As a horse owner, what do I need to know about Insurance in Idaho
As a horse owner, what do I need to know about insurance in Idaho?
When we think about our horses, we are thinking about trail rides, or barrel racing, or just the love between owners and horses. However, owning horses comes with risks of liability as well as the financial investment we have in our horses.
What would happen if:
Your horse escapes and causes a highway collision- We feel for the horses, but what is our liability?
Riders lose big in theft- What if a barn where I board is broken into and I lose thousands in tack?
Wildfire consumes farms several horses killed- With our increasing fire risk how is my livestock covered?
Child nearly dies after being kicked by horse- What happens when a child trespasses, and is kicked by a horse?
While we don’t want to think of these tragedies happening, all too often they do. As a horse owner we are compelled to do the right thing in any of these situations. We reduce our risk as much as possible, but it is still there. Are you sure your insurance policy will step in and do the right thing? Do you know specifically how your policy changes from home to trailer to trailhead? Are you confident your exposure is adequate? To learn more, read on.
Why we have insurance
When we think of insurance, we think of protecting the assets that we cannot afford to lose, our home, and vehicles.
There is another part of insurance that protects our assets in a different way. Liability protects you in case you or your company are legally responsible for anything that you or your family, (or your business) caused, including possibly the legal costs if incurred.
What are the types of horse owner’s policies?
Personal Horse Owners Policy
Do either of these fit your situation? I keep my horse at home, but travel to events, and/or I have more than one horse. In either of these situations, you should check to see if your homeowner’s policy covers your exposures. If not, you should consider asking for an amendment or endorsement to your policy, or you may even need a separate supplemental insurance policy. Also, if you have an excess liability, or umbrella policy, you need to make sure that it is accurate for your unique situation. In fact, a specialized small farm package policy may be the correct fit for your situation.
Don’t forget though, we have liability even if our horses never leave the property. Horses may be considered an “attractive nuisance”, like a pool or a rope swing in the front yard; you may find an unwanted visitor in your pasture.
How much will this supplemental insurance cost?
Of course, the cost of insurance depends on your unique situation, but typically for around a dollar or less a day, you can be insured up to $300,00 per year or an aggregate of $600,000 Please give me best amounts to insert here.
What about Professionals?
Let’s have a common definition of a professional who works with horses: Insurance companies often think of it this way: A person who is compensated for an activity that pertains to horses such as teaching, training, boarding, breeding or racing. Every one of these activities presents a unique exposure and this will dictate the policies that you need.
Let’s think about this situation. You own a farm with a horse business such as riding or a boarding facility. To make sure you are covered correctly, a farm policy package should reflect your unique business.
If you are boarding horses, you need to think of insurance that covers the care, custody, and control of your boarded horses. As careful as everyone is, accidents can happen, broken legs and bites come to mind, and just the emergency vet bills can be overwhelming.
If you are an independent trainer or instructor you need to have your own policy to protect you because you don’t own the facility where you work. Some farm packages allow for this extra liability, but only for the time they are physically on the property. When traveling, the trainer may not have the liability protection they need if they do not have the correct coverage.
Theft
Given the nature of barns and their location, tack may be susceptible to theft. Most farm policies will allow you to schedule, with the specific values, your equipment. Many farm policies will cover you for a certain amount of tack ($2500 to $5000), but when we look at our equipment, to replace it new would often far exceed this amount. In some cases you may find coverage in your average homeowners personal property limit. It is super important to take pictures and save receipts whenever possible to insure the full value of your stuff, plus you will be amazed at your inventory!
Excess liability or umbrella insurance
As explained in this article: Three reasons you should have an umbrella policy, a policy such as this protects us when our assets are greater than our basic policies Why should I choose jan jesberger insurance?
Toni is our farm expert. She is an avid trail rider and horse lover. As an independent agent, she represents many companies and can find the correct coverages for your situation. Please give her a call at 208-762-2122, or email her here for your free horse insurance analysis.