January 2001

Insurance & Emergency Care
by Leigh Ann Howard

The beginning of the New Year is probably a good time to look at some of the more mundane issues of horse ownership that need attention periodically. Two of these issues, insurance and emergency care, are addressed below.

As I'm not an insurance agent I called insurance agent Nancy Yearsley for some basic information and was overwhelmed by the wide and varied range of coverage available. Below I will touch on the two basic types of insurance coverage that are used by many horse owners. For further information don't hesitate to call an agent. All the California agents are listed in the Industry Directory.

Liability Insurance:
Horse owners should consider protecting their assets by having some sort of liability policy to cover the actions of their horses when those horses are out of their care.

As an example, let's say you have a horse in training at the track. The owner of the horse in the next stall brings his family to visit his horse. They are feeding their horse carrots and your horse gets mad because he isn't getting any treats.

You can bet that if one of those people gets within your horse's reach he is going to get his revenge. You would be liable for damage done to those folks. Certainly, you would feel more secure with a horse owner's liability policy. This insurance is fairly inexpensive and is based on the number of horses you have that put you at risk. This coverage only extends to incidents related to horses you have boarded off your own property. 

Many people believe their "home owners" insurance covers incidents like I have mentioned above. My understanding is that this type of insurance only covers the liability issues while your horse is based on your property and you are the sole caregiver. In other words, it is very limited so don't count on it to be very helpful. Read your policy and ask your homeowner's agent the details of your coverage.

Mortality Insurance
When you insure your horse you are insuring against his death. There are many variations on the basic theme but most of the time you only get back the value of your horse in the event your horse dies. The draw back to this insurance is that you are forced into expensive veterinary care to keep the horse alive. You have no choice in the matter. If you have a racehorse and he is rendered unserviceable as a racehorse, through a severe injury or sickness, the insurance does not pay off. The horse has to die before the insurance company pays off. 

While talking to Nancy, I discovered there are many variations available as amendments to the basic mortality policy - things like colic surgery clauses, wobbler clauses and 'agreed value' clauses. A good insurance agent can be very creative when it comes to adapting a policy to your situation. By all means, discuss your wishes with an equine insurance agent.

Many mortality insurance companies now offer coverage for emergency veterinary care along with the basic mortality coverage. This comes in very handy if your horse has to have emergency colic surgery, or any other medical care, for that matter. As stated above, because your horse is insured the insurance policy forces you to have surgery or emergency care done. So the medical coverage basically covers the cost of that care. 

There is 'claiming insurance' available, which is carried by most trainers who regularly claim at the track. This insurance is also varied. One type of policy covers just the race when the horse is claimed, another covers the horse for three days after the race and another covers the horse for 30 days after the claim. 

If you are buying horses at auction sales you can inform your agent of your activity and have each horse you buy covered from the "fall of the hammer". As a seller you can also have a policy written that extends coverage on a horse you sell through a sale for several days after the sale, in case the horse gets "turned back" for any reason. 

There is now shipping insurance coverage that is available for a limited amount of time, usually 30 days. Once again, this is a variation on the basic mortality policy, i.e.: the horse has to die before the insurance pays off.

Remember, this is simply a farm manager's overview of insurance available to the horse owner. For any sort of detailed explanation you should certainly contact one of the many very qualified agents listed in our California Industry Directory. If you don't have a directory, call the CTBA office, they will be happy to send you one, free of charge.

Emergency Care:
Many farms now have "Emergency Care" clauses written into their boarding agreements. These clauses tell the farm manager how you wish your horse to be cared for should you be unavailable during an emergency. Most ask you to set a limit on the amount of money that you would be willing to spend on veterinary care to save your horse. 

If your horse is permanently boarded on a farm, where you are not the primary care giver, you need to have an updated Emergency Care agreement on file at that farm. If your mare is shipped across country it is in your best interest to give a copy of that clause to the van company, as mares can certainly have colic and other problems during a three or four day trip. The farm where the mare is sent to be bred should also have a copy of your Emergency Care clause.

The importance of this emergency clause cannot be over emphasized. Horses can have a serious bout of colic or sustain an injury at any time. Whoever is in charge of the mare's care, at the time a disaster strikes, needs to know exactly how you want your horse handled if you cannot be reached.

If the farm you are dealing with does not have an Emergency Care agreement you should take the initiative and send your own clause to the farm. I have included a generic clause-click here-that you may print, fill in the details, including the location of your horse and send out to all the places where your horse will reside during the coming year. 

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