Horse health insurance isn’t a topic any horse owner wants to discuss. Pondering worst-case scenarios doesn’t make for comfortable barn aisle or ringside small talk.

However, it is an important issue that shouldn’t be ignored. The right insurance coverage means finances won’t prevent your horse from getting the necessary care.

Saves You Time and Money

The best horse insurance policy will provide the financial protection you need should your horse become seriously injured or ill. With medical and even mortality coverage, you won’t have to choose between giving your horse the best veterinary care possible and staying within your budget.

With technology advancing in leaps and bounds, the cost of specific treatment options without insurance may be prohibitive. Primary medical/surgical coverage, typically offered as an option in equine insurance policies, covers the full range of emergency veterinary care, including diagnostics, medications, surgery, and hospitalizations.

To ensure your horse is adequately covered, it’s always important to read the fine print of an equine policy carefully. Different insurers have different aggregate limits, the maximum amount you can be reimbursed in a year. Some policies also have hard annual expiration dates, so be sure you know what is and isn’t covered before purchasing a policy.

Protects Your Investment

The economic value of your horse is something that should be protected. This is not just based on the price someone would pay to buy your horse but also the time and money you invested in training, breeding, competing, etc. Getting all-risk mortality insurance for your horse is often a good idea.

Primary medical and surgical coverage is another crucial coverage to consider. With new techniques and procedures being developed every day, your horse’s health care should be covered in case of an emergency.

Liability insurance is also essential to purchase. Just like homeowners’ insurance covers your car, it covers your horse as well if it causes damage to someone else’s property. Be sure to find an insurer specializing in the equine industry with a 24/7 contact number for questions and claims. Ask about deductibles, co-pays, and exclusions to ensure you understand your policy. This will help you to make informed decisions and keep your horse safe.

It provides Peace of Mind.

Many horse owners choose to have insurance because it provides peace of mind. After all, a million-dollar racehorse, an Olympic-caliber sports horse, or a breeding stallion isn’t something that you can replace; they represent years of hard work and investment. An annual premium is a small price to transfer that risk to an insurance company.

Primary medical coverage reimburses you for non-routine veterinary care and surgery after meeting any deductibles or co-pays. This is invaluable when your horse runs through a fence, collides with another horse, becomes lame, develops EPM, or any other unforeseen illnesses and injuries that keep horse owners up at night.

Personal liability insurance, typically a standard feature in most equine policies, protects you from being held liable when a horse you own, lease, or board/train/handle/transport/show causes bodily injury or property damage to a third party. You may need to provide documentation to support your claim, so it’s essential to communicate with the insurer regularly rather than waiting until you have an emergency to notify them.

Gives You the Confidence You Need

We all know how important it is to have car liability insurance, but did you know that you need it for your horses, too? Horse owners are responsible for property damage caused by their animals, which is often very expensive to repair or replace.

Technological advances in equine medicine have an enormous impact on treatment costs, but even with this progress, some procedures can be prohibitively costly for many horse owners. This is why having horse insurance with significant medical and mortality coverage is so important – it can protect you from the heartbreaking decision of not being able to afford the treatments that could save your horse’s life.

While you might be tempted to choose the lowest-priced policy, reading through the cover thoroughly is essential to ensure you are fully aware of the limits and exclusions. It is also good to compare the coverage offered by different insurers to find the best policy for your horse’s needs.