Equine Insurance in Orange County

Many of our clients in Orange County choose to purchase equine insurance to assist them in covering unplanned medical and surgical costs in the event of illness or injury to their horse. This contract is between the owner and the insurance company – not between EVA and the insurance company. When EVA renders services, the client pays EVA directly and seeks reimbursement from the insurance company. We assist our clients by providing supplementary paperwork as required by the insurance company to support the claim.

There are several different types of insurance you can purchase for your horse.  Most commonly, owners purchase mortality insurance to protect their investment if their horse should die.  Such horses are often insured for their purchase price, and in some occasions may be insured for slightly more than their purchase price if there is adequate data to support a higher valuation for the horse.

Unlike human insurance, equine insurance renews annually, and any conditions which have developed in the preceding year likely will be excluded from coverage on renewal. For example, if your horse has a lameness issue during the year,  when it is time to renew your policy, the insurance company may exclude covering that lameness problem in the future.  This tends to encourage owners to not report medical conditions to avoid exclusions at renewal, but if you read the policy on your horse carefully, you will likely discover that there is terminology requiring the owner to notify the insurance company whenever the horse is seen by a veterinarian for anything other than routine care. To not do so, may jeopardize a claim at a later date. It is the responsibility of the owner to stay in compliance with the conditions of the insurance policy.

It is also common to purchase major medical and surgical coverage in addition to the mortality coverage. By doing so, the insurance paid on a mortality claim will be available to replace the horse, rather than have to be used to pay veterinary bills.

There is also “Loss of Use” coverage, which will pay if the horse can no longer perform at its current occupation. This coverage is usually difficult to qualify for and is typically fairly expensive. 

Remember that the insurance policy is a contract between the owner and insurance company. The contract does not involve the veterinarian. The client is responsible for the medical bills and gets their reimbursement from the insurance company, unlike in human medicine where the Doctor bills the insurance on behalf of the client.