I will soon be the proud owner of an adorable grown too large to be a pony hunter 4 year old gelding named Junior 
I had insurance on my last horse and felt it was very much so worth it. The company I previously used seems to have changed a bit and the coverage is not as good as it used to be. I have heard of Blue Bridle and EMO but am curious to see who everyone else uses and what your experience has been.
Thanks!
Have had great experiences with Equisure . Easy to deal with and accommodating for claims.
If you scroll down on this page, to the âSimilar Threadsâ block, youâll find lots and lots of suggestions. Itâs a well-discussed topic.
Just as a pet peeve: Blue Bridle/EMO are insurance agents, they do not provide the actual insurance. They will shop around at several actual insurance companies to get you the best quote.
Thank you both so much. I used to be quite active on COTH but havent been for some time. I see the similiar threads listed below and thats a great feature! I will research through and see what other people have to say.
Also think hard about self-insuring. Put those premiums (and more as you can spare it) in a savings account and bet you wonât need them. Back it up with a credit card until you can save up the max the insurance would pay out. (For medical expenses â I am not advocating charging your next horse purchase should this one perish!)
The problem with equine insurance is that they will exclude any body part that a vet so much as breathed on the previous year, even if you didnât make a claim. Then you either have to argue with them to get it reinstated, or else wait out some arbitrary time period without a claim to get the coverage back, if they will even do it. If you have a claim, the exclusion might be permanent. You end up with a patchwork of coverage and always thinking âShould I call the vet? Because Iâll have to report it to the insurance companyâŠâ
You can see the changes the companies have made in the coverage, like not providing major medical unless you pay mortality premiums for a certain amount. Problem is⊠if you do lose the horse, theyâre not actually going to pay that $10k or whatever is on the policy. The fine print says something about actual value, so if you donât have a fancy show record, you wonât be able to prove he was âworthâ that much.
Agree that itâs been discussed a lot, so do look at the other threads. I would say, however, that Iâve had a really good series of experiences with Hallmark as my agent, writing primarily for Diamond State. Iâve had my horses with them going back almost 14 years and through a variety of claims, from a problem child who seemed to whack himself twice a year to a mortality claim. Others may have had other experiences, and Iâm sure Iâm jinxing myself, but I have not had the experience of the company trying to nickel-and-dime on any of the claims, nor have I thought the exclusions were unfair (and, in fact, they removed exclusions on a couple of horses after they went a year without a recurrence).
I have had good experiences with many horses and several claims Hartford (represented by Broadstone). I ask Broadstone and most of mine end up underwritten by Hartford, but one is with another group. Iâve had great responsiveness, no nickle and diming on several claims and removal of exclusions in many cases. Iâve been happy my horses are insured as it enables me to do what I think is best for them without stressing about the cost. Iâve done better in payout than premiums on several of my policies. The premium amounts come nohwere close to self-insuring for the times I have needed claims.
This is not necessarily true. My guy is insured with American Home Assurance Co (via Broadstone) and they did not balk at covering a different injury to the same leg. I am very glad I had insurance on him. Although we didnât use it the first 2 years, the second 2 we have had multiple claims for several thousand $. I would not self-insure. It is not that expensive.
Lots of misinformation floating around the BBâs too, so your best bet is to shop around based on the type of coverage you are looking for. Most agents are happy to answer questions and walk you through the coverage options. 
[QUOTE=wsmoak;7554314]
The problem with equine insurance is that they will exclude any body part that a vet so much as breathed on the previous year, even if you didnât make a claim. Then you either have to argue with them to get it reinstated, or else wait out some arbitrary time period without a claim to get the coverage back, if they will even do it. If you have a claim, the exclusion might be permanent. You end up with a patchwork of coverage and always thinking âShould I call the vet? Because Iâll have to report it to the insurance companyâŠâ
You can see the changes the companies have made in the coverage, like not providing major medical unless you pay mortality premiums for a certain amount. Problem is⊠if you do lose the horse, theyâre not actually going to pay that $10k or whatever is on the policy. The fine print says something about actual value, so if you donât have a fancy show record, you wonât be able to prove he was âworthâ that much.[/QUOTE]
Youâre making very broad (and in many cases, inaccurate) claims.
Re: the exclusions, not particularly true. Yes, if you treat one big tendon issue and max out your coverage, that tendon/leg will generally be excluded from next yearâs policy. But that means that you got up to $10k (or whatever the limit was) of your coverage, plus the other three legs are still covered. Generally worth it.
For non-potentially chronic injuries? Theyâre not excluded. My mare came in with a giant gash on her face, it got cleaned up and stitched up by the vet to the tune of around $500, and insurance covered everything after my deductible. They didnât exclude her entire face from coverage the next year. :lol: A gash is not something that is going to âreoccurâ, so there was no reason to exclude it.
I have never hesitated to call the vet.
Re: major medical only applying for a certain mortality rate. This is a newer change, but there are still a few companies out there that cover horses below $5k. I have my mare insured for $1k (simply to keep the premium low), with major medical/surgical up to $10k.
Re: actual value vs. insured value vs. agreed upon value. Youâre right that this is an area where you need to pay attention to the fine print, but many policies are âagreed uponâ value. As in, everyone agreed this horse was worth $20k, so thatâs whatâs being paid out, no ifs ands or buts about âactual value.â
Re: âself insuringâ. Self insuring is all fine and good. I have a small emergency fund and a CareCredit card with a high value. So I can pay for anything that comes up without insurance. HOWEVER, I also have my mare insured for $10k worth of medical coverage for the low price of a smidge over $300/year. That, to me, is absolutely worth it to have those funds at my disposal, not needing to pay them back, let credit card interest collect on them, or wipe out my emergency fund account.
But to each their own in that situation, of course.
OP: Definitely hook yourself up with a good agent who can explain the ins and outs of all your options with you, and make sure to understand the policy that youâre signing up for, and youâll be just fine! Promise!
I am very happy with my insurance agent, Ryan Gotshall at Equine Insurance Center. He has recommended different insurance carriers over the years as the companiesâ policies have changed. My current policy with American Equine Insurance is excellent. My horse decided she wanted to take a trip to Leesburg one crisp October midnight. The company was very responsive at 2am when I needed emergency clearance for colic surgery (she didnât need it-- happy dance) and they processed my reimbursement check within 3 weeks.
I can second Hallmark as Iâve had a couple of claims experience w/ them as well. paid promptly. Most insurance companies will exclude a body part or condition for a certain length of time if a claim has been filed - thatâs why itâs prudent not to file a claim for every single little thing that happens. The other thing is that since insurance companies pay you you still have to have some liquid funds in case of an emergency. My claims were related to colic so I had to shell out the funds for the surgery and get reimbursed by insurance. Knowing that i would eventually get $ back made the decision to go for surgery much much easier⊠and a tad less emotional.
Ive had previous horses insured and have always been happy with it and found it to be WELL worth the premiums paid. I also have never had an issue with exclusions and agree this is a common misconception. Hallmark gave me a great quote with even better coverage so Iâll likely be moving that way.
Thank you everyone for your input!
Hallmark is wonderful
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