont have to use them.
1 Like
