Whether you are the owner of a single horse, the proprietor of a boarding stable, or a horse trainer, be assured there is an insurance policy that is right for you. Indeed, equine insurance is so varied these days there are even policies that cover stallion infertility and injury in an airplane! The topic of insurance—if it is worth it and how much you need . . . can be confusing. Different types of equine insurance are outlined below. Please see your insurance agent and/or your lawyer to determine the type and amount of coverage you need.

Individual Horse Owners Liability
If you are an individual horse owner, you need to be covered for any damage or injury—both property and bodily—that your horse may cause. It is not unlikely your horse will bite or kick someone, or damage property.  The first thing you should do is check your homeowners policy to determine whether it covers injury or damages caused by your horses. If these things are not covered in your current homeowners policy, you should contact an equine insurer to determine what types of additional coverage you need. The insurance agent or your lawyer can help you determine how much coverage you need. It is important to note it a judgement against you is more than your liability insurance limit, the balance comes out of your personal assets. A good rule of thumb is the more personal assets you have, the more coverage you need. 
            This type of coverage is generally available to individual owners of personal or show horses who do not derive income from their horses. Coverage should include the promise to pay all sums you are legally obligated to pay for bodily injury and property damage arising from horse ownership, plus the cost to defend you.

Commercial Equine Liability
Commercial liability is very important to those who perform any commercial equine activities such as boarding, instruction, training, and breeding. This coverage protects you in the case you are sued by a third party who is injured or whose property is damaged. The coverage should be tailored to the specific nature of your business. While the premiums might be expensive, it is very important to get enough insurance coverage, as any damage that exceeds your policy limits will come out of your personal assets. Again, the more personal assets you have, the more coverage you need.

Equine Professional Liability Coverage
This type of insurance provides coverage and defense fees resulting from any negligent act, error, or omission by the insured's professional equine activities. If you derive income from horses you should check with your insurer or lawyer to determine if you need this type of insurance, alone or in addition to Commercial Equine Liability.

Care-Custody-Control
If you have horses in your care that you do not own, you may need this type of insurance. If a horse in your care is injured, becomes sick, or dies, this type of coverage protects you. This type of coverage is generally available with various limits as an addendum to your Commercial Equine Liability or Farm policy, and usually includes coverage for non-owned tack.

Infertility
If you have a stallion or stallions that you breed, infertility insurance provides coverage if the insured stallion or stallions has an accident, illness, or disease that prevents them from impregnating mares. If you have a large breeding facility or a very expensive and irreplaceable stallion from which you derive income, you may want to consider this type of coverage. Your insurer or lawyer should be able to help you do a cost benefit analysis to determine if you would benefit from this type of insurance, and if so how much coverage you need.

Mortality
This is the type of insurance that can be most confusing to the horse owner. It is necessary to insure your house, car, or property because these are things you can't live without. In general, no matter how much we love them, this does not hold true for horses. Horses are fairly fragile creatures, and are prone to injury and illness. Whether or not to insure your horse, and for how much, basically boils down to how much you need the horse, whether you can afford to replace him, and your risk tolerance. How you use your horse will certainly factor into your decision. If your top-level dressage horse is the result of years of expensive training and you want to replace him with an animal of similar quality, you will probably want to insure the horse for his full value. The same would most likely hold true if you owned an expensive, well-known stallion that generated revenue for you. If your horse if of lesser value and you can afford to replace him it may not make sense to pay the premiums. Again, it pays to do a cost benefit analysis before making any decisions. Livestock mortality is basically a life insurance policy for your horse, with you as the beneficiary. It provides coverage for death of any cause except those exclusions which are stated in the policy. The insurance pays the actual value of the horse at the time of the accident or illness causing the horse's death, not to exceed the value specified in the policy. Some policies also pay you if your horse is stolen.

Major Medical
If you are on the fence about mortality insurance for your horse, you may decide in favor of it because major medical insurance is only available if the horse is insured for mortality. A major medical policy means that should your horse suffer an illness or injury and can only be saved by surgery or expensive treatment, you will not have to make any difficult decisions due to lack of cash. Major medical insurance reimburses the veterinarian's fees for surgery, major illness, and disease. Deductible and per year limits vary by policy. As equine medicine can be quite expensive, major medical is really worth it to the horse owner without a lot of cash reserves. If you have no concerns about medical expenses and enough money to pay for potential veterinary expenses you probably do not need this type of insurance, although you might want to reconsider if your animal is illness or injury prone.

Surgical
Should your horse require surgery, this endorsement will cover the cost. Deductible, per year limits, and the percentage the policy will pay for hospitalization, x-rays, medication and lab tests vary by policy. Check with your insurer to determine if you need this endorsement in addition to or instead of major medical.

Loss of Use
Those who derive revenue from or use their horses for livelihood probably want to explore the Loss of Use rider. If your horse becomes totally and permanently incapable of fulfilling the functions for which it is used, but its condition does not require destruction for humane reasons, you may suffer a financial loss. If you determine you need this type of coverage, make sure you look at the individual policies carefully. Most policies pay a percentage of the horse's value when it has been determined that it can not be used in the way stated on the policy. Many policies reserve the right to take the animal upon payment. If you can't imagine life without the insured horse, useful or not, find a policy that pays a percentage and allows you to keep your horse. For example, some policies pay 75 percent of the horse's value if they take it, and 50 percent if you choose to keep your horse.

• • • • • 
These are some of the more common types of insurance available to horse owners. For insurance tailored to your specific individual or business needs, contact an equine insurance specialist. Remember, while the amount of coverage needed varies from person to person everyone, whether you are an individual horse owner or a commercial enterprise, needs adequate liability coverage. It is important to protect yourself, your assets, and your horses with the right equine insurance.