There are alot of misconceptions about Equine Mortality Insurance. There are the old wives tales about the insurance company taking the horse and destroying it or not covering life saving surgical procedures. Or there is no reason to get loss of use as they never pay. There is a lot of emotional investment in your horse as well as your financial investment. A horse is not just another toy that you own, it is part of your life, your family and you always want to do whats best. Just like you carry life insurance for your loved ones Equine
Mortality is a Life Insurance policy for your horse, with you as beneficiary.
It is an "All-Risk" policy, which will cover death from any cause,
subject to certain exclusions, which are stated in the equine mortality
insurance policy. Also as a part of the provisions of mortality most mortality policies also pay you if your horse is stolen.
Looks pretty easy right - not so fast there is a lot of detail to cover in the Equine mortality and theft insurance and you need to understand what can be covered, what is covered in the basic broad form and what may need to be added by endorsement. I wont go into all the legal details this is being written to make it easy for you to understand and to help you make informed decisions and ask the right questions to know how you are covered and what you may not be covered for and what your responsibilities are.
death of a horse may not be covered if a horse dies during a surgical procedure unless it is performed to save the horse's life, and most policies state that it must be by a "qualified veterinarian" and the vet must state that it is a result of an occurrence during the policy period. So you can see how this can get sticky
Not all surgical death is covered - before doing any non-emergency surgery you need to check with your insurance company to determine what your coverage is if there are unexpected problems
"humane destruction" needs to be approved by the insurance company in advance. In some instances insurance companies will include Wobbler Syndrome if the diagnosis was first made during the policy period.
So you can see there are a lot of things that need to be looked at and understood. I know that reading an insurance policy and all the fine print is not on your daily reading list. But it is important to understand what is and what is not covered. If you have questions and need answers please speak with your agent to help determine what kind of coverage and possible endorsements which may be best for you. Then read the coverage page again and look at your bill so you know what you are paying for and what you got. It may have been discussed but if you didnt fill in the boxes it wont be there. Review your application and clairfy the details.
Age of covered horses Some companies limit their
insurance to age 14 or 15. Then they will no longer cover the horse
mortality. There is a kind of catch 22 to this - if you do not have
mortality you cannot get major medical/surgical or colic insurance. So
what to do?
Well there are a few companies out there who will insure the horse to age
20. Yes it is expensive and goes up every year after age after 14
years. They will accept new business from ages 15 to 20 years of age with
a veterinary check and health statement. They will also accept a
surgical only from 16 to 20 years of age as new business with a veterinary
check. They would of course prefer that you start with them and stay with
them for the active life of the horse but recognize the need and understand the
risks involved in this type of insurance. Perhaps you have a valuable
breeding stallion or mare and want to make sure your investment is
covered. This company makes it possible. Or perhaps you have an
international competition horse that has taken many years to get it to the
Olympic level and you want to make sure your investment is protected.
Think about the average age of the Olympic level horse and this just makes
sense.
Agreed Valuation
Many companies will have a limit they will insure without a full veterinary
check and that is what they call an "agreed valuation" Their
policies will make a statement no vet exam required on horses valued
$100,000 or less for full mortality and medical coverages. No vet
exam required again until age 15, regardless of value, unless required to
review a condition. There is a statement of health required and it best
be as accurate as you can make it because if you omit a pre-existing condition
or previous colic or colic surgery - your insurance will not cover you.
Other companies want a full vet exam if the horse is valued at over $25,000, or
is a breeding stallion or mare. Again it depends on the company and their
appetite for the type of insurance that you may need. Some companies want
a vet check done because of the use of the horse your broker can help you sort
out the best choice for your needs.
Theft
Theft is generally covered in the Mortality policy and just like when a car is stolen the owner has responsibilities to the insurance company. Both for reporting periods and law enforcement reports and there are a number of other provisions that must be met. Understand your responsibilities and discuss with your agent what your needs are in advance of the policy issuance so that you know you are covered where you need to be. Remember insurance is just a transfer of risk which helps give you peace of mind.
Policy Periods
This is actually very important to know. Because coverage may not have
stopped when you thought it did. There is usually a grace period at the
end of the policy for various reasons and purposes. This is because
sometimes you are not aware of the problem or condition when the actual end
date occurred. Most policies which are 365 days or longer have these in
the various coverage paragraphs throughout the policy. sometimes
extending the policy period by as much as 120 days. That may save you
alot of heartache
Exclusions
This one can be difficult but if you read the fine print so to speak it may
help you add coverage you may not have known you needed. Alot of what is
covered here is definitions and when the policy coverage actually begins and
what your responsibilities are. There is one that you all need to know
and that goes to the theft one - that is mysterious disappearance or escape of
a horse.
Stacked coverages
This one actually saves you money. In other words you can add coverages
to your policy and because you have the underlying policy your costs can be
reduced to add certain coverages - Such as horse owners liability can be added
for as little as $25 for $25,000 in coverage. You can add variations on
the major medical and surgical and colic endorsements to obtain different types
and levels of coverage just like in human medical insurance. But that
detail goes to another day and page.
Remember the purpose of insurance is to transfer risk and in the case of equine
insurance that means in most cases to recoup some of your monetary investment
in the animal. It is not to enrich you or to make you money it is merely
to take the worry and sting out of any loss.
I hope that you have gained some
useful information out of this short treatise on mortality insurance and
understand it better. If you have any questions please feel free to email
me or call me - thank you and have a great day or evening
