I know it gives you peace of mind, but does anybody have any stories of why they do or do not get it?

Did you have it and it not help you?

Or did you have it and it saved you?

Just curious as I paid insurance for 10 years and never had anything to claim - so that's roughly $5-6K. I could spend 4 times that by the time I'm done owning horses possibly - would I ever need to spend $20-24K on bills that insurance MAY cover in that time?

Just looking for a good discussion on this topic.

Gidget is insured and so far I have made two claims and both were honored and it was a godsend. One was for "voluntary property damage", the other for diagnostics work at Ste-Hy (an MRI).
I plan on getting insurance for Lance as well.

I have horse insurance horror stories. I had a horse that was killed as the result of a traffic accident. The horse was insured with mortality and major medical. The company denied my mortality claim as we had disposed of the body before one of their adjusters had had a chance to come out and verify that the horse was indeed dead. Ummm, we weren't exactly in a situation where we could leave the horse where he was. A death certificate from the attending vet was rejected as insufficient proof that the horse had died. Yeah, okay... Oh and the horse was insured for a mere $5000.

I've also carried major medical on my horses and in some cases just haven't needed it or in others, what I needed paid for wasn't coverd by the insurance. Colic surgery also generally needs to be bought as a separete coverage from major medical but check with the companies you're considering.

I don't bother to insure my horses or my dogs anymore. I have a line of credit that I keep for these types of emergencies. Also, if I were to put in the bank every month what I were to pay out in premiums, I'd likely have what I need to cover these costs. And man oh man, I have rotten luck when it comes to illnesses and inujuries for my horses and dogs...

Riverglen - do you not have a farm policy that gives you some coverage on the horses - up to a maximum amount per horse?

I do, yes, but coverage is minimal at best and quite restricted. It's more of a "livestock" replacement clause than anything specific to our horses (geared more towards farmers with more traditional livestock such as cattle). We would never get even close to what the horses are worth if we were to make a mortality claim.

At the time when the above accident occured, I didn't have the farm liability policy. Also, even if I had, it wouldn't have covered this particular horse as he was not on my property at the time of the accident.

Personally, I think that, assuming I only ever own one horse at a time, I will pay for insurance. I only ever made a claim once, but the company was great and covered an alternative type of treatment.

I view insurance as piece of mind. Its easy to say, oh I'll find money for that colic surgery when it happens...but I'm a bit of a worrier at heart and can't help but think that I have no idea when that need will arise and what my personal situation will be.

At about $500-600/year, insurance isn't cheap but it makes me feel a little more secure, so its always been worth while. Plus, if I currently owned a horse who needed colic surgery at a cost of 8-10k and used a line of credit, the interest cost would start to add up.

Once you have multiple horses, however, it starts to make sense to self insure.

two years ago, when I shipped a horse for someone to Ste-Hy for emergency colic surgery, the cost was $4-5K, not $8-10K. Then again, it is possible that prices have increased since then.

And yes, having multiple horses makes it unrealistic to insure. I also find that insurance or the value thereof is really an individual choice. Some people swear by it and would never go without it. The others think it's a waste of money (and of course, there are those in the middle).

It comes down to peace of mind and what will let you sleep better at night.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Riverglen,

I have had my horses (1 at a time) insured for the past 12 years. I am glad I have it, one for piece of mind and also I have had a couple claims. The first claim was when my 2nd horse died, and another that needed ultrasound and x-rays fm a university vet clinic in another province. I would never be without it.

quote:

Originally posted by Riverglen:
two years ago, when I shipped a horse for someone to Ste-Hy for emergency colic surgery, the cost was $4-5K, not $8-10K. Then again, it is possible that prices have increased since then.

And yes, having multiple horses makes it unrealistic to insure. I also find that insurance or the value thereof is really an individual choice. Some people swear by it and would never go without it. The others think it's a waste of money (and of course, there are those in the middle).

It comes down to peace of mind and what will let you sleep better at night.

I agree, it is definitely an individual choice, but I think it also has to do with life circumstances. I owned my first horse when I was a student. Not only did I not have a bunch of money sitting around, I didn't even have access to that sort of money! When I buy my next horse, I still won't have a chunk of cash in the bank earmarked horse emergency...but I would be able to find the money and pay for it, even if it took some time. That said, I still feel like I'll pay for insurance for my own piece of mind but then, as I mentionned above, I'm an acknoledged worrier!

As for the cost of things, I've heard different numbers from different people. Most of that probably relates to the exact situation and whether there were complications (which has an impact on the length of stay, etc). People also include different amounts when giving their total (i.e. just the final St Hy/Guelph bill v. an all inclusive number including transport and some follow up at home).

I believe I read that the O.E.F. maybe E.C. offered horse insurance with the annual membership, which could be purchased at (I think) $25. Did anyone look into this as to what would actually be covered?

BTW Great Topic FirstTri, I have found it very interesting!

I have always thought about insurance...especially after losing my colt, but I never did end up getting any. Instead I put money into an interest account for just such situations.

Since there is no such thing as insurance for pet birds(in Canada), that is partly why I started my "vet fund". We've already experienced an $1800 vet bill for the parrot.

The OEF insurance is just for liability only, it does not cover medical or surgical expenses like other companies. It's just basic coverage from what I remember.

quote:

Originally posted by Marie:
I believe I read that the O.E.F. maybe E.C. offered horse insurance with the annual membership, which could be purchased at (I think) $25. Did anyone look into this as to what would actually be covered?

BTW Great Topic FirstTri, I have found it very interesting!

Yes, I bought this insurance last year. It is specified perils which means that they only cover death from fire, lightening or transport within North America. There is maximum $4000 limit of insurance. So no coverage for colic.

I felt it made sense for me since I could not insure my horse through my regular insurer (long story) and I was transporting my horse a fair bit (mostly to the vet) so $25 was a bit of peace of mind for me.

The thing to remember with this insurance is that it only runs the length of your current year OEF membership so you also have to renew this coverage every January 1.

'Vintage Lace' If you send me an e-mail I can get you our insurance company for our parrot. We got the info about them from Lynwood Animal Hospital ages ago. It's like $20 bucks a month I htink... elishasponys @ hotmail.com

I had insurance on one horse for as long as I could (from 3yrs til he was 16yrs) and the ONE time I tried to make a claim, they denied me.

I have 3 horses now, and wouldn't pay for "horse" insurance again - although I do pay some on my "farm" insurance for the horses, but not medical.

It all depends - if your horse is accident prone, might be worth it!

I would definately recommend insurance for your horse. My youngster fractured his ankle in February, and thankfully he was insured - which covered the full bill at Ste-Hy for his surgery. If he had not been insured we could not have sent him for this surgery, and he would no longer be with us. (He is now back Walk/Trotting and is doing great!)
Another mare I had before had to go to Ste-Hy as well for an issue with stomach ulcers - another large bill that was fully covered.
I can see the other side to the argument as well though... save the money you would be putting towards insurance for an emergency.
I guess I would just rather be safe than sorry!

I'm with you, Stinky!

And FYI, someone mentioned premiums in the $500-600 range.. that seems AWFULLY high...
I have $5000 worth of medical/surgical coverage, up to $1500 worth of diagnostics (x-rays, imaging, etc..) plus the regular mortality coverage, all for just $300 a year.

You can insure for less, too (there is a $2500 med/surg coverage option as well).

My dealings with HEP have been FANTASTIC. My rep even helped me fill out the forms in such a way as to help *guarantee* that my claim would be approved. They are definitely not out to scr*w people over. I would highly recommend getting insurance with them.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ASB-Jumper,

I recommend that if you're going to use HEP, get ASB's contact! They were NOT good to me... but if you have a good contact, maybe your experience will be better!?

Edited to ad that obviously it depends on how much your horse is worth (and you need proof!), and your vet's signature saying your horse has never been sick etc...

For a $70K horse, you're paying a higher premium than for a $5K horse! and of course depends on the package you want.

My experiences with St. Hy, for instance, have shown me that they aren't as expensive as I originally thought they'd be (thankfully never needed their services myself, mind you).

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Debt,

Ponybreeder - email me at o_charlotte_o@hotmail.com

That's strange. We had asked Lynnwood before but I remember them telling us there wasn't any. (???)

For those of you that have insurance can you email me with the full name, I need to start shopping around for a horse I'm purchasing.
bmcgovern@primus.ca

Thanks!

That's strange. We had asked Lynnwood before but I remember them telling us there wasn't any. (???)[/QUOTE]

e-mail sent

Debt, I agree. My dealings with HEP weren't the greatest either.

Oh and the annual premium is greatly affected by the value of the horse being insured. Generally, the premiums are (or used to be) around 2.5-3% of the value being insured for mortality plus additional fees for major medical / surgical, etc... So for a $15,000 horse, the premium for mortality alone is approximately $450. And of course, you need to be able to prove that said horse is actually worth $15K.

So, $500-600/year really isn't all that high...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Riverglen,

I think most of the people here are not in the "business" of big money horses, per se.. and therefore aren't overly concerned with what amount they would get if their horse died or had to be put down, they're more concerned about coverage for high vet bills to treat/save their equine friends.

I know for me personally I have no interest in insuring my horse for anything more than the bare minimum mortality amount. I need the medical/surgical coverage, that's what matters to me. If my horse dies, I could honestly care less how much $$ I get. No amount of money would make me feel better about losing my horse. Whether it's $3000 or $30 000. That doesn't matter to me - at all. In fact I actually inquired as to whether I could forego the mortality insurance and just get coverage for full medical + surgical but the answer was no.

But then, I don't deal in "big money" horses and it's not a business to me. "Getting my money" would honestly be the LAST thing on my mind if my horse died.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ASB-Jumper,

Why would having the full value of your horse being insured for mortality necessarily be a business decision?

Most people who insure their horses are not only doing it for the peace of mind of having major medical bills covered, they are also giving themselves a financial safety net that hopefully, they will never have to use.

If I spent my hard earned money on a Trillium level show horse and it was my only horse and I could not afford to do it again out of pocket should anything happen to my one and only horse, why wouldn't I want my insurance to cover his/her full value? Even in this crappy market, a $15K horse still isn't a big money horse. But it's still big money to a lot of people...

And no, of course, that insurance cheque isn't going to replace your horse. I know that one first hand. And in my case, the insurance company denied the mortality insurance claim. And we were talking all of $5k. I was a student at the time and didn't have another $5k to spend on another horse...

So for my situation, although insurance doesn't make financial sense since I have too many horses - the premiums would amount to more than my current annual vet bills - I can certainly understand why someone would choose to carry it for both full mortality and major medical.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Riverglen,

Ponybreeder - I didn't receive your email make sure they are letter "o" and not zeros. Thanks!

We have had our horses insured ever since we have had horses. After I can't remember how many years of paying premiums, we finally needed to make a claim for an MRI. I was told by the adjuster to go ahead, then once the MRI was done, we were rejected because: "it might show that the injury existed before the policy was renewed that year". I fought it and managed to get half the cost of the MRI. Then we dropped that insurance company. Our horses are still insured, because I need to know that if emergency surgery or something is needed, we are covered. Let's just hope the new company is better.

Horse insurance makes sense to me; however, be prepared to fight the company if ever you have to make a claim... I had to make a claim on my first horse and got rejected/laughed at until I asked who their ombudsman was and what third-party could review my claim - the check arrived the week after!

I paid for the OEF for many years and dropped them last year. If your horse is used commercially they will not cover anything, so lesson horses, broodmares, stallions and our race horses were not covered for anything. Needless to say that is all we had so why bother? HEP has been great, we needed a surgery done on a 2 year old filly for a saucer fracture to her canon bone last fall as well as multiple electric shock therapy and it was covered with no question (race filly that is now back in training). One of our stallions has been to Guelph several times for colic although every time surgery was avoided, they never denied us anything. Insurance for us has been a godsend and I would highly recommend HEP.

From the OEF website, and I think the cost is about $25 as mentioned above, however it only covers for mortality in certain circumstances.

MEMBERS NAMED PERILS

This is a unique and inexpensive way for members to insure horses against death arising from fire, lightning and transport anywhere in North America. The limit of coverage is $4,000 any one horse, and members can only claim once each membership year.

There is no application, vet certificate or questionnaire required and it does not matter how many horses you own. Coverage responds if any horse owned by the member dies from one of these insured perils, when a member has chosen this optional benefit and paid the required premium.

This innovative offering provides another tangible benefit for members of the OEF at low cost and is a timely addition to existing Full Mortality insurance coverage available at reduced cost to OEF members under the Intercity Equi Care program.

www.jennymckenzie.webs.com

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JennyM,