Hello, I just bought a horse and would like to have him insured before moving to Wellington, FL next month. This is my first time buying my horse of a lifetime and having to deal with insurance. Can you please recommend me to the best insurance company?
I use Cunningham and Cunningham out of Goshen, NY. They are phenomenal and they have several companies they work with to fit what you need and the best coverage depending on your needs. I’ve been with them since 2008 and they have never done me wrong. I’ve also unfortunately had to deal with major medical and mortality payouts.
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Rather than look for the best insurance company, look for an AGENT who is reputable and helpful, who you can build a relationship with. I use Jennifer Oliver of Central Virginia Insurance Agency. http://www.centralvirginiainsurance.com/our-staff/ She’s easy to get in touch with, knows her stuff, and explains things in a simple to understand fashion.
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I bought a horse last year and after researching options, went with coverage from XL Specialty placed through the Broadstone Agency. One of the options that appealed to me was the ability to pay a small amount of additional premium to waive the diagnostic co-pay (my prior horse maxed out two policies, so this is my personal sensitivity, lol!). Mortality premiums are 3.4% and I have been happy with the service thus far.
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Since you are going to be in Florida, it would be nice to have a local agent. Peter Baron at Southwest Ranches Insurance Agency in Broward County is a great agent. On the unfortunate claim that I had, Peter was responsive and very available to me, and saw to it that it was paid immediately
Connaway Insurance hands down. The owner Laura rides herself in the Grand Prixs and hunters on her homebreds and is fantastic to deal with. She understands the business 100% and has been great to deal with when my horse was having medical issues. All of mine have been insured through her. Very personable and does WEF so you could put a face to the name next season.
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Looking into insurance myself today I spoke with Jennifer and though it remains to be seen, I was (so far) very pleased with her knowledge and way of explaining things within the business
In addition to having excellent agents, it’s helpful to know how your coverage works when things go wrong. I had a horse present neurological conditions. My agent Tom Rattigan works with Great American. My claims adjuster was wonderful to work with, Tammy Searles, and I think she is in Florda.
They agreed to cover a myelogram/CT scan, which is very new and expensive. They agreed that if I did not want to do basket surgery that they would not make me. And when he was diagnosed as wobbler, they did not require a necrospy. I think this is bc the myelogram was so clear, so YMMV. We had to put down the horse. They were very kind about it and paid out full mortality without a lot of hoops to jump through. They also write me a kind last letter.
This is the first horse I had to put down, and I didn’t know what to expect if horse insurance would be as big a pain as human insurance for reimbursements. It was nice to know they honored the contract without the crap Cigna gives me when I file a claim.
I was also impressed with how quickly they can put together a quote, they will cover your horse if you are importing it with very little notice. Just a general very positive experience working with them.
I’ve used Hallmark and Markel and a lot of people seem to like Broadstone a lot. I can’t speak to using agents as I’ve generally just gotten my insurance directly through the company. It’s definitely a peace of mind to have the insurance. There are several insurance companies out there and probably have similar policies and procedures but an agent could certainly help wade through the different policies.
I will second this. I went through Jennifer and cannot recommend her enough. She is AMAZING to work with, and got me an incredible policy for my guy- that so far has paid me $2300 in medical expenses for everything from x-rays to shockwave treatment. The policy basically covers ANY vet treatment and was super reasonably priced.
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I am an insurance broker and from an agent’s perspective I have been most impressed with the coverages provided by XL Specialty (XL Catlin). I agree with what’s been said above, that choosing a great broker is as important as them placing you with a great company. Many factors determine which program suits a horse and rider best. It sounds as though you’ve been given some great recommendations for brokers in this thread! Good luck.
I had the same policy thru broadstone. Unfortunately for me my horse died 2.5 months later. I did have the 150 extra to waive my copays. And I am really glad I did .they paid everything except farm calls and even paid on an extra colic surgery rider. I would have made out okay except for I under insured my horse so I did lose a lot
money. But that was not the insurance company’a fault. It ended up being a great policy and broadstone is really a great agent to deal with. I have my other horse insured with them and now he has a suspensory that I have to make claims on. And they are paying put too.
TSWJB, so sorry to hear about your horses, but glad to hear that Broadstone/XL are fulfilling the policies and are not making an awful situation worse!
IME having the best agent in the world isnt going to be much of a plus if the underwritiing company (the one that actually authorizes treatments, cuts and signs the checks and pays that friendly agents commission when you buy the policy) refuses to authorize or reimburse you/your vet.
Agents sometimes can give you incorrect information because they really don’t know. BTDT having been sold a year long senior horse surgical only policy the horse aged out of eligibility for 8 weeks after the check was cashed. Agent felt bad they misunderstood age and eligibility. Never got it resolved through agent ( probably involved forfeiture of commission), had to contact underwriter directly to get the refund for the months the horse was ineligible for coverage. Wasn’t a fortune but…
Another long time agent for a friend was no help in a euthanasia situation. Long running neuro condition, many treatments, including authorizing use for experimental drug, claims paid over almost a year. Horse in terrible distress, down and convulsing, obvious emergency, holiday weekend, left messages, no response. Vet and owner made the call to end it as an emergency euthanasia. Underwriter denied mortality claim…long story. Ended up going to state board and claim was paid. Agent provided no help with the underwriter saying their hands were tied despite many assurances everything would continue to be covered and proper procedures on the euthanasia were followed. Agent also never mentioned options to appeal.
READ THE ACTUAL POLICY YOU BUY. Don’t assume anything, agents sell a lot of policies, they can make mistakes explaining exactly what you are buying.
These were both very nice, friendly, experienced and knowledgeable agents we’d used for years.
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I am interested in this thread. I just want to add that I have used Broadstone for years and really like them. I recently got my renewal policy and unfortunately it said that XL Specialty will no longer cover horses insured for less than 15,000. That leaves my horse out. They now offer two companies to move to: American Reliable or The Hartford. Any opinions on either of these companies?
Also interested in this! Following 
I have had insurance through the Hartford for over a year, and they have paid out reliably and as expected per the terms of my policy. My TB suffered a bowed tendon last fall and the policy covered ultrasounds and lameness checks, and half the cost of shockwave treatments. They did not cover either stem cell treatment or PRP; I opted to do the latter on my own. I wish I had paid more attention to coverage of either stem cell treatment or PRP, however, with the fairly low price of my policy, this was on me, not them. My policy still paid for itself several times over as a result of the bowed tendon claim, as we have now had three separate lameness vet appointments and looking forward to (hopefully) the final ultrasound and check up next week (knocks wood).
I can’t complain about the Hartford for a basic mortality and major medical policy. Their checks arrived within 3 days or my submittal of a claim.
Roughly 10 years ago I maxed out a major medical policy from the Hartford, I had no trouble with their claims processing or timing, they were easy to work with. They were harsh on broad exclusions the next policy period, but I think that’s probably true of most companies now so I’m not sure I’d consider that a disqualifying factor!
I asked the same question last week, have used the big companies in the past and went with Cunningham and Cunningham. So far so good!
Thanks for the feedback on the Hartford, Equest and Madison! That will help my decision.
