From pre-purchase X-rays to boarding liability, here are five common horse insurance misconceptions and how to avoid them

Life with horses costs more each year, and mistakes can add to an already extended bank account or credit card balance. Here are five common horse insurance misconceptions our team often hears when chatting with clients, and what to do instead.

• Key takeaways:
• Skipping X-rays after a pre-purchase exam can turn a few hundred dollars saved now into thousands lost later.
• Horse insurance does not transfer with the horse when they are sold. The buyer needs their own policy.
• Major Medical/Surgical coverage matters for horses with clean health histories, not despite them.
• A homeowner’s or farmowner’s policy does not necessarily protect for liability tied to your horse, especially off-property or at competitions.
• A boarding facility’s insurance is there to protect the facility, not your horse or your wallet.

Do I need X-rays after a pre-purchase exam?

There is no truth to the adage “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” Without a thorough pre-purchase exam, you run a much higher risk of dealing with an unsound or ill horse and all the related expense and heartache. My advice: Save yourself time, money and misery by paying for a thorough vet exam.

One of the common avoidable scenarios happens when, during the initial exam, the vet notes an area of concern on the pre-purchase exam report and recommends radiographic investigation to determine whether future soundness is a significant concern. Example: A potential client, having been told that the horse’s front feet show suspected white line disease or signs of past laminitis, ignores the vet’s recommendation for X-rays. Instead, she determines that spending the money isn’t worth it. Her trainer says it’s nothing to worry about.

Trainers, with all their wisdom, are not veterinarians. Without X-rays to review, even a vet can’t provide the detail a buyer needs for these types of suspected conditions. A few hundred dollars now versus the possible loss of many thousands in the future is a worthwhile investment.

Does horse insurance transfer when I buy a horse?

This is a very common misconception. A horse insurance policy does not follow the horse if it is sold. The policy becomes automatically void when legal ownership changes, even if the seller still has physical possession of the horse, such as when the seller keeps the horse for a few days after the sale until shipping is arranged. Or when the breeder keeps a young horse on the farm until weaned before sending him to the new owner.

So if you’re in the new purchase process and the seller tells you the horse is insured so you don’t need to worry about getting your own policy, they likely don’t understand that their policy will not extend to you. You will need to complete new paperwork and get your own policy in place. It usually takes a few minutes, but contact an agent before the sale to get your ducks in a row.

Do I need Major Medical/Surgical coverage if my horse has never been sick?

Hopefully that streak will continue, but in my experience, many claims happen to horses that previously had stellar health histories. They’ve never colicked, until 3 a.m. the night they end up in surgery at the nearest equine hospital. Or they’ve never been injured until they manage to get cast in their stall.

A $10,000 Major Medical/Surgical endorsement (a type of horse health insurance) averages about $525/year (depending on the carrier). That’s about $44 a month, which is less than most of us spend on our streaming services. Sure, if you have a good year and nothing goes wrong, it may feel like money wasted. But the peace of mind can be worth it.

For more details on equine insurance costs, check out this article: How much does horse insurance cost.

Does my homeowner’s policy cover my horse?

If you keep your horse on your property, your home or farmowner’s policy might cover bodily injury or property damage to a third party caused by your horse. But do not assume this is the case. Check with your agent to make sure, and get confirmation in writing (and read your policy). Also check whether you have coverage for damage the horse could cause off the property. This should include areas such as in the road outside your home or at a competition. Sometimes a home or farmowner’s policy only applies to incidents that occur on your property. Also, specifically ask if the policy has any exclusions for horses used for competition. This is sometimes considered “commercial” activity and therefore excluded, even though most of us are definitely not making money competing.

If your home or farmowner’s policy doesn’t provide coverage, consider purchasing an Individual Horseowners Liability (IHOL) or Personal Horseowners’ Liability (PHO) policy (the name varies depending on the insurance carrier).

These policies respond if your personally owned show or pleasure horse injures a third party or damages their property and you are considered negligent and pursued legally for those damages. They should help cover your legal expenses as well as pay covered claims made against you up to your policy limit. IHOL/PHO premiums for a $1 million per occurrence/$2 million aggregate policy range from just $250 to $265/year (depending on the carrier).

If you have horses other than yours on your property, such as boarders’ or friends’ horses, this is generally considered commercial exposure and is not covered by a typical homeowner’s or farmowner’s policy. For that you would need Commercial General Liability coverage (and potentially Care, Custody and Control coverage).

Does the farm where I board my horse have insurance to cover my horse?

It is very unlikely that a boarding facility’s insurance covers damages caused by your horse. In most cases the facility’s liability policy, if they have one, protects them, not their clients. To protect yourself, consider an IHOL or PHO policy as mentioned above.

What about damage to your horse if he is injured while being boarded? I would not recommend relying on the facility’s insurance to help with expenses. While they might have Care, Custody & Control (CCC) insurance, that coverage generally only responds if the facility is pursued legally by a client due to damage to their horse that they feel was caused by the facility or its employees. If you feel the facility is at fault, this could be an avenue for reimbursement. But considering that so much of the trouble our horses get into comes down to pure bad luck and even worse judgment on the horse’s part, I don’t recommend relying on another party’s insurance to protect you.

For those concerns, consider a Mortality (equine life insurance) policy with a Major Medical/Surgical endorsement. With those coverages in place, if the worst happens you have coverage to help reimburse your losses.

Click here for answers to more Common Horse Insurance Questions.

Talk to a specialist about your horse’s coverage

Putting into perspective all the time, dollars and effort we put into our horses, and the fact that we insure our other major investments like trucks and trailers, houses, and farms, adding your horse to that list is worth considering.  At Marshall+Sterling we’re happy to help with an emailed Horse Insurance quote or over the phone at (888) 687-8555 whenever you’re ready.

Author Bio

A lifelong equestrian who started out in 4-H and then moved on to show hunters, eventing and dressage, Amy J. Daum has three decades of experience in the equine insurance industry. A founding partner of Broadstone Equine Insurance Agency, she joined Marshall+Sterling seven years ago when the agency acquired Broadstone, and currently serves as Marshall+Sterling’s VP of Equine Operations.