Precious oldies

Q What should I be looking for in a good policy for veteran horses? I can’t afford to pay large premiums or excesses, but I need the policy to be worthwhile for my 17-year-old gelding. Danni Fisher, Reading

Sarah says... Due to improvements in care and veterinary medicine, horses are now living active lives for longer. Some insurance providers class horses as veterans from 15 or 16 years of age, even though, as most horse owners know, horses in their late teens are often still in full work and regularly out competing and enjoying themselves. It’s important, therefore, to double check that your policy provides cover for both illness and injury for your horse as he gets older.

Illness as well as injury?

Some insurance providers do insure horses for illness as well as injury into old age. Petplan Equine, for example, covers horses for both injury and illness up to their 25th birthday, provided that they were insured before their 20th birthday on a horse insurance policy. However, on the renewal following the horse’s 25th birthday, they will be transferred to a veteran plan policy offering injury-only cover.

It’s important to be aware that veteran horse insurance policies don’t usually cover illness, which means that you may not be covered if your horse requires treatment for conditions such as colic or Cushing’s disease. Different insurers provide a varied range of cover, though, so it’s important to understand the true value of your policy and not shop around based on price alone.