When you think of your horse you probably don’t think
of insurance but maybe you should. Not only is a horse a huge
investment in time and emotion, it’s also a large financial
investment that should be protected. There are several types
of insurance products that are available that help to cover
you and your horse.

Mortality

The first type of coverage is Mortality. This insurance
covers death of your horse from most causes such as disease
and illnesses, accidents, and in some cases depending on your
policy, theft of the horse. There are exceptions to this that
your agent should explain. Normally this type of insurance
will pay you the value of your horse at the time of death.
There may also be certain age restrictions on your horse that
affect the price of the policy, or your ability to obtain a
policy.

Major Medical

Like human health insurance, horse medical insurance covers
surgery and emergency trips to the veterinarian that are
beyond normal visits. This type of coverage will normally
have a deductible and a maximum coverage, usually around
$7500 a year.

Surgical

This endorsement will cover your expenses if your horse
requires surgery due to an injury or accident, or sickness or
disease. Again, deductibles and maximum coverage will be
specific to your policy.

Loss of Use

This covers the possibility of losing the use of your horse as
it was originally intended. Generally it provides a coverage
between 50-75% of the horses value. Pay close attention to
the fine print because this sliding scale may be based on
whether you keep the horse, or the insurance company keeps the
horse. To receive this payment, you’ll most likely need some
type of certificate from the vet, and/or other documents.

General Liability

One of the more important types of insurance is Liability
insurance for the horse owner. This insurance will cover you
in the event that you are legally liable for property damage
or personal injury caused by your horse. You may already have
some coverage if you own your home and have liability
insurance on it, when your horse is there. If you board your
horse, many boarding facilities now require that you have
horse liability insurance. You should talk to your home
insurance agent to find out the details of what is covered
before you purchase extra insurance.

Care, Custody, and Control (CCC)

This insurance is aimed at those people that care or transport
other people’s horses. It will provide you with liability
insurance in the event that you’re liable for the injury or
death of someone else’s horse while in your care. This
includes boarding, training, breeding, or transporting them.

Finally

The above outline is geared towards individual owners with
horses that are used for personal use. Different conditions,
policies, requirements and fees will apply for other types of
uses and ownership situations. As with any type of insurance
you should talk with your agent to go over the details of
your policy before you sign the contract.