Insurance - surely this can't be right?

[HereWeGoAHen]

I keep reading insurance horror stories about how the slightest thing results in exclusions and it's making me terrified to get the vet out at all which seems ridiculous.

I've even heard that big insurers like PetPlan create exclusions just for having annual jabs and teeth rasping!! Surely this can't be right?

My pony has a slight stiffness in one leg and is a bit reluctant to go forward. Not lame but not quite right. Now my first instinct is to get the vet, just to double check. But everybody is telling me if I do, she will be permanently excluded for claims to do with back and legs which would be a nightmare if she did have a serious injury in the future and I could no longer claim just because I'd played safe and got something probably minor checked out.

What do you all do? I'm very confused!

Can you get someone not a vet like a physio to have a look?

This is the case with human health insurance for many things as when you make a claim after having it on your notes they can say oh pre existing . You saw the GP in March for saw elbow then now in Nov you're asking for physio

You definitely need to get your pony seen. If she’s reluctant to go forward she is obviously in pain. It’s unkind to leave her just in case the insurers put an exclusion on your policy.

I know a couple of cases.
A friend called a vet to her horse for suspected colic. Horse was fine, no treatment other than painkiller. 6 months later he did get colic. Insurance refused to pay out because the vet had to declare the previous call out for ‘suspected’ colic.
Another friends horse went lame. Her insurance now excludes that leg from ANY future claim.

My horse got laminitis. When I filled out the claim form, I was asked if I had had any previous vet visits. Unthinking, I put no, and submitted the claim.
Then started panicking, because I remembered that I had called the vet out about 9 months earlier to look at a skin infection.
Luckily, they paid out, as there was no relation between the two call outs.

Petplan have excluded one of our retiree’s legs after we had a vet out to check a cut.

She has arthritis in her front legs, so anything involving arthritis had already been excluded everywhere anyway

In the summer she took a nasty knock in the field and ended up with a fairly large cut. She was uncomfortable for a while and the vet wanted to make sure she hadn’t fractured it or anything. Thorough check up and a clear x-ray later vet came to the conclusion that the hard ground was causing problems with her arthritis and she was putting her weight through the back end. We had to fence off her field so she couldn’t charge about too much, and she was absolutely fine after that

That leg has now been completely excluded, including any injury claims

Can you get a chiro out to start with instead?

Yes I'm going to book the chiro - I'm assuming they don't need to be declared on insurance?

Sadly yes insurance companies make blanket exclusions at the drop of a hat. One of mind had double hind suspensory lameness. ALL legs are now excluded for anything and everything even though his front legs are issue-free.

It just seems so bonkers. How does anybody afford a horse over a lifetime of treatments as it seems highly likely exclusions will all be in place within the first couple of years, then paying into a separate account or having a credit card is fine and good - but after the first 4-6k operation that's needed for something relatively common, like kissing spines say, how do you pay for the next inevitable thing as they get older?

@HereWeGoAHen

It just seems so bonkers. How does anybody afford a horse over a lifetime of treatments as it seems highly likely exclusions will all be in place within the first couple of years, then paying into a separate account or having a credit card is fine and good - but after the first 4-6k operation that's needed for something relatively common, like kissing spines say, how do you pay for the next inevitable thing as they get older?

The reality is that insurance companies are businesses and not charities so they are all trying to make more money from you than they have to pay out. It is a matter of luck/risk. I have had some horses who have had nothing serious ever wrong with them so thousands in premiums have been paid for nothing (not that I am complaining!).

A lot of insurance companies put restrictions on the policy when a horse reaches a certain age so you might not be covered anyway.

You can challenge it
My old boy knocked his eye in the stable, had the vet out, told insurance (because I'm either honest or stupid)

They immediately excluded that eye (even though I didn't claim)

I questioned it, as it seemed ridiculous (the knock was accidental external injury) and they did withdraw the exclusion

This was Pet Plan - so credit to them

It's always worth asking

Now I just self insure anyway

For those who self insure, how much are you putting away each month to feel confident you'd have "enough" to do without insurance?

You definitely need to get your pony seen. If she’s reluctant to go forward she is obviously in pain. It’s unkind to leave her just in case the insurers put an exclusion on your policy.

This. You could start with some form of body worker but they may not treat without her being seen by a vet first.

For those who self insure, how much are you putting away each month to feel confident you'd have "enough" to do without insurance?

In an ideal world, I'd want about £5k in the bank for any injuries, and the rest I'd beg, borrow or steal. Unfortunately I have nothing in the bank, so begging and borrowing it is. I bought my horse when he was 12. He's now 20 and retired. I've been very fortunate. Other than routine visits he's needed the vet twice, once to stitch a small wound and then again for the lameness that brought about his retirement. The lameness cost me somewhere around 800 I think.

So I've been lucky and in his case no vet insurance proved cheaper. I did know he was tough as old boots when I bought him though. And now he won't have any expensive vet treatment for anything - we're at a stage where it will be kinder to say goodbye. I do have third party and always will have. There's self-insuring and then there's madness.

@WatchOutTheSkyIsFalling

For those who self insure, how much are you putting away each month to feel confident you'd have "enough" to do without insurance?

I don't put a separate amount away for the horse. I put a couple of hundred pounds a month for all emergencies (car, house etc) so any vet bills come out of that. I have been doing that for over 6 years and so far have spent less on vet bills than I would have on premiums.

@WatchOutTheSkyIsFalling I budget £50 (which was insurance premium)

Don't get me wrong, my current girl was insured with PetPlan too, and they were brilliant when she needed stuff doing.

It just hurt financially having to pay a large excess to the vet, as well as the insurance premium 🙄🙄

Swings and roundabouts

We were so grateful for insurance when our mare picked up a bug from the soil. The bill for her treatment in the equivalent of ICU was over €7k!
Insurers paid out the full limit of £5k within a few days of receiving the evidence. The following year the premium went up £50. If self insuring I would get up to a fund of £5k ASAP.

I managed to get through nearly £14k of claims in 13 months so if self insuring I would want a pretty healthy fund stashed away.

A responsible physio shouldn't treat a horse without being given permission by the vet. You need to treat the problem she has now, not worry about what might happen in the future.

It is likely you will get exclusions, but you will have to cross that bridge when you come to it...

You need to get them seen by a vet ASAP, this is just how it works unfortunately but you can’t leave it or mess about with a physio/osteo etc - it needs to be vet first. Any other professional that comes out (other than farrier in some cases) for a horse being lame/unlevel etc without a vet seeing first is irresponsible and I wouldn’t touch them. Without wanting to alarm very minor lameness can be a big issue, my horse is up for surgery in the coming weeks and 99% of people wouldn’t be able to see anything wrong with him