AIUA Equestrian Insurance Review

• Your horse must be between the ages of 30 days and and 15 years (Horse aged 16+ can be insured under the veteran policy).
• Your horse must be free from injuries, illness, disease and any vices at the inception of the policy.
• You must insure your horse for it's current market value and review the sum insured on a regular basis.
• You must take all reasonable precautions to ensure the safety of your horse and any other property that is insured.
• You must arrange and pay for an annual dental examination, vaccinations against tetanus and equine influenza, a veterinary recommended worming programme, keeping a record of the results, and regular foot care carried out by a registered farrier.
• You must adhere to the DEFRA (Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) Code of practice for the welfare of Horses and Ponies.
• You must take all reasonable precautions to ensure anyone riding or handling your horse has the experience to do so and only use your horse for the activities listed in your policy schedule.

AIUA offer two options for vet fees cover;

£3,000 maximum benefit per period of insurance with a maximum time limit on any claim of 12 months, or
£5,000 per incident with an overall maximum benefit of £10,000 per period of insurance with a maximum time limit on any claim of 12 months.

When your horse turns 16, you are eligible for the veteran policy which covers vet fees for accidental external injury only up to £1500 per incident with a maximum overall benefit limit of £3,000 per period of insurance.

Some Horse Insurance issues can arise when a customer finds out that a particular claim is not covered. In many cases this is because the customer just wasn't aware of a particular exclusion.

It is absolutely essential that you read the policy wording carefully to make sure you are fully understand the policy you are buying. You may find our comprehensive guide to horse insurance helpful, in the meantime we have highlighted important exclusions that we think you should know about below.

AIUA do not cover:

1. The cost of vaccinations, castrations, or any other preventative treatment.
2. The removal of wolf teeth, or the cost of any dental treatment unless your horse has had a dental examination carried out by a vet or qualified equine dentist in the last 12 months before the incident you are claiming for.
3. Melanomas, cancerous tumours or growths on any horse, which is classed, described or defined as grey in colour in any form and aged 12 years or over.
4. Rehabilitation costs including livery charges, riding, leading, lunging, or the use of a horse walker.
5. The cost of treatment to a horse's fee, if they have not been seen by a registered Farrier.
6. Diet Food, or any supplement, including dietary supplements
7. Any costs involved in organ transplants, including any loss or damage as a result of Your Horse undergoing organ transplants.
8. Any costs involved in your horse under-going stem cell and/or gene therapy treatment including any loss or damage as a result of Your Horse undergoing such treatment.
9. The cost of treatment for gastric ulcers, unless they have been diagnosed by gastroscopy. (Once a claim for gastric ulcers has been accepted, ongoing treatment for gastric ulcers must be reassessed by gastroscope at three-month intervals. If, at any reassessment, the ulceration is found to have resolved, the cover for such treatment will cease).
10. Any costs that are as a result of buying or hiring equipment/machinery and used for preventative purposes.
11. Any costs for Treatment that relate to an Illness or Disease resulting from your horse being overweight, unless the weight gain is as a result of a diagnosed Illness or Disease.
12. Any loss or incident that occurs when Your Horse is
    (i) tethered, or
    (ii) has escaped or purposefully released from a tether.
13. Any loss on land that your horse does not have permission to graze on.

UIUA split activities into 3 groups.

Group A covers Hacking and Elementary Disciplines.

Group B covers medium to advanced competitions

Group C covers Advanced disciplines, including Point to Point and anything that falls under the FEI rules and regulations.
(Note :- Group C has to be referred to the Insurer before it can be accepted.)

You are unable to reduce the class of use mid way through your policy. We recommend thinking carefully about what you intend to do with your horse before, choosing a category, because if you or your horse get injured taking part in an activity that you are not insured for, any claim is normally excluded.

UIUA Vetting requirements are as follows;

1. Valued £5,000 and over; 5 stage BVA (British Veterinary Association) Certificate.
2. Valued in excess of £2,000 if the horse is aged 10 yrs and over; 2 stage BVA Mortality Certificate.
3. Where a horse has been owned for more than one year without insurance; 2 stage BVA Mortality Certificate.
4. Valued £10,000 and over; 5 stage BVA Certificate and x Rays.

If your horse has been previously insured and there is no break in cover, the above vetting requirements may not apply.

You the Insured, or anyone else who has your permission to ride or handle the insured horse.

The policy covers up to £1500 for alternative treatments. This amount is included within the vet fees limit.

Alternative treatments are described as Acupuncture, Chiropractic manipulation, homeopathy, osteopathy or physiotherapy. The Alternative Treatment must be carried out either by a Veterinary Surgeon or a therapist who holds a UK recognised qualification in the subject they are providing the Alternative Treatment for.

Remedial, therapeutic and/or surgical farriery carried out by a Farrier registered with the Farriers Registration Council (FRC).

Hydrotherapy carried out either by a Veterinary Surgeon or by a therapist who holds a UK recognised qualification

The alternative treatment must be recommended by your veterinary surgeon and must be re-authorised by them at three-month intervals, from the date of the last recommendation.

If your vet is unable to confirm beyond reasonable doubt that the cause is not related to a behavioural problem, AIUA will only pay up to £1,000 of the diagnostic costs.

In respect of farrier costs, a deduction of £65 for a full set of horse shoes, or £35 for a pair of horse shoes will be made to reflect the cost of normal shoeing. If the Horse is not normally shod and is barefoot, a deduction of £40 for all four feet will be made to reflect the cost of the feet being tended to.

If your horse dies from accidental injury, illness or disease within 12 months of the incident, or has to be destroyed as per the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) guidelines, AIUA will pay the market value or sum insured whichever is the lower amount.

Death from Melanomas, cancerous tumours or growths on any horse defined as grey in colour aged 12 years or over and
death by destruction of the horse as a result of behavioural problems are not covered.

Under the veteran policy, only death by accidental external injury is covered.

All policies include up to £150 to cover disposal and euthanasia costs.

If your horse is lost or stolen and not recovered within 60 days, AIUA will pay the market value or sum insured whichever is the lower amount. They will also pay up to £200 to cover the cost of advertising and any reward.

This section is optional and covers theft, accidental loss or damage of your saddlery and tack up to the market value of either a maximum of £1,000, or £2,000 depending on the level of cover chosen.

The policy does not cover clothing or personal effects, or loss or damage by wear and tear, or gradual deterioration. Theft is excluded unless it is from a totally enclosed and building with a door locked by a five lever mortice deadlock and securely locked windows.

This optional section covers 100% of the market value or sum insured of your horse whichever is lower, if your horse sustains an accidental injury, or specifically diagnosed illness or disease, which permanently prevents your horse from fulfilling the functions or duties for which it is kept and insured.

The settlement amount is reduced to 60% if your horse can still be ridden or used for breeding purposes.

Provided the incident takes place within the period of insurance and the treatment is in progress, AUIA will extend the term of this section of cover to 104 weeks, from the date the incident occurred.

The policy does not cover disfigurement which makes your horse unsuitable for showing because of its appearance, any condition which is considered a vice or behavioural problem, degenerative disease in horses over the age of 14, and or Melanomas, cancerous tumours or growths on any horse described or defined as grey in colour in any form, aged 12 years and over.

Loss of use is not available under the Veteran policy.

You can choose to cover yourself and any person riding or handling the horse with your permission against Personal Accident.

The policy covers death and or permanent disablement up to £20,000 and includes cover for dental treatment required up to £1,000.

There is no cover for anyone aged 65 and over.

You can insure up to 3 horses under the same policy.

AIUA horse insurance excludes any pre-existing conditions. These are described as;

Any Accidental Injury, Accidental External Injury, Illness or Disease that has
(i) happened before inception of the policy or the date from when your horse has been added to your policy after the inception or renewal date.
(ii) shown the same symptoms, clinical signs or diagnosis before inception of the policy, regardless of whether your veterinary surgeon confirms the past and current symptoms or clinical signs are not linked.
(iii) the same diagnosis which presents in the same or different part of the body regardless of whether your veterinary surgeon confirms the past and current accidental injury, accidental external injury, illness or disease are not linked.

The policy excludes any loss that arises from the horse being in foal and the horse has never been in foal or had a successful foaling before the current loss.

Claims relating in any way to the horse being in foal except where the attending vet deems the birth to be complicated and needing treatment in an immediate attempt to save the horse’s life.

The policy excludes cover for any Accidental Injury, Illness or Disease, or death arising from accidental injury, illness or disease that has happened within the first 14 days of the start of your horse insurance policy.

Loss of use claims are excluded for the first 30 days from inception/addition of cover which is as a result of Illness, Accidental Injury or Disease sustained by the horse, unless the loss is caused by an Accidental External Injury.

AUIA charges the following excesses

£3,000 vet fees excess £185

£5,000 vet fees excess £210 or £500

Saddlery and Tack sum insured £1,000 excess £100 or sum insured £2,000, excess £150

Personal Accident excess £100

Veteran policies excess £125

Third Party Liability excess £250

The Website provides some information about the products, but it is really designed for the broker to get a quote on the customers behalf.

Horse Insurance is complicated and there are many terms and conditions to adhere to.

However the layout of the 33 page AIUA policy wording does not help the reader. For example the text is all black with no colour coding for easier reference. The policy includes an index, but there is no summary of cover.

In readability tests, the text scored 22.5 out of 100 and was classed as very difficult to read, with a reading age of graduate level and above required, to be able to understand the policy wording.

We were unable to find any customer reviews on AIUA's horse insurance.

Currently there are no special discounts or promotions.

The AIUA horse insurance policy has good levels of cover. We awarded the policy with £5,000 of vet fees cover our 4 star rating.

We are unable to comment on how competitive the insurance is, because you have to go through a insurance broker or agent to obtain a quote.

The policy wording is a bit complicated and not the easiest to read or understand. If you are looking for above average levels of insurance for your horse, then AIUA is definately worth contacting.