Horse insurance- exclusions? I don't think I get it

[J-Lu]

Hi All,

I’ve insured two horses now but haven’t really had to make claims.

My current horse is currently insured by the Hartford via a local TX insurance Co.

Last year, I reported meds my horse took for a condition that is under control. I never made a claim. This year, this condition is excluded from my policy. WTF? I never made a claim. How is he excluded?

I have an email into the company but pretty much, do horse insurance companies exclude reported conditions/claims from the next year’s contract? I’m sure many of you have insured horses and have made claims/reported meds not claimed and I’m curious if your horse was also excluded from that condition/issue the next year.

Thanks!!

[SBrentnall]

Yes, they almost always exclude pre-existing conditions.

[wsmoak]

@J-Lu

I have an email into the company but pretty much, do horse insurance companies exclude reported conditions/claims from the next year’s contract?

Absolutely. It doesn’t matter if you made a claim, each year when you apply for renewal, you have to disclose anything beyond routine vet care, and they are very likely to exclude it as a pre-existing condition. If nothing further happens during this policy year, they may drop the exclusion.

Insurance is just legalized gambling after all… and the insurance company needs to collect more than it pays out to stay in business. If there is any concern about a certain body part or suspected condition, they don’t want to take on the risk of a claim.

[J-Lu]

@wsmoak and @SBrentnall, thanks!

It is interesting that the insurance co would consider this as a pre-existing condition since they’ve covered this horse since he was 1 years old. I opted to stay with the same company when I obtained him as a late 3 year old.

I claimed endoscopy and ulcer treatment when he arrived. I get that. That is an exclusion. I’m surprised that they’re excluding a 13 year old that I never filed a claim on.

Thanks to you helping me understand the insurance companies. Live and learn. Thank you.

[paw]

Oh yes - it’s a racket. Sometimes it pays off, but much of the time it doesn’t. And good luck getting the value you insured for in a mortality claim…

[Janet]

Yes, anything you report is likely to be considered a pre-existing condition, and excluded.

Horse insurance is property insurance, not health insurance, and they are allowed to exclude anything they want to.

[clanter]

@paw

Oh yes - it’s a racket. Sometimes it pays off, but much of the time it doesn’t. And good luck getting the value you insured for in a mortality claim…

when Socrates was put down, the insurance paid 100% of his insured value without question. We did need to send in his registration papers which they sent to the registry to be marked deceased . papers were returned to us

[J-Lu]

Yea, I keep the policy because if he colicked or had a major injury I’d have to send him to NC State for, I’d be screwed. Sure, I spend a bunch of money yearly and if I add up the total years, I’d have been able to pay for major conditions at NC State. I think I consider the insurance as a major injury on a payment plan.

Thanks, everyone. I’m not feeling happy about horse insurance at the moment.

[Arelle]

I’ve been kind of fed up with my insurance policy - $2K a year for $10K major medical on one horse and mortality coverage on four.

However, this year - my horse had this weird, slight recurring lameness that would only show up after longer shows with lots of time on hard ground.

We opted for an MRI ($3K) which found a small tear in his DDFT. Vet advised stem cell therapy to treat ($2500)… insurance paid for all of it.

He’s definitely going to be excluded next year lol - but I didn’t even have to bat an eye at saying do whatever we need to in order to give him the best odds at a 100% recovery.

I think for high performance horses, it definitely still makes sense - I can make four payments of $500 versus outlaying $5,500 in a week. Granted, had I saved that $2K annually, I’d probably be at a break-even point… but I’m just going to take my mental wins where I can get them.