Carriage and Harness Insurance

There is no legal requirement in the UK to have insurance when driving a horse for private and social use. However, that doesn’t mean you aren’t liable for any damage you and the horse might cause, so our recommendation is that you ensure that you have a minimum of third-party liability cover. You can also insure your equipment against accidental damage and theft.

Lucky you, it sounds like you got a bargain! Unfortunately, from an insurance point of view, you can only insure the carriage for what you paid at this stage. We work on current market values so the figure you paid for the carriage represents its current market value. However, if you have your carriage restored and the value therefore increases then we can then agree to review the sum insured.

As a normal condition of our policies, carriages, tack and harness have to be kept in a securely locked building/premises when unattended unless agreed otherwise by ourselves. When we agree otherwise, this can include instances where they are chained & locked to something immovable. Effectively, this means that for a theft to be covered there has to be forcible & violent entry or exit from the building or breaking of the chains & locks. This is a standard definition as established by The Theft Act.

So what does this actually mean? It means that you do have a responsibility to look after your own property as if you where uninsured and keep it as securely as you can, i.e. if you leave your carriage or harness in a open fronted building, but don’t actually secure the carriage itself by chains or appropriate measures, you won’t be covered if it is stolen. There is no time limit on this, so it could be a matter of minutes or an hour, etc or where the carriage is normally kept. So if you go for lunch, leaving your carriage ready to use when you get back and it goes, you have no cover. This doesn’t preclude you from getting your horse ready, then getting your carriage ready whilst you bring the horse/donkey round to put it together, as the time scales are usually too small for a theft to take place. It really applies if the vehicle is left without anyone being in the area long enough for someone to see it and then have the necessary vehicle to take it away. Never under estimate the ingenuity of the carriage thief!

There are several important points of interest that people need to be aware of:

1) Gates don’t constitute security, as strong men can (and have been known to) lift carriages over gates/fences.

2) Horse boxes and trailers aren’t secure buildings, as both are moveable; and it is not unknown for them to be stolen with the carriage and/or equipment inside.

3) Also, mysterious disappearance is excluded under most policies because it doesn’t constitute a theft.

4) Nor does giving your carriage and/or equipment on loan or for pre-sale trial to another person who refuses to return it.

So why insure for theft? Well, most people keep their carriages and/or equipment under lock and key, so most of the claims made for theft are easily sorted. It is a good idea to photograph any property damaged during the theft, so that you can prove this. Always contact the police as you will need their details and a crime reference to make your claim. You must also expect the insurance company to investigate any claim that doesn’t fall within the normal cover and, on occasion, an assessor will visit you to go through what has happened in detail.

If you are unsure if your carriage or harness is, or can be, covered against theft, please call us to establish that the measures that you take are acceptable to us.

There are several ways of paying the annual premium and these are as follows:

For New Policies:

1) You can pay on this site via Opayo (Sagepay) with a credit or debit card. This option will be automatically offered when you complete the proposal form or

2) you can post cheque to us or

3) If the annual premium is over £150, you can pay over 10 monthly interest free Direct Debit installments.

NB: This is arranged by Premium Credit ltd. You will need to arrange this by calling us with your bank details and you will be required to sign a credit agreement for Premium Credit ltd.

For all other new policies, please see the methods of payment options on the quotation forwarded to you.

4) Or you can pay the premium by bank transfer to us.

For Renewal policies:

1) You can pay on this site via Opayo (Sagepay) with a credit or debit card or

2) you can post cheque to us or

3) If the annual premium is over £150, you can pay over 10 monthly interest free Direct Debit installments.

4) Or you can pay the premium by bank transfer to us.