Equine Insurance worth it? What are the best companies?

[SnicklefritzG]

[QUOTE=Mondo;8027866]
I would NEVER consider getting insurance advice from an Internet BB. Crazy advice you are getting from non-licensed people who know only what they have heard or personally experienced about insurance. Call an agent, assess your options and get INFORMED education. You are not obligated to buy anything. Then if you decide to insure your horse, do it. If you decide it’s not worth the expense to you, then don’t. No one can make that decision for you. This from a retired insurance agent.[/QUOTE]

I think these kinds of threads are very helpful. I don’t think anyone intends to take a stranger’s advice 100% on all aspects of the insurance question.

I think the threads help people to understand what types of questions and concerns they should discuss with their agent so they are better informed before spending the money on a policy.

[islgrl]

I have used the medical coverage on two separate horses now. I am thankful I had the coverage because I couldn’t have afforded all the care either horses needed at the time.

[rothmpp]

@SnicklefritzG;8027697

With Smartpak offering their “Colicare” program, I’m seriously considering self-insuring from now on. If Smarkpak offers up to $7500 towards colic surgery, I can easily come up with the remaining couple of $k towards surgery if necessary.

I thought about doing this - but the cheapest supplement that falls under this program is still over $40 a month, and it must be purchased in smartpak form - bucket ordering does not meet the requirements. In addition there are steps you must follow each year to meet the eligibility, including all vacs done by your vet and not just a de-worming program, but a fecal done each year.

I don’t personally know anyone who has made a claim through the colicare program, so I don’t know how easy or hard a claim is to get approved.

[Lucassb]

I have always insured my performance horses in the hopes of “wasting” every premium dollar. I did appreciate the peace of mind that came from knowing that I could make treatment decisions based on what I thought was best for the horse and not be driven as much from the economic side of things. (Put another way, I wanted to be able to “take a shot” on a treatment if my vet thought there was a reasonable possibility of returning the horse to health/soundness.) And God forbid, if I was ever in the terrible situation of losing a horse, it would be nice to have the insurance proceeds to put toward the purchase of another horse. (I generally insure only for the original purchase value, and don’t “up” the coverage to reflect training, but I am OK with purchasing another youngster in that scenario.)

I have not personally experienced any “steering” of my treatment decisions from my insurance company, nor broker. My policies have also stated that if, in the opinion of the treating veterinarian the horse should be humanely euthanized immediately, they can do that without first having to extract permission from the insurance company - without affecting my ability to collect under that policy.

My current horse is now approaching the age where the policy options available will be pretty limited, and quite $$$. I will probably self insure next year, knowing that the whole replacement cost issue is pretty moot at this point.

[LarkspurCO]

[QUOTE=rothmpp;8028564]
I thought about doing this - but the cheapest supplement that falls under this program is still over $40 a month, and it must be purchased in smartpak form - bucket ordering does not meet the requirements. In addition there are steps you must follow each year to meet the eligibility, including all vacs done by your vet and not just a de-worming program, but a fecal done each year.

I don’t personally know anyone who has made a claim through the colicare program, so I don’t know how easy or hard a claim is to get approved.[/QUOTE]

Right - the least expensive supplement on this program runs $533/year. And it only covers colic surgery, nothing else. What if your horse is hospitalized for colic for several days and recovers? They don’t pay for that. Unless you are already using the supplement it is not that great of a deal.

I just purchased a $10,000 major medical policy for $375 on top of the $15K mortality policy (which also includes $4k for colic surgery). Having visited the vet school a number of times recently, I live in fear of an expensive hospital bill. Colic is only one of many reasons a horse might end up there!

If ever a conflict arises over the prospect of euthanasia I will always do what I think is best for the horse, even if that means forfeiting the mortality benefit.

[Kyzteke]

[QUOTE=Mondo;8027866]
I would NEVER consider getting insurance advice from an Internet BB. Crazy advice you are getting from non-licensed people who know only what they have heard or personally experienced about insurance. Call an agent, assess your options and get INFORMED education. You are not obligated to buy anything. Then if you decide to insure your horse, do it. If you decide it’s not worth the expense to you, then don’t. No one can make that decision for you. This from a retired insurance agent.[/QUOTE]

Every “business” has the Sellers & the Buyers. Insurance agents sell a product. The people posting on this thread are Buyers of that product.

I think it’s smart for someone to investigate both sides of the issue. If you bought a tv you wouldn’t just listen to sales folk, would you?

You’d also talk to people who might own that tv or have purchased from that store. Totally smart to talk to other consumers as well as salespeople.

[cuatx55]

[QUOTE=ZELLA;8027674]
Actually, this isn’t true about Diamond State. Their program has a medical option available for any value of horse.[/QUOTE]

They did, yes, but I was just dropped when my renewal was up this Jan 2015. Might want to check again, they changed their policy sometime in the last year.

[joiedevie99]

My agent is Cunningham and Cunningham. Sara has moved my horses between companies several times over the years in order to get what I needed. I’m currently with BritAmerican - no co-pays, no sub-limits, no diagnostic restrictions. I’ve made many claims in the last year on one horse, unfortunately, and all have been paid without issue.

[DQ01]

My horse is insured through Capri Insurance. It was literally a life saver last summer when she had colic surgery. The insurance company was really easy to deal with it and I got money from them fairly quickly. Unfortunately colic will never be covered again so I decreased the premium for this year while I try to find a company that will insure her again. If you don’t have access to large chunks of cash for emergencies, I definitely recommend insurance.

[poltroon]

Something you’ll want to do also is keep evaluating every year the situation with your horse’s value and what kinds of procedures you’d perform. For example, if you’re not near a vet hospital, a colic surgery might not be a practical option for you anyway by the time you contemplate the travel time… it’s something to talk to your vet about.

I insured my horse when I bought her, because I had a loan from a relative. That insurance was peace of mind for all of us. Then, the loan was paid off and it was still worth it for a while. At the time, the insurance companies would not cover horses past age 15 … when I did the calculations I dropped the insurance at age 14.

Ask how the value will be determined on a mortality policy - is it an agreed value situation, or will they try to reappraise if there’s a death? Make sure you understand the claim process and how you and your vet will interact with it.

[Finzean]

I had never insured until last year when Husband of the Year gifted me with Big Moo. Contacted Jennifer Oliver with Central Virginia - she is a horse owner who gets it. Had Diamond last year and switched companies this year b/c of better coverage…and we had the option to add more major medical for not much $. She’s great to explain coverage options, etc. Very pleased in that regard…haven’t had to make a claim and hope I never have to, so I can’t speak to anything in that regard.

ETA - Big Moo is 15 this year so the premium increased but not too much and as far as self insuring, it would take me years to save enough to replace him by banking the cost of the insurance each year. Plus the peace of mind I have about the colic coverage…well, I can’t exactly put a value on that.