How to insure your horse

by Linda Ann Nickerson

"Only insure your horse, if you could not afford to replace him," a trainer once told me. Actually, this has turned out to be pretty good advice.

For many years, we did carry insurance for our horses. As our herd grew, however, this became prohibitively expensive.

WHAT SORTS OF POLICIES ARE AVAILABLE?

Horses may be insured against mortality (death by accident or illness), specified perils (fire, lightning or transportation damages), reproductive hazards and infertility, theft, and loss-of-use (disability). Loss-of-use is difficult to prove, and this coverage can be quite costly.

WHAT'S YOUR HORSE WORTH?

If your horse is worth a lot of money (as in, more than $10,000), then it may be worthwhile to purchase insurance to cover life or loss. If you paid $1,000 or less for your horse, then you may opt out of insurance. (This does not diminish the amount of love you have for your equine companion!)

Of course, an equine insurance premium is generally based on the value of a horse. Other factors include the horse's age, location and intended uses. Jumpers and eventers are costlier to insure than dressage horses. Horses who travel to shows may have higher premiums as well.

WHAT ABOUT FOALS?

In some cases, breeders will opt for in-utero insurance. This may cover stillbirths or even hazards of multiple conceptions (i.e., twins). Live foal insurance is another possibility, although many stallion owners offer rebreeding as a recourse.

Several insurance companies refuse to insure foals. Others offer limited policies, which change monthly, as the foal grows.

WHAT IF YOU HAVE SEVERAL HORSES?

If you have several horses, the insurance premiums can add up quite quickly. It's important to weigh the odds and determine whether the output is worth it.

WHAT ABOUT MEDICAL INSURANCE FOR YOUR HORSE?

Major medical insurance can be quite costly for horses. For example, coverage for a 10-year-old horse could be $500 or more per year. This does not cover shots, worming, joint injections, or other routine-classified procedures. Most policies will not cover x-rays, ultrasounds, or other diagnostics. Shock-wave therapy, equine massage, and chiropractice care are usually excluded as well.

Basically, major medical insurance protects the owner from massive surgical or hospitalization expenses.

In other words, if your horse should suddenly require colic surgery, you would be glad to have medical insurance. If your horse came up lame, your insurance coverage would be irrelevant.

READ POLICIES CAREFULLY.

Detailed exclusions apply to virtually all equine insurance policies. For example, will your insurance compensate you, if your horse dies from a snakebite or eating a poisonous plant? Can you file a claim for an injury he suffers during a foxhunt?

A wise horse owner will consider all possibilities before signing a contract. If you have any questions, ask your insurance carrier upfront.

Learn more about this author, Linda Ann Nickerson.

When insurance is prudent

by Perry McCarney.

Insurance can be defined as prudent when the financial harm caused by a particular event would be more damaging to you than the regular cost of the premiums. This harm may be to the person considering taking out the insurance policy, or to the ongoing circumstances of their loved ones.

In today's world, this covers an amazing range of possibilities, from models insuring their faces and track athletes insuring their legs to the basic standards of car, house and life insurance.

Some insurance policies are necessitated by law, although the degree of cover required may vary depending on state or country. In most places in the world, third party insurance is a minimum requirement for all car owners, so that any damage caused to others will be covered, although not your own.

Whether or not a particular type of insurance is logical or prudent for a person depends on their circumstances and social affiliations. But it is certainly prudent to consider not only those circumstances that are current, but also those that are foreseeable or desired in the future.

A young single person with no dependents might consider life insurance to be a waste of money that they could instead be spending on enjoying life now. However, for life insurance, the younger you start the higher the insured amount will be in comparison to the premium you pay; effectively the opposite to car insurance.

Most people eventually wish to partner with someone and start a family, at which time they recognize the need to have sufficient life insurance to support and care for their loved ones if the unfortunate happens. Even for those that decide to stay single, there may be family members or charity organizations they wish to bequeath financial resources to in the event of their death. It is therefore prudent to take out life insurance at your earliest convenience.

Health and dental insurance presents a similar situation; medical expenses for most occur in their later years, by establishing a policy early on you can spread and minimize your costs. Historic family vulnerabilities and lifestyle choices can dramatically affect risk analyzes however, so this is not a certainty for all.

Many employers offer health, dental and even life insurance to their employees as part of their benefits package, which can be very attractive. But nowadays, employment situations are considerably less secure than they have been in the past; having at least some level of independ

advised. When offered such packages it pays to check to see if they are transferable, especially if you are accepting a lower salary based on the package.

Deciding that an insurance policy for a particular circumstance is advisable is, however, but the first step. Taking out a policy with, and paying premiums to, a fly-by-night insurer will do you no good at all. If the cost of premiums versus the proposed payout sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

Consultation with friends, family and independent insurance brokers recommended by those you trust, is to be advised before consulting an insurance company. Before signing on the dotted line, you should always read the complete insurance policy, especially the smallest print and the most boring sections.

Unfortunately, many policies are still written in such obtuse legalese jargon as to be incomprehensible to even the greatest intellects that don't specialize in such matters. Do NOT be pushed into signing before consulting at least one independent lawyer who specializes in such matters. A knowledgeable friend might be best, but be absolutely certain that they really do understand such matters and are not merely attempting to impress you with their savoir-faire.

If the insurance salesman tries to manipulate you into signing without such consultation, they are NOT to be trusted. Discontinue your negotiations immediately. There is no shame in not being able to evaluate such complex documents without help. Consultation is not only sensible but also admirable, showing strength of character, rather than weakness. Begin the process again with worthy insurers instead.

Learn more about this author, Perry McCarney.

ent insurance is वेल

When insurance is prudent

बी A.W. Berry.

Insurance is often times prudent because it is a hedge against misfortune. Anyone who does not like risk may be inclined to want lots of insurance because it can really help a lot should an unfortunate circumstance arrive. What's more, many people experience some kind of adversity or another in their life and in many cases insurance can help with that. There are many reasons why insurance is prudent, a few of which are outlined below:

*Peace of Mind: It is nice to know if something bad happens, one's family will be taken care of, or the related bills will be paid, or the car will be fixed etc.

*Socially Responsible: Owning insurance is also socially responsible in some cases because sometimes life is about responsibility and taking care of dependents or those affected by others mistakes or unfortunate circumstances.

*Self Respecting: Owning insurance is a sign of self respect because it means one values their life and isn't just willing to put it on the line in the name of low probability of something bad happening.

*Risk Management: Insurance of any kind lowers risk in life. The more insurance one has the more assistance insurance companies can provide if necessary.

*Legally required: Often automobile and mortgage insurance can be a requirement rather than a choice. In these cases one simply has no choice but to be insured or face potential penalty.

*Future Insurance Protected: If one is insured, that insurance can generally not be taken away should one's circumstances change. However, if one doesn't have insurance and one experiences a need for insurance, an insurance provider may deny an application for insurance.

The Prudence of Knowing which Insurance is Right:

In addition to understanding why insurance is prudent, it is also helpful to know which type of insurance is prudent. The reason for this is because not everyone needs to be insured by every type of insurance product and not everyone can afford every type of insurance that is available because there are so many. In other words, it is also prudent to be able to distinguish between probable risk, and low risk. To illustrate, the list below demonstrates just how many types of insurance can be acquired, and this does no't include all the types of insurance available.

*Health Insurance *Life Insurance *Auto Insurance *Liability Insurance *Long term care insurance *Hazard Insurance
*Accidental death Insurance *Dental Insurance *Mortgage Insurance *Investment Insurance *

Insurance

All these insurances can add up to a tidy sum and if there is never an actual need for the insurance one may regret the decision financially. The inverse is true if one does need the insurance but didn't have it. For example, if one is a medical doctor and frequently performs operations, liability insurance can be a very good idea to protect against lawsuits. However, if one is in a profession that can not be so easily sued, the need for liability insurance declines.

Insurance is thus prudent, but it is not always prudent to have every kind of insurance. What's more, there are many types of sub-categories of insurance that may suite one's needs better than other policies. For example, if one doesn't have a family, a highly leveraged life insurance policy might not be as necessary as a more simple type of policy such as term life. Also, some insurance policies, such as employer health savings accounts may be tax deductible and thus financially prudent.

Summary:

Insurance is prudent for several reasons such as legal requirements, an insurance to be insured in the future, potentially better sleep, and social responsibility to family members and/or loved ones. Knowing this, it is also prudent to assess which type of insurance is wise and which types can be put on hold or avoided through savings or another financial instrument. There are many types of insurance to choose from, and thinking about one's own life and needs can assist in determining the wisest of policies to purchase.

Learn more about this author, A.W. Berry.