Unlimited access >

Insurance Clause in Boarding Contract

Anyone see something like this in a boarding contract before? Care to explain it to me in terms I can understand?

OWNER warrants that he/she presently carries in full force and effect, and throughout
the period of this AGREEMENT shall continue to carry and maintain in full force and
effect, liability insurance protecting OWNER and STABLE from any and all claim(s)
arising out of or relating to this AGREEMENT.

I’ve googled it and found it cut & paste in a few other places but I have no real understanding of what it means, nor have I ever seen anything like it at my previous boarding facilities which ranged from backyard self care places to very high end stables.

It seems like a pretty standard clause expecting the horse owner to carry a liability policy to make sure both the barn owner and horse owner are covered in case the horse causes an issue.

4 Likes

Really? People carry a separate insurance policy against their horse hurting someone at a boarding barn?

Googling it turns up this boarding contract word for word for about half a dozen different places … apparently this barn is using a template. I’m in MA, have boarded at nearly a dozen barns here with multiple horses for more than two decades and somehow I missed this concept.

Trying to FIND liability insurance against my horse hurting someone only brings up quotes for business/farm owners and instructors, not an individual owner looking to board a single horse. Given that this place was borderline more than I wanted to spend for my pasture puff retiree, I’m going to guess adding in an additional insurance bill makes this “not the place for me”.

When I had a young horse boarded I added the stable owner as an Additional Insured to my Private Horse Owners liability policy.

It reads like this:

Coverage under this policy is extended to include the person or entity shown in the Schedule below, but only as respects liability imposed or sought to be imposed on such person or entity because of “bodily injury” or “property damage” directly caused by a “personally owned or leased horse” as a result of an “incident or occurrence”.

OP if you’re looking for search terms, the title page says:

Argonaut Insurance Company
Equine Liability Policy
Program developed and administered by
AEIG American Equine Insurance Group

3 Likes

all insurance policies I am aware have a cap, the wording of this clause is endless… no way I would agree.

my home owners policy covers the actions any animal we own

  1. To a person off the “insured location” , if the “bodily injury”
    Is caused by an animal owned by or in the care of any insured
2 Likes

Yes I view this as something of a means test. If you own a home, your home owners insurance likely covers. If not a homeowner, you would need to buy a policy.

Yes. Third party liability coverage on your horse would cover damage to the property or injury to someone at the barn where you board. That’s really common here.

2 Likes

suggest you review your policy as some do not cover certain “pets” We had a prior carrier who specifically excluded a long list of animals … mostly in the what they considered vicious dog breeds

Current provider we specifically told them we have horses, a German shepherd dog and cats here at home, response was not a problem… and inserted it into the coverage

I don’t know about where you live, but here liability coverage is offered through our regional equestrian association and it’s included with your membership

1 Like

I’m an insurance agent, albeit more on the commercial P & C side than equine-related policies. Individual liability is common. The boarding barn carries their own liability insurance. ( If you happen across one that does not, run for the hills.) While the damages caused by your horse may technically be covered under their liability policy, carrying individual liability with them named as an Other Insured usually affords you benefits like defense costs & money to partially cover lost wages if you’re forced to take off work to go to court.

A word of warning: the Clanter fam has a rare jewel of a carrier and they should kiss their hands as a token of their gratitude. Some Homeowners policies only cover pets and consider horses livestock. Most Homeowners policies won’t cover damages caused by your horse off property. I.e.: I keep my horses at home. My 3yo WB, Fireball, escapes after a tree falls on my fence at 2am. He gallops onto the nearby Interstate & causes an accident in which a driver sustains serious injuries. So long as my Homeowners covers my horses, I’d typically be covered in this scenario.

Now, say I trailer my 4yo quarter horse, Lightening McQueen, out to a National Park for a trail ride. Lightening gets stung by a bee & throws me. He gallops out onto the Interstate & causes a car wreck. My Homeowners policy won’t cover this. Nor will they typically cover horses I compete or use for commercial purposes. Even if they’re kept at home. While there may be a Homeowners carrier out there that covers you for damages caused by your horse that lives at a boarding barn, I’ve yet to run across such a carrier.

Individual liability insurance is cheap. The USEF offers it to members at a group rate, iirc.

2 Likes

I have had this requirement at a couple of my barns over the years. I used Great American. Google Great American Individual Horse Owner.

1 Like

Yes, you can get a USEF ‘fan membership’ ($20 but there are usually discount codes) and then get the liability insurance they offer for another $25.

If you click through to the PDF though, I don’t like that it says may apply in this bit:

• If my horse is boarded away from my residence or I give my horse to someone to ride, am I an insured? Yes. Coverage may apply for grazing or
stabling a horse or circumstances where the horse is not in your control.

Maybe it’s possible to get ahold of the full policy to review, I haven’t asked.

3 Likes

I’d just call and ask. May apply may mean that it applies to parties specifically named as Other Insureds.

1 Like

Thanks for all the replies and guidance, folks. I appreciate it.

1 Like

As others have mentioned, they require you carry liability insurance which most if not all equine insurers provide/offer. The scenario might be in a situation where your horse got loose and damaged a neighbor’s property, got hit by a car, driver sues you, horse hurts someone etc. I would be very tempted to ask the barn if they carried Care Custody and Control insurance because many instances, like a loose horse, would fall under the barn owners insurance rather than the owner. But it never hurts to have the coverage especially if your barn has suburbia encroaching on it.

1 Like

This requirement is becoming more and more common and frankly is probably a good idea.

Check with your regular horse insurance agent, and if you think your homeowner’s will cover a horse that lives elsewhere… be very certain you are correct in that assumption. Homeowner’s and dogs is one thing, but they tend to run for the hills when the ‘pet’ is a thousand pounds and lives off-premise.

Our horse insurance agent has these kind of liability policies available and they are just under $300/year. However, they usually cover up to three horses, so in that instance the insurance is quite inexpensive.

1 Like