Insurance for oldies
Insure, or not insure? That is the question. With horses living longer, insurance companies are changing the level of cover available to our golden oldies
Good news — with horses living longer, providers are extending the cover they offer to older horses.
JUST LIKE HUMANS, our equine friends are living longer. Largely thanks to improved veterinary care and the fact that, as owners, we now understand more about how to maintain our horse’s health, it’s not uncommon to hear of horses living into their late-20s, early-30s and beyond, with many of them still in work. There are a whole host of competitions aimed at veterans too, but being able to get full insurance cover for them may not be so easy.
The age at which your horse is defined as a veteran by insurance companies does vary — some class 15 years old as a veteran. However, many do now offer cover to horses over 20, although some will state that they have to have been insured before the age of 17, so make sure you check this out first.
The normal policy for older horses covers them for death caused by accidental external visible injury, for example, a kick or a cut. You can also add limited veterinary fees which, again, would cover for accidental external visible injuries only. Due to the increased risk of poor health as horses grow older, neither policy would cover for illness, or for internal problems such as colic. You should also ensure you’re covered for public liability. If you’re a member of the BHS you may already have this as part of your membership benefits, but if not, this should definitely be a part of your horse policy.
Bucking the trend
There is good news: some providers now insure horses for illness as well as injury into their old age.
Petplan Equine, for example, will cover horses up to their 25th birthday for illness and injury, so long as they are insured before their 20th birthday on their horse insurance policy. Petplan Equine also offers a Veteran Plan for horses aged 17 to 40. It gives a variety of benefits, such as veterinary fees cover (for injuries), third party liability and personal accident cover for both horse and rider. KBIS also offers a higher level of cover for older horses.
With a KBIS policy, horses up to and including 25 can have full veterinary fees insurance (including illness and disease) and there is no requirement for them to be insured with KBIS prior to this. Once over this age, the option is only for accidental, external injuries. This is because horses over 25 are a higher risk to insurance underwriters in respect of sickness and disease, as well as the fact that most owners wouldn’t put their elderly horse through an operation or extensive diagnostics and treatment.
At the end of the day, whether you choose to insure your golden oldie is a personal choice. It may depend on whether he’s still in work and competing, or retired and living out his days at grass. Whatever you choose, read the policy carefully so you know exactly what cover you have.
“The age at which your horse is defined as a veteran by insurance companies does vary — some class 15 years old as a veteran”