Horse Management Feature of the Month: Should You Insure Your Horse?
Equine Insurance 101
Owning a horse is as much a financial investment as it is an emotional one, and there are serious realities to consider. What if you own more than one horse? Should you insure every horse in your barn? If your horse dies, will you be able to afford another? Or should you consider an insurance policy to help offset the cost of replacing your horse?
Speaking from personal experience, I have not insured any of my horses, past or present. The decision was not a lack of love for my horses, but an economical one. For me, a college student with a few moderately valuable horses, the replacement cost is actually 
lower than purchasing an annual insurance policy for each horse. However, my neighbor, Peggy Cropsey, owner of Windsor Farms, chooses to insure some, but not all of her horses. “Benjamin, the horse I use for international combined driving events, is covered in case he is injured during competition or while we are traveling,” Peggy explains. “I also insure Shaymen, my Welsh Cob stallion, because of the financial investment made when I bought him. “Also,” she continues, “this year I leased two broodmares, Tia and Gracie. I had to purchase insurance for Gracie as part of the lease agreement, and Tia came to my farm with insurance coverage.”
Policies Available.
Most equine insurance companies have two basic types of coverage, while some might offer three. The two most common policies are full mortality and specified perils, also called limited risk.
“ Choosing an insurance policy is an important economic decision,” explains Rhonda Mack, an insurance agent who has 12 years of experience with Jerry Parks Insurance Group in Ocala, Florida.
Full Mortality covers death as a result of accident, sickness or disease. This is the broadest type of equine insurance and includes external and internal causes of death. Full mortality coverage also includes items specified under perils insurance and special accident policies. Because of the extensive coverage, this is the most expensive type of insurance.
Perils Insurance covers death as a result of fire, lightning, shipping and other causes explicitly outlined in the policy. This is the least expensive coverage because it only covers your horse for particular instances clearly stated in the policy. Your bill for a $50,000 broodmare covered by perils insurance would cost about 0.5 percent, or $250 a year.
Special Accident is the third type of coverage offered by some companies. Special accident policies cover death as a result of any external and visible accidents. This policy is less expensive than mortality coverage, but costs more than perils insurance because it includes external accidents and specified perils. However, it still excludes any internal factors.
Jerry Parks Insurance Group covers horses in large stables, on farms and at racetracks all over the United States and Canada. After working in the equine insurance business for more than a decade, Rhonda Mack can recall situations where insurance coverage would have been helpful. “One farm experienced a barn fire, which killed 22 horses and only one was insured,” she explains. “We have also had multiple horses die from one lightning strike.” This situation can happen when several horses stand near each other under the same tree that is struck. With all the summer thunderstorms in the South, death by lightening is, unfortunately, not uncommon.
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