Who do you like and why? I’ve had Broadstone and loved their service but the latest carriers are more restrictive in what they’ll provide. All have slightly different colic coverage, deductibles and mortality limits. I’m overwhelmed! :eek:
This would be for a 10 year old event OTTB going prelim.
Thanks in advance!!
I got away from Markel for the same reason. By the time I added up uncovered services, deductibles, etc . . . There was not much value left. I moved to “escrowing” a “disaster fund” for the major med piece. Mortality is less of an issue for me (mine are older or homebreds).
I have really mixed feelings about equine insurance now. I had a situation where the horse injured her ankle in the pasture as a two year old (suspect she kicked a pipe fence). 3 views of the ankle and X-rays were clean. Horse was not lame and never has been lame, luckily, but has exterior scar tissue (had proud flesh).
Decided to do a pre-sale set of current x-rays on horse before listing her for sale as a 4 year old, knowing buyers would see the ankle scar and anticipating it would help attract out-of-state interest. A different vet takes a fourth view of the ankle and “voila” finds a bone chip. Vet can’t say if it is from the old injury or not. Broadstone had pushed me to go into a new (more expensive) company/policy that year and they denied coverage because they hadn’t covered her as a two year old, Hartford had. I failed to really learn how these policies work, and that is my fault, but I’m also a bit turned off by the fact they could potentially argue a lot of different types of injuries are pre-existing. I had NEVER had a lapse in coverage.
The good news is the surgeon (we consulted with an animal hospital/vet school) got back to me and said leave it alone, she’s sound in work, etc. (I was willing to pay out-of-pocket).
I dropped insurance this year. Over $2,000 in premiums on this young animal and I would have had no coverage when I needed it. It just miffed me. I know I’m probably being stupid since colic and mortality are a risk. But I’ve seen them reduce coverage and increase cost each year to such an extent that I’m thinking I should just put $600-$700 away each year and self insure. IDK. If you find a good policy, please share. Mare is in foal and I would sleep better if she was insured…
All the insurance companies have made changes in the past two years that have increased the premiums and deductible, and have added some variation of co-pays and/or sub-limits to coverage for diagnostics and lameness treatment. It’s important to appreciate the differences–with co-pays, you could be out of pocket for an unknown amount, a potentially bad surprise. With sub-limits, at least you can calculate your out-of-pocket expenses in advance and make a treatment plan with your vet.
Keep in mind that the lowest premium might have a higher deductible or more severe limitations of coverage, and you could end up paying more in the end if you have a claim. An agent who represents several insurance companies can help you navigate the choices.
I have Great American and am currently negotiating a colic surgery claim (that comes within all of $150 from the value of my policy). They’ve been nothing short of fantastic to work with.
Taylor Harris. Lloyds of London. I had a claim last year and they were wonderful. Also know other people that use them and I’ve never heard one bad thing about them. They don’t exclude ridiculous things only things that make sense. My only complaint would be that they don’t bill each month you have to remember to pay your premium. But I guess that’s my problem not theirs 
as long as they are in business I won’t use anyone else. I would suggest checking them out before you sign on to someone else.
I have Broadstone. Considering how restrictive most have become, unless you’re talking colic or surgery, it’s just not worth it. I just ran up a tab of almost $2,000 trying to diagnose a NQR. Insurance picked up a whopping $230 of it. They didn’t cover a damn thing except the actual lameness exam. Thank goodness I went conservative on the diagnostics and opted to not do a bone scan. I wouldn’t be able to pay my mortgage. I’m self insuring from now on. I paid in $4,800 over the past 8 years in premiums and got $230 back. The math says it all.
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