Canadian Horse Insurance

[RedRogue]

I’m just wondering if anybody wouldn’t mind to share some opinions/experiences with Canadian equine insurance.

I am looking for coverage for my 3 year old and I have never dealt with equine insurance before (he’s the first horse I’ve owned). I would like to get mortality+medical+surgical.

So far out of the companies I have come across Henry Equestrian Insurance seems the most suitable, but before I go ahead with that I would be really interested to hear recommendations from anyone with Canadian equine insurance experiences.

Also I can’t seem to find surgical coverage greater than $10 000.
I would love to have $15 000 coverage, but that amount of coverage does not seem available. If this indeed exists, I would love to know about it!

Thank-you,
D

[cherham]

Hi RedRogue,

I have always had my horses insured with HEP and don’t really have any concerns with that company. I have insured horses with them for over 30 years now and thankfully have never had a claim whatsoever. My hunter mare is insured for mortality, medical and surgical as well…just make sure you don’t “over insure” the value as they will only cover what their adjusters feel the horse is worth. In my case when I added additional insurance I had to provide her full show record. No concerns with adjusting the insurance in this case but with a young unproven horse a letter from the breeder etc. might be worth a thought. Insurance is definitely NOT cheap no matter who you decide to go with.

[RedRogue]

Thank-you for your reply Cherham.

HEP is the name for Henry Equestrian Insurance so I am glad to hear that you have no concerns. I would be thrilled if I never have to have a claim. As for the cost of insurance, I was actually expecting it to be more expensive than it it! Bonus

Thanks for your advice on over-evaluating. It’s tough to know what an unproven youngster might be worth but I will discuss this with the breeder and the insurance agency.

Thanks again for your response.

[HazelG]

I use Intercity and have always been happy. Talk to them before you make a final decision it doesn 't hurt to comparison shop

[Mouse_amp_Bay]

Setting the value is always tougher for the green horses. Worst case scenario, ask what they will reimburse you. Many companies will cover purchase price + vetting + transportation costs, which sometimes will end up being more than just purchase price.

I know most people don’t think this way, but keep videos so you can establish value if you have to. This becomes even more important with green horses. I ‘over insured’ for mine, knowing that they were coming in on training and value would quickly go up with them being backed and out showing. Important to keep in mind because most companies (i.e. HEP, not sure about Intercity) lock in the value for a year and it is a hassle to increase it during that time frame. So, while I may overpay for $10,000 in mortality insurance but only be able to “prove” worst case scenario that my horse is worth $7,500, to me that overpay is worth it.

I have only ever had medical at $10,000 but if $15,000 is really important to you it is always worth asking how much they would charge to increase it. You may be pleasantly surprised.

[CHT]

I have a horse insured with HEP. A long time ago a friend had to make a claim against them and found them to be great to deal with, so they are now my go to company.

[SquishTheBunny]

I also use HEP and have claimed once, about 15 years ago. SInce then, they have not increased premiums and have “carried over” the premiums onto the new horse.

$10,000 medical and $10,000 surgical is often plenty for most “realistic” cases. You can always ask to increase, but it also might be worth checking out the average costs of colic surgeries (with and without complications). Don’t forget there are a lot of “exclusions” for some surgeries so it may not be worth insuring past 10k.

[normandy_shores]

Do you guys mind me asking what $10k medical and $10k surgical costs annually? Say horse value between $5-15k.

[SquishTheBunny]

I pay $1100(ish) a year for $20,000 mortality, $1,000,000 liability, $10,000 medical and $10,000 surgical.

You can also do just surgical and medical, but I do not know the price of this.

I have been with them 15 years. For a new horse starting a new insurance policy I was quoted just under $1800.

[Daventry]

I just wrote an article on this very subject. http://www.equineappraisers.com/howwelldoyouknowyourpolicy.html

I personally don’t know any insurance companies that offer more than a $10,000 maximum surgical coverage. To be honest, if something happens to your horse and you need more than $10,000 surgical coverage, the final prognosis/long term recovery for the horse is likely going to be poor and not worth pursuing anyways.

I have heard HEP is very good, but have never personally dealt with them before. I just personally switched over to a new insurance company last year - Capri, based out of BC. I unfortunately had to make a claim with them in the fall and it went very smooth and painless. I’ve always said, an insurance company is only as good as how they deal with a claim.

Many people may be unaware that Intercity/Capri Insurance are one and the same company. Intercity offering services in Ontario to the east coast and Capri offers service from Manitoba to the west coast. They offer reduced rates for Horse Owners who are members of their Provincial Federations.

Through Capri Insurance, I pay $250 for $5,000 surgical coverage and it is $350 for $10,000 surgical coverage. Those prices are, of course, in addition to your mortality coverage.

[Daventry]

I just wrote an article on this very subject. http://www.equineappraisers.com/howwelldoyouknowyourpolicy.html

I personally don’t know any insurance companies that offer more than a $10,000 maximum surgical coverage. To be honest, if something happens to your horse and you need more than $10,000 surgical coverage, the final prognosis/long term recovery for the horse is likely going to be poor and not worth pursuing anyways.

I have heard HEP is very good, but have never personally dealt with them before. I just personally switched over to a new insurance company last year - Capri, based out of BC. I unfortunately had to make a claim with them in the fall and it went very smooth and painless. I’ve always said, an insurance company is only as good as how they deal with a claim.

Many people may be unaware that Intercity/Capri Insurance are one and the same company. Intercity offering services in Ontario to the east coast and Capri offers service from Manitoba to the west coast. They offer reduced rates for Horse Owners who are members of their Provincial Federations.

Through Capri Insurance, I pay $250 for $5,000 surgical coverage and it is $350 for $10,000 surgical coverage. Those prices are, of course, in addition to your mortality coverage.

[fanfayre]

Hi, Daventry;
RE: Capri, just don’t expect your renewal with Capri to go very smoothly…
I, too, unfortunately had to make a claim, on different animals. IF Capri covered it (often not) the renewal process was unpleasant to say the least. I have since switched to coverage by Equine Insurance Underwriters and have had several pleasant dealings with them through some unpleasant animal experiences. I have found their premiums to be reasonable.

[Daventry]

[QUOTE=fanfayre;7356898]
Hi, Daventry;
RE: Capri, just don’t expect your renewal with Capri to go very smoothly…
I, too, unfortunately had to make a claim, on different animals. IF Capri covered it (often not) the renewal process was unpleasant to say the least. I have since switched to coverage by Equine Insurance Underwriters and have had several pleasant dealings with them through some unpleasant animal experiences. I have found their premiums to be reasonable.[/QUOTE]

In my case, we had to put down a filly due to a small intestinal twist, so there was no renewing the policy after that. I’ve had no problems insuring new horses since we had to make a claim last year.

Not sure what happened in your case. But, for example, if you have to make a claim for colic surgery, it is common for an insurance company to exclude colic from the policy for two years or more after a sickness, injury or surgery occurs. Insurance companies will normally exclude “past problems” from being claimed in the future. Some insurance companies limit it to 1-2 years and reinstate it on the policy once the horse is, for example, colic free for 2 years…or an insurance company may choose to exclude it for the life of the policy.

I was with Equine Insurance Underwriters before that, but switched because I wasn’t happy with only having a choice of actual cash value policies.

[fanfayre]

So sorry for your loss

I had been a client of Capri’s for nearly 10 years without any claim whatsoever, but the first time I had a claim (to diagnose the melanomas in my horse’s throat, not loss or surgery) it was denied and I was dropped upon renewal. That was in addition to an existing exclusion on her since the beginning of that policy.
ATM my current mare is excluded for colic for at least one more year, and I can understand that, but EIU were much more pleasant about it than Capri ever was.