Foal insurance

KBIS Foal insurance policies are able to provide cover for Death, Theft and Straying from just 24 hours old. Veterinary Fee insurance is available from 90 days old, ranging from cover for accidental external injuries only up to and including full cover for accident sickness and disease up to £6,000 per incident.

In total, there are up to 10 different Veterinary Fee insurance options available for foals, depending on their current market value.

Both the Death, Theft, and Straying cover and Veterinary Fee cover sections of our Foal insurance policies provides 15 months of cover from the onset date of a condition, allowing you longer to claim when you need it most. Additional cover can be added to each policy in the form of Public Liability, Personal Accident, Tack and/or Trailer.

Our lowest class of use includes cover for youngstock and those at grass, therefore offering a cheaper rate for foals that as they are not in any form of training or ridden work. This is available for foals with a market value of £7,500 or under.

For foals aged 24hours – 90 days, please call 0345 230 2323 and select option 1 to speak to a member of our knowledgeable Horse insurance team. Alternatively, for foals aged 90 days or above you can obtain a quote online.

Get a Foal insurance quote

FEATURES & DOCUMENTS

Foal Insurance – Eligibility

The maximum value of horse we are able to quote for online is £15,000. If your foal is worth more than this KBIS can still cater for your needs but we will need to speak to you over the phone on 0345 230 2323 to provide a quotation and arrange cover.

For those valued over £20,000 you may want to consider cover through our specialist Sport Horse insurance policy.

All horses (and owners!) must be domiciled in the United Kingdom.

Foal Insurance – Cover Available

The following cover can be purchased under both a KBIS Leisure Policy and KBIS Competition Policy. 

Please note the information below outlines the cover available, if you have a policy with KBIS your exact cover will be specified on your certificate of insurance.

Death, Theft and Straying

Death,Theft and Straying is the starting point of your insurance. It is the benefit paid following the death or euthanasia of the horse or if the horse is lost or stolen and not found. This benefit will be the sum insured/market value of the insured horse

Vet Fee Cover

Vet fee cover provides the insured horse with cover for non routine veterinary procedures. Vet fee cover can be extremely beneficial and will help you to make sure your horse receives the veterinary attention required in the event of an injury without you, the horse owner, having to worry about the cost.

We offer a range of different vet fee cover options for you to choose from, depending on your horses age and the activities you are participating in.

Our Competition cover provides more comprehensive cover with incident limits up to £6,000, and cover for complementary treatment and hospitalisation. You can view the vet fee cover available under each policy below:

Competition Vet Fee Cover

Leisure Vet Fee Cover

Permanent Loss of Use

Permanent Loss of Use cover is available from when the horse turns 3 years old and is broken and ridden away. This horse must be working/competition at their chosen activity.

Public Liability

Public Liability is one of the most important areas to consider taking out cover. It provides the policy owner with cover against their liability to a third party, for example, if you were out hacking and your horse spooked and kicked a car causing an accident on the road. You can choose between three levels of cover, up to £1,000,000, £2,000,000, or £3,000,000.

Personal Accident

Personal Accident insurance covers you if you sustain a bodily injury through riding, handling, mounting or dismounting the insured horse. We can offer two levels of cover to choose from: Scale 1, which offers a benefit of £10,000; and Scale 2, which offers a benefit of £20,000.

Saddlery and Tack

We can provide cover for the physical loss or damage and theft of your tack in respect of the actual value at the time of loss but not exceeding the sum insured. Cover can be included for sums insured up to and including £10,000, with the excess £100 for each and every loss

Trailer/Horse Drawn Vehicle

You can insure your trailer (up to a value of £10,000) against physical loss or damage whilst immobilised and whilst being towed. The excess on this section is £100.

We can also provide stand alone trailer insurance for values up to £20,000

Foal Insurance – Claim Forms

Online Claim Forms:

Downloadable/Printable Claim Forms:

Should you need to make a claim on your policy it is important that you notify KBIS as soon as possible.

Please note that if you are intending to make a mortality claim, it is a condition of the policy that a post mortem examination is carried out and the report sent to KBIS.

The following guide will help to ensure that you have complied with the terms of your policy with regards to claims notification. It is important to adhere to these conditions as failure to do so may result in your claim not being paid.

1) Initial notification

Contact KBIS as soon as possible. You can contact KBIS by:

Phone:

UK Telephone No: 0345 345 2323
Outside UK: +44 (0) 1635 247474

View our office opening times.

Email:
ask@kbis.co.uk

2) Obtain a Claim Form

You can download the relevant claim form from the list above or alternatively if you have contacted our offices we can arrange for a form to be sent by post, including a free post envelope for the return of your form and documentation

3) Collate all necessary information

In order for us to process your claim in the most efficient manner it is important that we have all of the relevant documentation, as requested, to enable us and the underwriters to consider the claim in its entirety.

4) Send the completed claim for and documentation to KBIS

Please note that we are unable to give any indication whether a claim is likely to be paid without the completed claim form and invoices.

Foal Insurance – Vetting Requirements

The table below outlines our vetting requirements depending on the type of cover you wish to take out and the market value of your horse (not the value that you are choosing to insure the horse for). 

For all levels of cover you will be required to complete a proposal form.

Foal Insurance – Loan Horses

If you are insuring a loan horse you will need to provide KBIS with a copy of the loan agreement. This means that KBIS can direct any claim settlements to the right party (veterinary fee claims are usually settled to the loanee whilst mortality and loss of use claims payments are settled to the owner).

In addition, KBIS will require a clinical print out from the veterinary practice showing the horse’s medical history.

WHAT OUR POLICYHOLDERS SAY

Mortality & Theft

Mortality and Theft is the starting point of your insurance. It is the benefit paid following the death or euthanasia of the horse or if the horse is lost or stolen and not found. This benefit will be the sum insured/market value of the insured horse

You can then choose to add additional cover such as vet fees, permanent loss of use, personal accident and legal liability to your policy.

Most insurance companies will offer All Risks of Mortality, which covers the loss of your horse due to accident, illness or disease. At KBIS we refer to this as Basic Cover.

You can also purchase Mortality Cover for accidental, external and violent injuries only, this cover is usually offered when the horse becomes older and the risk of mortality as a result of an illness or disease becomes to high. At KBIS when a horse reaches 26 years of age cover is then limited to accidental, external and violent injuries only.

Purchase price is the price that you paid to take on the ownership of the horse. Market value refers to the amount that would generally be paid for a horse of a similar age, sex, breeding and ability. Sum Insured is the amount you choose to insure your horse for.

The market value will therefore obviously alter while the horse is in your ownership depending on what you do with him/her, age and any injuries sustained etc. When insuring a horse that has not been recently purchased you need to look at their market value and similarly at renewal the market value will come into play rather than the purchase price.

To establish the market value of a homebred horse you would generally consider the stud fee plus their bloodlines. When the horse/pony has achieved a competition record this can then also be taken into account.

If you have recently purchased your horse most people choose to insure their horse for the purchase price. You can choose to under insure your horse in order to reduce your premium but before choosing to do this you should ask yourself how much it would cost you and how much can you afford to pay to purchase another horse if the worst should happen.

Although under insuring is an option, most insurance companies will not under insure a high value horse below a certain value.

Age will also affect how much you can insure your horse for; generally, as horses get older, insurance companies place restriction on the value for which they can be insured.

At KBIS, limitations on the sum insured apply once the horse reaches 17 years of age; however,  we do look at every case individually and are always happy to approach our Underwriters in exceptional circumstances:

Age Limitations on Sum Insured:

Age Maximum Sum Insured
17 – 18 £3500
19 £2500
20 £2000
21 – 24 £1000
25 + £500

As a general rule you cannot insure for a value above the purchase price for a horse/pony that has been recently purchased. Your insurance company will most probably advise you that they can reviewed the value in 6 months when, for instance you may have built up a successful competition record.

You will only receive the sum insured if this is a true reflection on the horse’s market value. It is important to remember that an insurance company will pay out for the market value of the horse at the time of loss up to the sum insured. If the market value is deemed to be lower than the sum insured, any claim settlement will be adjusted accordingly.

Basic mortality insurance only pays out if the horse needs to be euthanised immediately due to severe unrelenting pain. The British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) has issued guidelines for vets when dealing with mortality insurance, these can be grouped into three scenarios when a horse is euthanised from an insurance perspective: 

  1. Immediate emergency euthanasia where a condition is so severe that immediate euthanasia is required to relieve incurable and excessive pain and no other options of treatment are available. 
  2. Critical illness or injury necessitating non-immediate euthanasia, the horse exhibits signs of severe and unremitting pain that can be controlled by safe and effective levels of analgesic medication in the short term but, in the opinion of the attending veterinary surgeon, cannot be managed in the long term and no other options of treatment are available. In these cases insurers must be advised prior to euthanasia to allow them the opportunity to get a second opinion.
  3. Injury or illness which, whilst career ending and the horse may be permanently lame, can be managed on low levels of medication and the horse can be retired. Owners may decide that the right answer for them and the horse is to choose to put the horse to sleep, but this would not be a valid mortality claim. Although it may represent a Permanent Loss of Use claim if this level of cover was included in the policy.

To view The BEVA Guidelines click here

Vet Fee Cover

Vet fee cover provides insurance against non routine veterinary procedures. Vet fee cover can be extremely beneficial and will help you to make sure your horse receives the veterinary attention required in the event of an injury, without you, the horse owner, having to worry about the cost.

When looking at vet fee cover you need to consider the following areas (definitions of these terms can be viewed under our Glossary of Terms section)

  • Excess
  • Complementary Treatment
  • Diagnostic Limitations
  • Incident Limit
  • Cover limitation
  • Period of Claim

Most insurance companies will offer a range of different vet fee options so that you can choose what cover you would like, depending on your own personal circumstances. As your horse gets older, you will generally find that vet fee cover becomes limited, and you may only be able to get Accidental External Injuries Only cover, i.e. the horse will not be covered for sickness and disease.

With vet fee cover you generally get what you pay for and the higher level of cover will usually mean that you have a lower excess to pay, a higher incident limit and will include cover for complementary treatments and hospitalisation.

At KBIS we run two different separate scales; our Leisure Horse policy offers lower cost cover and has eight different options that can be viewed here.

Our Competition cover, has a separate scale of vet fees classified from Bronze to Platinum and includes options for complementary treatment and a higher level of cover for colic surgery. Our Competition vet fees can be viewed here.

If your horse/pony is injured or becomes ill and you have to seek veterinary attention you need to notify your insurance company as soon as possible. Even if you do not end up claiming for the incident it is better to advise your insurance company sooner rather than later. If you are unsure what vet fee cover you have, you will then be able to ask your insurance company exactly what cover you have in place. Relaying information to your vet such as the incident limit and period of claim that you have on your policy will help them to decide upon the best course of treatment and discuss the different options with you.

It is important to remember that most insurance companies will limit a certain period of time at the start of your policy to Accidental External Injuries Only, and you should check your documents to make sure you know how long this period is.  If you are unsure whether you are able to claim for a problem during this limited period, you should contact your insurance company as soon as possible.

If your vet recommends that your horse needs to undergo expensive diagnostics such as an MRI scan or bone scan, it is advisable to check with your insurance company before going ahead to make sure that there are no restrictions or exclusions which might prevent these from being covered.

The amount you can claim up to will depend on your incident limit, which usually varies between £1250 – £5000. This claimable amount only applies after you have paid the excess amount, which can range from £125 up to around £350 depending on the cover you have taken out. It is important to check your insurance certificate for your individual policy cover.

Our Leisure policy offer veterinary fee cover for 12 or 15 months from the onset of the incident; that is when the first clinical signs of the illness, injury or disease was noted.  On our Competition policy all of the veterinary fee scales of cover (Bronze through to Platinum) include cover for 15 months as standard, placing less pressure on you and your horse to try to resolve any medical matters with a 12 month extension period.

If your policy renews when you have an open claim running, you will still be able to claim under your expired policy until you reach your incident limit or until you have reached the time limit for the claim (be this 12 or 15 months after onset, depending on your cover). Most insurance companies will place an exclusion on the renewed policy for any conditions or incidents which occurred before renewal, to make sure that there is no possibility of claiming on both policies for the same condition. The exclusion on the renewed policy will not affect your claim, but it will mean that once you have reached your per incident limit or exceeded your 12 or 15 months after onset, you will not be able to make a further claim for the same condition or anything related to it.

 

Complementary Treatments, sometimes referred to as Alternative Treatments, cover you for treatments such as physiotherapy, laser treatment and remedial shoeing. Not all vet fee cover options include complimentary treatments and those which do may have a separate incident limit.

KBIS offer Complementary Treatment cover on our Competition policies at Silver, Gold and Platinum level and also on our Leisure policies at Scale F & G level, with the limit being up to £500 within the incident limit.’

A list of treatments which are viewed by KBIS as being complementary treatments can be viewed here.

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If the condition worsens and the horse or pony requires surgery, it is important to notify your insurance company straight away to check that you are covered for the horse to be anaesthetised. If there is a claim open for the condition, the surgery will be included as part of the total claim (i.e. there is no separate limit). This means that if the horse has had diagnostics or treatment prior to the operation, you should be prepared for the fact that the total cost may exceed the limit of your insurance and you may have to fund some of the costs yourself. If you are concerned about this, you should discuss the cost of the surgery with your vet.

Operations will often mean that the horse has to be stabled at the veterinary practice. Not all policies include hospitalisation costs so it is important to check your policy beforehand. Additional costs involved, such as transportation, would generally not be covered.

If the cause of a lameness cannot be diagnosed and the vet needs to look towards using more advanced diagnostic procedures such as a MRI scan it is again important to speak with your insurance company before going ahead. While most insurance policies would cover the procedure they may need to be satisfied that all other options have been explored and considered before you go ahead with the procedure. Again you will only be covered up to your incident limit.

All insurance policies carry general exclusions, that is areas or circumstances when the insured will not be covered, which is why it is always important to read the terms and conditions of your policy carefully.

KBIS’ policy wording carries a general exclusion for ‘pre-existing’ conditions, i.e. an illness, injury or disease which occurred or was diagnosed before the policy started or renewed. However, KBIS also applies specific exclusions to individual policies in reference to any identified pre-existing conditions, which provides policyholders with more clarity when they are considering making a claim. These specific exclusions could also be in relation to a noted condition or conformational fault which may pre-dispose a horse or pony to an illness, injury or disease.

You can find out further information on exclusions, including the KBIS exclusion review procedure, on our Exclusions page.

Each insurance company will have their own specific procedures, the most important point is to notify your insurance company as soon as possible if you think an incident may lead to a claim. Click to view the KBIS claim procedure. The claim forms can be viewed by scrolling up this page to the Features and Documents section in the Claim Forms tab.

Permanent Loss Of Use

Permanent Loss of Use means that the horse will never again be able to perform the activity for which it was insured. For instance if a horse is injured and as a result of this injury will be unable to compete at the level to which it did before the injury then this would be Permanent Loss of Use.

You can choose either 75% or 100% when selecting cover for Permanent Loss of Use and this is the maximum amount of the horse’s current market value you would receive back if a Permanent Loss of Use claim is agreed.

When taking out Permanent Loss of Use cover you will be asked to specify the main activity which your horse will be used for; it is this activity that the vet and insurance company will use to judge whether the injury or illness sustained is a Loss of Use claim.

Permanent Loss of Use claims can be very lengthy and the underwriters have to be satisfied that all avenues of treatment have been pursued before they will consider a claim under the Loss of Use section.

There are two different types of Permanent Loss of Use

1. Permanent Loss of Use due to an accident, illness or disease.

2. Permanent Loss of Use due to an accidental external injury only.

The second option is generally not taken out that frequently as although it will result in a lower premium it provides much more limited cover.

You can then choose whether you would like to take out 100% Permanent Loss of Use for the sum insured or 75% Permanent Loss of Use for the sum insured. The second option again will mean that your premium will be lower but you still have some cover in place.

In the event of a claim you will usually be presented with two options:

1. Keep the horse in retirement and receive a lesser payment

2. Have the horse put down and receive the full amount as per your policy

If you choose to keep your horse in retirement you will receive a residual value. This value will vary according to each individual circumstance, but will normally be subject to a minimum of 10% of the sum insured.

KBIS will also require that the horse or pony is freeze-branded to indicate that it has been the subject of a Loss of Use claim, the cost of which is covered by KBIS.

Loss of Use cover will not cover you for lack of ability or potential ability, loss of value, blemishes, behavioural problems or temporary incapacity.

Having Permanent Loss of Use will increase your premium, but it does provide an increase in cover. Some people choose to take Loss of Use cover out on a new horse as a means of ‘warranty’, protecting yourself against the unknown. Once you know the horse and its history and capability you may then choose to remove or keep the Loss of Use cover in place.

You can limit the increase in premium by choosing to take out cover for 75% Permanent Loss of Use of the sum insured, whilst paying your premium by monthly direct debits may also help to spread the cost of your premium.

Insurance companies will normally require a 5-stage vetting and depending on the horse’s value, specific x-rays as well, so you need to consider this expense in addition to the increased premium.

Legal Liability

Legal Liability is one of the most important areas to consider taking out cover. It provides the policy owner with cover against their liability to a third party or damage to third party property, for example if your horse broke free when tied up in your yard and then proceeded to cause an accident on the road. 

Insurance companies may also refer to this cover as Public Liability or Third Party Liability.

Although not law it is one area of cover that should not be overlooked. Legal Liability cover is generally not very expensive to add on to a horse policy and will increase your premium by around £15 but could save you thousands in the event of a claim.

Membership with affiliated bodies will sometimes include Legal Liability cover. It is important to check exactly when, where and what it covers you for as it may only provide you with cover when you are riding or competing at one of their events or clinics.

You should never admit to any responsibility or negotiate any kind of settlement. Liability claims can be very complex and your insurance will only be valid if you were legally responsible for the horse at the time of the incident and the incident was a direct result of your negligence.

It is important to notify your insurance company straight away and forward any documentation straight to them without replying. Your insurance company will then deal with any claims against you on your behalf.

Even if your liability to the third party is under dispute the underwriters may decide to settle on economic grounds, this is due to the fees that would be incurred should the incident go to court.

Personal Accident

Personal Accident insurance covers you if you sustain a bodily injury through riding, handling, mounting or dismounting the insured horse. Most insurance companies offer two different levels of cover, a lower and higher level.

Cover varies from policy to policy but under a typical KBIS horse insurance policy it would cover the policyholder and any person to whom the policyholder has given permission to ride or handle the horse. Cover would be in accordance to the schedule of benefits as in your policy terms and conditions.

If the horse is being used in a business environment i.e. in a riding school lesson you will not usually be covered; the riding school should have their own Personal Accident cover in place.

When added onto a horse policy Personal Accident cover is not an expensive addition. There would be an increase in premium of around £15 – £30 depending on the level of cover you take out. Personal Accident cover under a horse policy is designed as ‘catastrophe’ cover and is more limited than a specific Personal Accident Insurance Policy.

If the cover available is not adequate for your needs then you should consider taking out a stand alone Personal Accident policy. Additional benefits will include Temporary Total Disability which will pay the policyholder a weekly amount in accordance to the benefit scale if they are temporarily unable to carry out their normal business or occupation. Unlike when added on to a horse policy, when cover is limited to riding or handling the insured horse only, a stand alone personal accident policy will cover you whilst riding any horse and can also include other activiities as well.

Click here to view the cover available under a KBIS standalone Personal Accident policy.

Saddlery & Tack

Most insurance companies will insure you for loss or damage to saddles (including stirrup leather and irons) and bridles (including any martingales and harnesses). It is generally the equipment that is used on the insured horse whilst being used for the activities for which it is insured.

You will not be covered for general wear and tear or any damaged caused by, for example vermin. You will also not be covered for rugs, grooming kits, hats and other such items. Such limitations will be noted in the terms and conditions of your policy.

Generally most insurance companies will base the settlement on the actual value at the time of loss, therefore if when you take out your policy your saddle is new you should insure it for its full value. When your policy is up for renewal it may be worth decreasing the value depending on the current condition and market value of the saddle.

The security requirements will vary between insurance companies but with KBIS if your tack is being kept in a yard where there are more than 10 horses then an alarmed tack room would be required. In all other cases the tack must be kept in a secure building and the doors must be locked with a deadlock and any windows securely locked. If you are unable to meet the security requirements then it may be worth speaking to your insurance company as a compromise may be able to be reached.

Such conditions of your insurance policy will be stated in the policy terms and conditions.

Trailers & Horsedrawn Vehicles

Under a horse policy with KBIS your trailer or horse drawn vehicle would be covered whilst immobilised and whilst being towed for any damage or physical loss up to the sum insured.

Such policies would not cover you for any legal liability to third parties, this should be covered under the insurance of the towing vehicle. It would also not include any general wear and tear or mechanical breakdown.

Yes your insurance does provide cover should your trailer or horse drawn vehicle be damaged or destroyed whilst you are towing it, but it only covers the trailer and not the towing vehicle.

You do not need to have your trailer in a secure building but it will need to be immobilised when it is not in use. A wheel clamp and hitch lock would be the ideal but the exact terms will be stated in your policy terms and conditions.

As long as you are not receiving any form of payment for transporting the horse or transporting horses as a business you will normally be covered under your policy. If in doubt you should ask your insurance company.

If you let someone else use your trailer/horse drawn vehicle as a one off and do not receive any payment it would not affect your cover. However if someone is regularly using your trailer, using it for businesses purposes or is partly responsible for its security and maintenance then you should contact your insurance company as this may affect your cover.

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