Horse insurance is not a ‘one size fits all’ product and you need to understand what types of cover your horse’s insurance policy includes to ensure it is suitable for you and your horse’s needs.
A typical horse insurance police may cover:
Veterinary fees: this covers many non-routine vet’s bills for injuries and diseases during the policy period
All risks mortality (ARM) insurance: this will reimburse you all or part of the value of your insured horse if he dies in a particular way during the duration of the policy. However, insurance may not pay out if you choose to have the horse put down, even if you believe this is in the horse’s best interests on welfare grounds
Permanent loss-of-use cover: this insures against permanent loss of use of an insured horse for a specific task/sport due to accident, disease or illness
Before taking out a policy you need to make sure you understand what is and what isn’t included in the cover. You may find it useful to ask the underwriter/broker the following questions:
What is the excess that I will have to pay? Is it a percentage of the claim or a fixed amount?
Up to what age is my horse covered by my policy?
Is there a limit to the amount I can claim for diagnostic investigation?
Does the veterinary fee limit apply to each illness or is it a total limit?
If my horse has to go to an equine hospital, are livery costs covered during his stay?
Does the policy cover physiotherapy, alternative or complementary treatments for my horse? And is there a limit to the amount that I can claim for these?
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Former web features editor, point-to-point editor and digital racing editor
Gemma is an experienced journalist, who was a member of H&H staff from 2014 to September 2025. She is passionate about all equestrian sports, including racing and point-to-pointing. She has enjoyed riding out for top trainers Nicky Henderson and Charlie Appleby and took part in a charity Flat race at Epsom in August 2018. Gemma’s has reported from numerous five-star events around Britain and Europe, as well as European championships.
