# Horse Insurance



## tomhenson (Jan 5, 2012)

Hi,

Do people have insurance for their horse that covers them whilst on the road for damage against cars.

Heard on the radio today that people are kicking off at us riding on the roads and then I thought, hmm do I need insurance to cover me against a car accident?

Thanks in advance,

Tom


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## usandpets (Jan 1, 2011)

It is good to have liability insurance. If your horse should get loose from their pasture and get hit by a vehicle, you are still responsible. You'd be not only responsible for the damage to the vehicle but also for any medical bills and even loss of income. All that adds up quickly. The cost of insurance is pretty cheap.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

usandpets said:


> It is good to have liability insurance. If your horse should get loose from their pasture and get hit by a vehicle, you are still responsible. You'd be not only responsible for the damage to the vehicle but also for any medical bills and even loss of income. All that adds up quickly. The cost of insurance is pretty cheap.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


that may or may not true, its gonna depend on the state and local law. A horse in the road not through negligence getting hit falls under the same category as a deer. Something that just happens and fault isnt assigned.
There are other liability issues though. If you have horses or land you should look into a farm policy, as oppossed to a homeowners policy. Homeowners insurance is basically worthless. I was amazed at the total lack of insurance that come with them.
I switched to another company and a farm policy. For much less money I got 100K equine liability, no hurricane deductible, tractor, horse trailer, farm equipment, barns etc all covered.


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## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

Having liability with horses is a necessity imo. I agree with Joe on the farm route. Much easier on your pocket, better coverage. I have mine through a farm policy w/a company that only does farm/ag insurance as the other companies couldn't do what I needed with training horses, lesson students, etc. With the farm policy, there's blanket coverage for barns, arenas, tractor, trailer, bobcat, tack, even my hay plus several mil in liability.


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## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

We had a pony get out in the middle of the night. We couldn't figure out how in the world she did it. All gates were latched, electric fence on. It was after she had been at our house for about 2 weeks so it's not like she was completely new. She was settled in. We live pretty far back in the woods, but she managed to walk down the driveway and out into the road. We got a knock on our door at 3am asking if we had a pony because one was standing in the middle of the road. They had just hit her.

We ran down there and she was pretty banged up. Her mouth was resting on the pavement, she had road rash all over her. Luckily, no broken bones. No internal bleeding. Just super sore, bruised and cut up. Poor pony.

No charges were ever pressed because the kid driving (only 18) was so drunk, that if the police were brought in he would have been given a DUI and MIP. They even covered the vet bills for Apple Blossom. 

We got lucky. We could have been sued big time.


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Does anyone have any good recommendations for liability or major medical insurance? (for horses of course lol)


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## kcscott85 (Jul 28, 2010)

Star H Equine Insurance. I was shopping around, looking for insurance for Charlie, and they come highly recommended. I got a quote from them and talked with them a bit to customize what I need. Only problem is that they only cover major medical until a horse is 15 (but all insurance companies do that) and Charlie will be 14 in April! I would check them out...I'm in NC, but their website says they are licensed in all 50 states.


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Alright, I definitely will! Thank you


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

In Ontario, by joining the Ontario Equestrian Foundation, you get liability anywhere on any horse. It's inexpensive on its own plus saves me money on my house insurance!


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

That is so awesome, NothernMama! I wish they did that here!


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## kcscott85 (Jul 28, 2010)

You get the same thing if you join USEF
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## jimmy (Aug 26, 2009)

*insurance*

anyone know the law re, horse insurance in the uk i drive on the road at least 5 days a week,never really thought about it


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

kcscott85 said:


> You get the same thing if you join USEF
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Oh wow I had no idea! I will definitely look into it! Thank you so much


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## WesternBella (Jan 7, 2012)

I reccomend talking to the insurance company you are already dealing with for your house, It may just be where I live but our horse insurance is paid for as the same time as our house and car insurance. It's a very little amount of money but there are some rules that go along with it. (For example, they will stop insuring my horse if I get into competing for cash)


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## Walkamile (Dec 29, 2008)

tomhenson said:


> Hi,
> 
> Do people have insurance for their horse that covers them whilst on the road for damage against cars.
> 
> ...


In the state of Maine, horses have the right of way on the road. If an accident occurs, the driver will be at fault and responsible. Though I do not recommend taking any chance this could happen.


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

your horse getting out and getting hit doesnt automatically make you liable for the vehicle damages. That is false info that keeps popping up on this thread. Lots of other things are involved like the condition of your fence. Negligence has to be proved. SOme states you arnt required to even have a fence. 
If a drunk hit my horse in the road I would be calling the cops ASAP, if he was drunk enough to hit a horse he was drunk enough to kill someone and shouldnt be driving at all. Most likely they would have had to pay all the bill any way.
If you are actually riding the horse on a road in VA, if you have a refelective vest on, cars are required by law to maintain a certain distance, so you'd have to pull out in front of them basically. Not sure how that would alll pan out in liability issues. Seriously though based on what I have found out if you have horses on you property or anything remotely considered as being a farm, or even just a ferw acres you need to see a company that sells farm policies instead of homeowners.
The reason horse liability insurance is so cheap is because there are very few and extreme circumstances where you are held liable.
For instance if your horse kicks a car in an area a reasonable person would expect a horse to be, like a fair, or a trail head parking area. That would be a claim on the owners comprehension same as if a tree fell on it.
If you are on a horse in an area with big signs up that say NO HORSES and it kicks a car you may be held liable. At least in VA, like I said other states may be different.


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## its lbs not miles (Sep 1, 2011)

Joe4d said:


> your horse getting out and getting hit doesnt automatically make you liable for the vehicle damages. That is false info that keeps popping up on this thread. Lots of other things are involved like the condition of your fence. Negligence has to be proved. SOme states you arnt required to even have a fence.
> If a drunk hit my horse in the road I would be calling the cops ASAP, if he was drunk enough to hit a horse he was drunk enough to kill someone and shouldnt be driving at all. Most likely they would have had to pay all the bill any way.
> If you are actually riding the horse on a road in VA, if you have a refelective vest on, cars are required by law to maintain a certain distance, so you'd have to pull out in front of them basically. Not sure how that would alll pan out in liability issues. Seriously though based on what I have found out if you have horses on you property or anything remotely considered as being a farm, or even just a ferw acres you need to see a company that sells farm policies instead of homeowners.
> The reason horse liability insurance is so cheap is because there are very few and extreme circumstances where you are held liable.
> ...


You're right, there is an awful lot of blanket statements made about equine liablity.
Everyone should take the time to read the laws for their state (or states they travel to). e.g. in some states if you visit a place that has horses and willing interact with the horses you accept the risk of injury and if you are injured by a horse the owner is not liable. But you are liable if your horse causes an injury to someone who was not doing anything connected with your horse. Liability coverage is always a safe call.
Among other horse laws, a few years back SC passed a law when one horse was killed and another had to be put down later as a result of injuries sustained from the same car accident after someone (not connected with the horses) openned a gate that allowed the horses to leave their pasture and the horses wandered out. There is something like a $10,000 fine for openning someone else gate and letting their horse out.
Some states still have some VERY old laws still on the books that not only give horses the right of way, but place several restrictions on vehicles where horses are concerned. Whether they are enforced or not is another story.


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## Missy May (Feb 18, 2012)

hmmm, I am interested in the medical insurance skyseternalangel asked about, has anyone ever actually had to use it (i.e., file a claim), and how did that go?

As far as a horse getting out goes, if you are in open range, its the car's fault. The problem w that is, you will only get the value of the horse if it is ends in their death. Yes, you could sue in civil court...but I doubt the result would be as "definite" as the other way around. I find that inequitable.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

its lbs not miles said:


> Among other horse laws, a few years back SC passed a law when one horse was killed and another had to be put down later as a result of injuries sustained from the same car accident after someone (not connected with the horses) openned a gate that allowed the horses to leave their pasture and the horses wandered out. There is something like a $10,000 fine for openning someone else gate and letting their horse out.
> Some states still have some VERY old laws still on the books that not only give horses the right of way, but place several restrictions on vehicles where horses are concerned. Whether they are enforced or not is another story.


Yes. At least in NC, the statutes about horses/livestock are, for the most part, very few and very old (i.e. from when cars being on the road was a new thing). In those days livestock was an extremely valuable item, providing both transportation and work (e.g. plowing, etc), so causing harm to someone's livestock is typically a felony.

Keep in mind, also, that in the situations where there are no specific laws on the books, courts will look for guidance at 'common law', i.e case law, rulings/precedents from previous similar cases...and some of this is _very_ old also, e.g. Farmer Bob and Farmer Joe had some dispute over injured livestock back in 1910.

Years ago when I started doing a lot of road riding, I talked to the District Attorney's office in my county (because there are some drivers that are nasty/dangerous to horse riders) and the bottom line was that if you are not prohibited from it by a law/statute, think about what a 'normal' person would see as 'reasonable', e.g. a leisurely ride on a 2 lane road v. galloping down a busy 4 lane highway. Although both are 'legal', they may be viewed very differently in the case where injury/liability comes up.


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## faye (Oct 13, 2010)

jimmy said:


> anyone know the law re, horse insurance in the uk i drive on the road at least 5 days a week,never really thought about it


There is no law that you must have insurance however if your horse caused an injury to someone or damage to property you would be held liable.

In the UK most horse insurance policies will cover 3rd party liability upto £1million or £3million.

You can also become a BHS gold member or NPS full member and be covered by thier public liability insurance.


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

Many homeowner's and renter's insurance policies will cover liability for your horses. I called mine to double check, and it covers damage and injuries done by my horse no matter whether he is at the barn, at a show, escaped, etc.

Major medical is not covered by this policy- I did have to purchase that separately.


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