What sort of insurance do you expect or require of a lessee or if you have leased what have you done? Wondering if just major medical and mortality or if loss of use ? Thanks.
Both major medical and mortality for a minimum amount (usually the price I paid for the horse),
Major medical and mortality.
I have usually written in a release of liability and that lease is specifically for named individuals only (usually trainer and child, since it was a pony), and that if others were allowed on animal, it was at the discretion of trainer and owner, but that subleases were not allowed (I.e. don’t lease it from me and than half lease to someone else bc you can only ride 2 days a week). Not that I would easily ever be able to prove that was happening, but having it in writing makes it less likely they’ll do it.
I tend to recall that loss of use had weird requirements now, so I think many have steered away from that option.
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Major medical and mortality.
There is also a clause in my lease that requires the lessee to adhere to the insurance company’s policies. That isn’t too hard-- it just means calling the insurance company ASAP when a problem requiring insurance help starts. But I ask them to call me first when an injury occurs or the horse gets sick and let me figure out what to do with the insurance company. Lots of lessees are inexperienced with horse insurance. But if a lessee does something that invalidates a claim, I’ll come to them to make me whole. They need to know that going in, so my agreement specifies that but limits their damages to the value of the horse.
Loss of use tends to be too expensive and too hard to collect upon. Also, collecting means you give the horse to the insurance company. Lots of horse owners don’t actually want to do that.
I choose the policy and name myself the payee. The lessee reimburses me for the premium before the horse is shipped to them. This is key and solves many, many problems. I’m always surprised when people don’t handle their insurance this way.
I don’t lease a horse out that I expect to come back improved or even taken care of quite as well as I’d do it.
IME, too many lessors don’t take the trouble to cover their bases in terms of setting up the insurance right AND setting realistic expectations for their lessee and, frankly, for themselves.
I hope this helps. I’m glad you are asking this question before hand!
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I don’t do it. 9/10 they come back injured or with bad habits; even with trusted, knowledgeable people involved.
BUT as others have said, mortality and major medical. Loss of Use many times involves surrendering the horse to the insurance company in order to collect. Here’s a pretty accurate blog about it: https://www.starhinsurance.com/blogs/LossOfUse.html
Have an iron clad contract with exactly who is responsible for what, when, and how often.
