|
|
Ask The Vet: Understanding Equine Insurance - August 09
« Back
Equine insurance can be confusing and frustrating when deciding what is right for you and your horse. Pose your questions for this month's expert, Dr. Nat Messer, on the topic of equine insurance.
| 1 |
Question: I have a question about equine buyer insurance. A friend of mine bought a horse and then was going to meet the sellers in KY but then the horse died from colic that morning. She did get some money back but
how can I prevent this from happening? I am considering purchasing a horse out
of state and how should I go about insuring the horse. What companies offer
this?
Answer: Click To View
A reputable equine insurance agent should be able to assist you in making
arrangements to have mortality insurance go into effect at the time of purchase.
This may require that the seller allow the horse to be examined by a
veterinarian in advance of the actual sale to be able to complete the application for mortality insurance and have it approved by the insurance company prior to purchase.
|
| 2 |
Question: I have three horses that range in ages 20, 14 and 9. The first is too old, the second (her son) has been unsound most of his life and probably isn't insurable. The third, (healthy mare) is a rescue from a PMU farm. She is invaluable to me but really has no monetary value, being a grade. I would like to have surgical/medical insurance for her. I would not like to lose her since I couldn't afford a life saving treatment or surgery. I've checked into insurance companies, but have really become quite confused. She has to have a dollar value and I apparently can't get just medical/surgical insurance without mortality. I don't have to be compensated monetarily if she died, however my main fear is the expense of medical/surgical needs to save her life. She is for my personal pleasure and with the high costs getting higher for vet care, I wouldn't be looking to have money to replace her. It would be nice, but not necessary. I would appreciate any advice. I only have a small income so am at a loss on what to do.
Answer: Click To View
To begin with, and unrelated to your original question, I can assure you there are no horses on PMU ranches in the Wyeth Pharmaceutical network of ranches in need of being rescued from anyone or anything. When someone purchases a horse from one of these PMU ranchers they may think they are rescuing the horse, but in fact that is a misrepresentation of the facts. If you adopted this horse from someone who purchased the horse from a PMU rancher or were given the horse, then you may have been rescuing it from that person, not the PMU rancher.
You may place a value on your horse that is reasonable for what the animal is used for. For example, an unregistered nine-year-old pleasure horse that is well trained could easily be valued at least at $500 and up to $1000 in today’s market. That value would serve as the basis for the mortality insurance part of the policy and then qualify you to get medical insurance for the horse as well. This way you would receive a nominal amount of money if your horse died and the horse would be covered for medical expenses up to the limit of the policy.
|
| 3 |
Question: My Tennessee Walking show mare's insurance policy is up for renewal and the insurance company is saying they will not re-issue her insurance because she has had an episode of laminitis (resolved) and claim that disqualifies her from showing forever. The agent said that was the reason for the refusal to renew, but I can find nothing in the policy which specifically refers to laminitis. Is that so?
Answer: Click To View
First of all, I am not aware of any rules or regulations in the Horse Protection Act that would prevent a horse from showing that has completely recovered from a bout of laminitis. By completely, I mean having no signs of pain/inflammation and no radiographic evidence of rotation of the third phalanx. Since your horse is covered by a loss of use policy and mortality/major medical, the insurance company may be concerned that under the increased scrutiny being employed by USDA to enforce the Horse Protection Act (thermography, digital radiography, etc.) your horse might be inspected and eliminated from competition because it was found to have residual signs of laminitis (eg: rotation of the third phalanx), one of the signs associated with “soring”, and therefore somehow be subject to payment of a claim for loss of use.
Typically, when an insured horse develops a non-life threatening medical problem during the insured period, that problem may be excluded from coverage if and when the insurance policy is renewed. That would be determined by the terms of the policy and the results of a veterinary examination prior to renewal. The ultimate decision whether to renew the policy or not rests with the insurance company and their underwriters. Not all insurance companies have similar policies, so if you are refused insurance by one company, it doesn’t hurt to try another. It would be unusual, in my experience, if you were unable to get at least mortality/major medical insurance for your horse if it has truly undergone complete recovery from laminitis. However, any company may choose to exclude laminitis from coverage if a horse has a previous history of laminitis.
|
« Back
|
