NFU Mutual Equestrian Insurance Review

Your horse must be between the ages of 30 days to 19 years of age inclusive. (Veteran policy 16 - 30 years inclusive).

You must take reasonable care to prevent accidents, illness or damage and keep claims as low as possible.

You must do everything reasonable to look after your horse, including appropriate worming and vaccination, regular foot care by a registered farrier and annual dental checks.

You are expected to comply with any relevant statutory requirements or regulations imposed by any authority.

You should ensure that any person responsible for the care, custody and control of your horse adheres to the terms and conditions of the policy.

NFU Standard horse insurance covers vet fees up to £5,000 per incident caused by an accident, illness, or disease. The claim is restricted to the benefit limit or 12 months whichever comes first

NFU Veteran horse insurance covers vet fees up to £5,000 per incident caused by an accident only. The claim is restricted to the benefit limit or 12 months whichever comes first

In addition both policies cover up to 50% of hospital livery costs if it is necessary for your horse to be hospitalised and reasonable transportation costs to get your horse to the veterinary hospital.

Many customer issues with insurance are as a result of a claim being declined or a settlement amount less than the customer was expecting. Not all, but a significant number of these issues are caused as a result of the customer either not reading the policy wording, or understanding the meanings of the terms and conditions that have been applied to the policy. 

It is important that you read the policy wording carefully to understand what is and isn't covered. We appreciate that not all policy wordings are easy to understand and horse insurance is no exception. To help you with this we have highlighted some of the important exclusions.

NFU Mutual do not cover;

1. Routine health care including routine farriery, elective treatment or wolf teeth removal.
2. The cost of investigation into or treatment of behavioural problems unless directly due to a physical condition.
3. The cost of castration, cryptorchid castration or any associated or subsequent treatment, unless your vet certifies in writing that complications have arisen and that emergency treatment has become necessary to save the life of your horse.
4. Further treatment of your horse after a loss of use claim has been paid.
5. Tetanus claims unless your horse has had a current tetanus vaccination.

NFU mutual have decided to list what isn't covered under each type of class of use

Class 1 use includes all activities except:
Advanced eventing;
Polo;
Team chasing;
Ice tolt;
Promotional, film or stunt work;
Horse boarding or horse surfing;
Racing.

Class 2 use includes all activities except:
Ice tolt;
Promotional, film or stunt work;
Horse boarding or horse surfing;
Racing.

Class 3 use includes all Class 1 activities plus any other specific activities that are listed on your schedule of insurance.

There is no information provided by NFU regarding their vetting requirements, so you would need to contact them direct.

NFU cover any person named under Horse Rider cover on your schedule, rather than a blanked approach covering anyone with your permission.

The NFU policy covers complementary treatments and alternative husbandry.

Complementary treatments are described as Remedial farriery, remedial dentistry, hydrotherapy, acupuncture, physiotherapy or chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation, carried out on your horse by a qualified person and recommended by your vet.

Alternative Husbandry is described as the additional costs of renting a stable, different bedding, feed or feed supplement required by your horse, specified by a vet and agreed by the NFU, less the normal costs of a reasonable level of care for your horse. If rubber matting is recommended NFU will pay up to 50% of the total cost.

NFU will pay the market value or sum insured for your horse whichever is the lower if your horse dies or has to be put to sleep as a result of an accident, illness or disease.

If treatment is in progress, but your horse dies or has to be put to sleep, NFU will pay the death benefit provided that death occurred within 104 weeks from the date of the incident.

Euthanasia can be performed without the written consent of NFU provided the vet can confirm that the injury could not be treated and the suffering is so excessive that it is not humane to keep the horse alive.

This criteria is in accordance with the current British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) Guidelines for the Destruction of horses under All Risks Mortality insurance policies.

Exclusions

The policy does not cover death caused by behavioural problems unless directly due to a physical condition.

You will be expected to arrange and pay for a post mortem report.

The veteran policy only covers your horse in the event of an accident.

The NFU will pay up to £250 for a bona fide disposal centre to dispose of the body.

NFU standard horse insurance will pay the market value or sum insured for your horse whichever is the lower if your horse is stolen or mysteriously disappears.

The policy also covers rescue costs, advertising and reward costs and irrecoverable entry fees up to £750.

NFU define saddlery and Tack as Saddles, bridles, harnesses, lead reins, halters, head collars, stirrups, stirrup leathers, girths, numnahs, rugs, blankets and other equine clothing, grooming kits, first aid kits and clippers, which belong to, or are the responsibility of you.

NFU will pay for unexpected and unintended loss, theft or damage to your tack. This will be the cost of repairing or replacing the items, whichever is less.

Exclusions

Theft from a building unless there has been forcible and violent entry.
Theft from a caravan, unattended motor vehicle or unattended horse trailer, unless all items are concealed from view, all windows are closed, all access points are locked and there has been forcible and violent entry.

This is an optional section you can choose to cover. The NFU will pay 80% of the market value or sum insured whichever is lower, less the value of your horse taking into account the horses specific disability and whether you are still able to use the horse (e.g. for breeding), if your horse is unable to perform one or more of the uses for which it is kept and insured for as the result of an accident, illness or disease.

You must allow the horse a minimum of three months to recover and if treatment is in progress but ultimately fails, NFU will still pay the claim within 104 weeks of the original incident.

Exclusions

NFU will not pay for the the inability of your horse to be a show animal; -due to any wound, scar or blemish, -solely as a result of being barred from participating in shows due to regulations laid down by any breed society or other governing body, in respect of horses that

• Have been operated on for their wind, or -have any congenital or hereditary abnormalities;
• The inability of any HORSE to perform the duties of a stallion at stud;
• Behavioural problems unless directly due to a physical condition.

Horses must be over 3 years old (horses under 3 are covered for in hand showing only) and this cover does not apply to the veteran policy.

NFU will pay up to £20,000 in the event of you or anyone named on your insurance schedule dying or suffering total disability , loss of limb, sight, speech or hearing as the result of an accident whilst taking part in an insured activity with your horse.

You are insured for all activities apart from ice tolt; promotional, film or stunt work; horse boarding or horse surfing; racing, except pony racing or point-to-pointing. This includes whilst a horse is in your care or while being transported to or from the insured activities.

A claim can be paid up to 104 weeks from the date the accident occurred and includes cover for dental work and temporary total disability and hospital benefit.

Personal Accident cover is only available for those between the ages of 5 to 75.

Exclusions

The policy excludes an accident directly or indirectly arising from or in connection with:

• pregnancy or childbirth;
• suicide or deliberate self-injury;
• alcohol or drugs;
• any business or profession;
• riding establishment activities except where you are a paying customer.

If you are under the age of 18 and have missed education, NFU will pay up to £1,500.

There is no mention of the number of horses you can insure under the same policy.

NFU Mutual will not pay any claim which directly or indirectly arises from, or is connected with:

• Any accident which happened or physical condition which first appeared before the start of the insurance.
• Any accident, illness, disease or condition that happened, manifested, was present or had been diagnosed in your horse before the start of the policy or, was the subject of a previous claim under an existing policy, including but not limited to;
• Any form of arthritis (including but not limited to bone spavin and degenerative joint disease).
• Any colic episodes where previous surgical colic has been performed.
• Sarcoids.
• Tendon or ligament strains, sprains or ruptures occurring in the same or opposite limb.
• Lameness associated with structures within the foot recurring in the same limb or happening in the opposite limb.

NFU Mutual exclude pregnancy, parturition or investigations into infertility, unless your vet certifies in writing that complications have arisen and that emergency treatment has become necessary to save the life of your horse or its unborn foal.

There is no cover under the policy for the first 14 days in respect of any claim for illness, disease or condition.

You have to pay the first £145 of every separate claim for vet fees.

You have to pay the first £250 of any third party liability claim.

The website provides some information on the NFU horse insurance policy. It highlights some of the selling points, but doesn't go into much detail. Although you have access to the policy wording, you are not told about any excesses, vetting requirements.

NFU mutual require you to contact them by phone to get a quote, so make sure you have a list of any questions you need to ask them.

The policy wording is 50 pages long, although this does include not only the standard policy, but veteran and rider only policies.

There is no summary of cover, although some of the sums insured are mentioned within the specific section. There is an index, to help with navigation. Like other policies, there has been no real effort made to modernize the layout and help the customer.

NFU do put the relevant definitions used at the top of each section and we found it a bit easier to comprehend than some other policies. Even so in our tests, the wording only scored 27.3 out of 100 and was classed as very difficult to read with a graduate level and above reading ability required to be able to understand the text.

NFU have received over 300 reviews on trustpilot in the last 12 months. Their overall rating is 2.8 out of 5.

Although reviews relate to all types of insurance, we managed to find some reviewing horse insurance. Some reviewers had issues with administration and claims settlement, although there were also some positive reviews in respect of claim settlement as well.

There are currently no special discounts or promotions

The NFU horse insurance policy provides comprehensive levels of cover and we have given the policy a 5 star rating. There are fewer terms and conditions than some of the other policies and extra cover such as the equine rescue service and holiday cancellation cover, although the policy wording is not really that consumer friendly.

We cannot comment on whether or not horse insurance is competitive as there is no facility to obtain a quotation online.

If you need comprehensive horse insurance, read the policy carefully to make sure you understand it fully and contact NFU direct to obtain a quote for your horse.