My insurance is coming up on renewal and I wanted to get some feedback about whether or not TO insure, and/or who you like for insurance purposes.
Riley's insurance, for roughly $350 a year (paid all at once) covered a myriad of things. Mostly, full mortality and major medical. I am debating on whether or not to renew it this year. I'm sure, just uttering those words means he's going to hurt himself or get sick, but I'm not sure what's better at this stage. I have a Care Credit account which covers me at New Bolton (down the road) and I have a good relationship with my vet who doesn't require payment up front and will accept payment plans.
In the last year, he's been luckily very good. Outside of his hoof issues we haven't had any trouble. His x-rays etc were not covered.
What do you guys think?
Edit:
FYI: he was covered for full mortality at his purchase price ($3500) and $5000 for Major Medical.
I have never insured a horse. Maybe it's because I live in the west and horses are livestock and insurance seems sketchy? I don't know. I've never owned a real high-dollar show horse where the mortality payout would be an issue and I live with the fact that colic surgery doesn't happen to my horses.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I'm not 100% supportive of colic surgery in the first place. Tricky issue.
So to me, insurance really isn't worth the money. That could change if I had a horse that was worth a lot more, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
I feel like this whole insurance thing is SO hard! I want to insure Henry but feel like idk what it all entails and when I have talked to an insurance person, there are things that I am not sure about. Hope you can figure it out :)
ReplyDeleteI am all for insurance. I've had decent luck with claims on past horses. I wished I'd had Pongo covered (I'd let it lapse) when he got cast and tore his glute....a week at Davis, multiple ultrasounds, xrays and a nuke scan later...all on my dime and it didnt have to be that way. $350 is a small price to pay. I insure Pong for only $7,500 which helps keep my premium at a reasonable $500/year with Broadstone.
ReplyDeleteI keep Simon insured for roughly the same rate. For me, it's peace of mind knowing that I won't put my household into any debt should he need colic or other emergency surgery. I don't have major medical, just surgical, so it's not a lameness or a maintenance thing just an "oh shit" and practically would help me replace him if the worst were to happen.
ReplyDeleteYou won't miss your insurance until you need it.
ReplyDeleteFrom a practical standpoint, the cost of insurance ends up being the cost of 1 mos. board for me ($6K mortality and $10,000MM + $3000 colic surgery clause). The premium is a lot of money yes, but it is priceless when it comes to the peice of mind it offers.
I have always maintained a policy on my horses, and it has saved my butt in the past especially with diagnostics. If your insurance company did not cover your x-rays, I might consider finding a new company. Most limit contributions to the cost of diagnostics, but i have never heard of a company that did not cover them (unless its because you did not meet your deductible).
Examples:
My horse came in with a low grade lameness that took multiple x-rays, lameness exams, blocking, and an MRI to locate a wing fracture on her coffin bone; end cost - over $4000 over 3 mos. At the time, it would have crippled me.
Unfortunately, i lost that same mare to a freak pasture accident where she broke her scapula from hitting a fence post at speed. The emergency vet call, subsequent x-rays, ultrasound (to attempt to verify if the bone wastruly broken as the mobile x-rays were not conclusive), pain meds, tranquilizers, subsequent euthanasia, and necropsy... her final expenses in vet bills ended up being close to $1000, before rendering. The insurance covered those expenses minus my deductible and paid out her mortality expenses, all of which allowed me to purchase my next horse a few months later.
I know that it seems like the past year Riley has not needed the insurance, but horses being horses one day you will be thankful you had it.
YES INSURE! Ok, I work in Insurance so I am biased, but trust me, if you need it, you will be SOOO happy you have it.
ReplyDeleteI pulled my horses off insurance since with 3, I typically averaged out under their premiums all together. If I only had one, maybe it would be worth paying more for the premium to even out the out-of-pocket expenses if we had an expensive year.. Part of my reluctance is that a majority of my vet expenses are elective for maintenance (weren't covered) and major issues tend to get written out of your policy the following year (if you treat a suspensory, that leg is excluded from future coverage, etc). Because I have saved up a pretty big surgery/vet fund that wouldn't impact the rest of my budget, I'm comfortable without the insurance, but if that were a concern for me, I'd probably look at getting Prairie insured again.
ReplyDeleteI am a leaser who doesn't own a horse, so take my opinion with a grain of salt if you like. However, it is my opinion that if you have the cash on hand to pay for medical bills that would result if your horse became injured or sick AND the money to replace the horse if (god-forbid) they were to die, it would be OK to forgo insurance. I consider it the same as people who decide not to put collision coverage on their car. But if a medical situation with your horse would put you in a bad financial position, then I think $350 a year is a pretty decent price for the peace of mind. When I buy a horse, I will most likely insure them.
ReplyDelete