I run a small lesson barn and have an older mare who doesn’t quite fit into the program - but who does quite well with one adult student.
The student is in college and doesn’t currently have the funds to purchase her own horse so I am thinking of offering an on-site free-lease to her (she can ride the horse/the horse gets exercised). I am not expecting her to contribute to the horse care financially.
I reached out to my current insurance agent (who does my commercial liability) to ask about policies that would cover the adult getting hurt while on/around the mare (since she wouldn’t be riding her in lessons, etc). The insurance agent said it doesn’t fall under my current liability coverage (fair enough) and that she didn’t know of a policy that would cover this.
So what do you all owners do to protect yourselves when leasing out a horse? Thanks!
Would it cover you if you were leasing the horse to her for money? Can you charge a token amount like $20/month?
Who owns the horse? I’m guessing this is your privately owned horse, and that you reached out to the insurance agent for your riding lesson business, and this exposure isn’t covered by that policy.
If it’s your own personal liability, then you might check into an umbrella liability policy that typically sits on top of your homeowner’s insurance. (It might also require increasing your car insurance coverage, since it wants to be secondary coverage.)
But read the policy carefully and ask a lot of questions. For our first policy, the agent grudgingly said it would cover the horses but definitely NOT if I let anyone else ride them. (How would I ever sell one then??!) We have since switched to a different one that is more liberal as far as what they’ll cover.
And then there are separate Private Horse Owner liability policies that might be of use, but again check what happens if you “let someone else ride” – because you are not charging anything, that might work. For example markelinsurance.com/private-horse-owner
Thank you!
@furlong47 - good point! I’ll ask!
@wsmoak - good point as well! My current Horse Owner liability is through Markel but since apparently they don’t cover leases, I’ll ask my home owner’s insurance provider what happens if I let “someone else ride” the horse.
@clanter - I don’t think so? One of my concerns is her health insurance provider suing me to cover medical bills in the event of an injury if she fell off my horse?
She should have her own liability insurance too, like something through an association.
Does your Horse Owner Liability policy also cover your farm? Is it a business? If so, the business operations should cover this. If they cover lessons, they should cover leases or at least be able to add that coverage?
Thank you @Jealoushe!
My riding instructor commercial liability (Markel) doesn’t seem to cover leases and the agent said they weren’t aware of an policy that would cover a lease (free or otherwise). She claimed that in the event of an accident, I could always turn in a claim “to see if there is something somewhere in the policy that would cover the situation” but that she couldn’t tell me for certain whether it’s covered… 
Realistically, if a student falls off and you are there, you’ll probably get sued no matter whether the horse is in a lesson or not.
If you’re not there - who is? Who owns the facility? Their insurance would probably be triggered.
This is why I don’t let people ride on my property.
Our attorney provided us with a liability release for anyone riding here, their own horses or one of ours.
He also said, it is limited in how much it may help if sued, but gives you a leg up in your defense, good to have anyway.
You may have to shop around, different companies have different policies and someone may have just what you need?
I am running into this same situation currently. I have a mare who I am free leasing out to someone beginning January 1. I was hoping I could change my current liability policy to include coverage if she were to get hurt and I was sued but no such luck. I haven’t found anywhere that will provide coverage like that. It’s definitely making me a little nervous to proceed with the lease.
The owner of the horse, the owner of the facility, and the coach would all be named in the suit. Anyone else in the lesson contributing to the fall can be named too. Then they would determine who was at fault and by what percentage each is liable.
I was referring to the post by @s1969, assuming there was neglegence. Otherwise there is no lawsuit.
Did you not have a personal or professional liability to cover defense costs?
Even if it is a “free lease” you should have a written lease agreement that spells out the respective responsibilities (who pays for what and any use restrictions for the horse … like no taking the horse off property) and includes a liability release. As others have stated you can still get sued but a liability release and a clearly stated agreement will help.
The person leasing can purchase equine liability coverage on the horse. I am surprised that Markel didn’t mention it since they sell a stand alone equine liability policy. You can be a named insured. This is pretty common. However, that being said, my guess is if the student can’t afford the lease, she can’t afford the insurance.
Yes, the person leasing the horse can buy coverage for if the horse hurts someone else, like if she’s leading it and it gets loose and causes a car accident. The person should definitely have that coverage with the owner listed as an additional insured.
But the OP was asking about their own liability should the person leasing the horse get hurt by the horse.
That coverage seems hard to find. It might be in umbrella liability coverage that typically sits on top of a homeowner’s policy. (Some of them are more freaked out by horses than others.) Beyond that it seems like the best you can do is have a lawyer write a really good liability release into the lease contract, and keep your fingers crossed.
I’d love to be wrong about this!
A BO’s CGL does not cover the loss by an owner or lessor for personal injury or property damage caused by their horse. A free lease is a lease. However, a CGL policy will DEFEND an insured against such a claim because it does provide coverage for nuisance suits. Despite all the hand wringing about liability exposure, most claims never see a damage award or settlement paid out.
If the concern is about becoming a deep pocket, the best thing to do is be sure the lessor is properly insured. Verify that she has her own liability policy for the horse. Verify that she has health insurance for herself. Verify she has disability coverage other than social security in the event of an injury. Also, most states have standard liability releases that work just fine. I would not be concerned about paying a lawyer to write one unless I lived in one of the very few states that did not have an equine liability law.
If I were the OP, I would revisit WHY I am doing this lease. A college student is likely not to be well insured nor have the funds for insurance premiums. A personal umbrella sits on top of existing coverages like an auto, renters or homeowners policy. I seriously doubt the college student has one. It might respond depending on a suit was worded. Bottom line is if the OP is so worried about liability, she should not lease the horse. Also, the college student probably should pass because the free lease just became some complicated mess.
I am all about insurance having worked in the industry for more than 40 years. I have handled liability claims. I also know that you can spook yourself over the entire matter of risk so that all you can think of is what might happen.
