Horse and Pony Insurance

Providing reliable, professional insurance services for your horses, ponies & foals

Insurance for Horses, Ponies & Foals

This policy specialises in protecting you if your horse requires unexpected veterinary treatment or for the loss of your animal.

For a free quote for Horse or Pony insurance, please complete and submit the form below. Tack or trailer cover can be added – you simply select the cover you require.

If you are unsure of the cover that you require or want to see if there are other options of cover available, please contact us to discuss your requirements.

Once we have calculated your premium, you will be given the opportunity to purchase your insurance or save your quotation to review at a later date. 

For premiums of £150 and over, if you wish to pay by direct debit instalments please contact us on 01206 337388, so we can take your details and arrange for the instalments to be set up with Premium Credit Ltd.

Please note:
* Foals aged 30 days – 6 months can be insured but will require an individual quotation, please contact the office for more details. 

* For horses aged 16 years and over, submit the quote form, and we will email you an individual quote by email

If you have any queries or wish to discuss the options available, please call us on 01206 337388, Monday to Friday 9.00 am – 5.00 pm excluding bank holidays.

Horse and Pony Insurance - Image of a horse and rider jumping over a showjumping fence.

To receive your quote please complete the form below

If you are unsure of the cover that you require or want to see if there are other options of cover available, please contact us to discuss your particular circumstances.

Call us on 01206 337388 Monday to Friday 9.00am – 5.00pm excluding bank holidays

Contact us

At Carriagehouse we always do our best to offer personal expertise and advice with the most professional service.

If you have any questions or concerns, or just want to talk through your policy, do get in touch.

Please use the online claim forms to report any potential claims and follow any veterinary advice with regards to treatment of your horse.

Our opening hours are:

Monday to Friday 9.00am – 5.00pm excluding bank holidays

01206 337388

*Essential information

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Thank you for your enquiry, a member of our team will be in touch.

Frequently asked questions

What are the veterinary requirements in order to insure my horse?

The exact veterinary requirements depend on the value of your horse and how long you have owned him. As a guide the following is the minimum that applies but we reserve the right to request additional information if deemed appropriate.

New purchases:

Up to £3000, no veterinary information will be required.

over £3000, if you want veterinary fee or permanent incapacity cover a current 5 stage vetting certificate will be required

£10000 or over will require Xrays (see question below)

Horses owned and currently insured:

A copy of their renewal invitation confirming the cover provided and any exclusions attaching to them. We may request a copy of your horse’s veterinary history if there have been medical issues during your ownership. If relevant a copy of their original pre-purchase vetting certificate may also be requested.

Horses owned and uninsured:

A copy of their complete medical history from all the vets who have treated the horse during your ownership will be required. For a high value horses a current 5 stage vetting certificate will also be requested.

I am buying a horse and paying more than £10,000 – do I need Xrays?

Yes, in addition to a full 5 stage pre-purchase vetting certificate will we require a report on the xrays of all four feet (to include the Navicular bones), all fetlocks, both hocks and stifles.

What is the difference between Loss of Use (permanent Incapacity) and Death Cover?

Death cover is where either your horse or donkey dies or has to be put to sleep on a Vet’s recommendation to prevent immediate and further suffering. There are guidelines agreed between the insurance industry and the British Equine Veterinary Surgeons (BEVA) about when this applies. Within your policy wording these circumstances are defined as:

Slaughter or destruction of the horse due to an injury or it being afflicted with an excessively painful disease, and a veterinary surgeon is able to give a certificate confirming that the suffering of the horse is incurable and so excessive that immediate destruction was imperative for humane reasons to prevent further suffering

For policies from July 2016 onwards: the Death cover is divided into two sections – a) when euthanasia is warranted in emergency situations and b) death from critical illness or injury necessitating non immediate euthanasia.

Loss of Use cover however covers the grey area when your horse/donkey could be fat and happy in the field but is unable to perform the work that you require of him i.e. because of damaged ligaments etc. When you purchase Loss of Use cover, you need to tell us what the main use of your horse is.

Incidentally, a loss of use claim must be as a result of a physical problem following an accident, lameness or illness. So for driving horses who wont go back into the carriage following an accident due to being too scared but are still fully fit and healthy, you can’t claim loss of use.

I have a horse on loan. Can I insure him?

Yes, because he is in your care, custody and control and you have a financial interest in him. However, you need to tell us who he is on loan from, as the owners would be the beneficiaries if he died. You will also need to make sure the owners cancel any insurance they may have for the horse or donkey, since you can’t insure a horse or donkey twice.

I bought my horse for £2000, but he’s really worth £3000. Can I insure him for this?

Lucky you, it sounds like you got a bargain! Unfortunately, from an insurance point of view, you can only insure him for what you paid at this stage. We work on current market values so the figure you paid for him represents his current market value. However, if after a few months, you have successfully competed with him or schooled him on etc, then we can agree to increase the sum insured because of his progress. This also applies to donkeys or carriages and trailers that have been subject to restoration work

Can I just insure for veterinary fees as that is all I am worried about?

No, you have to have Death and theft on the reasonable value of your horse in order to be able to insure him for vets fees or for loss of use.

What height jumping can I go up to under class A?

Class A covers you to compete up to and including BE90 and British Novice i.e. 90cm.

BE100 &  BS Discovery i.e. 1m needs to go up to class C

What level of dressage can I work up to under class A?

Class A includes training and competing up to Elementary but once you start of the higher levels of collection and lateral work you need to increase the cover to Class C.

How much is horse insurance?

Basic Third Party Liability insurance can cost as little as £84 per year, per horse for £1,000,000 of cover. Comprehensive veterinary fee cover is more expensive and for a limit of £5000 per claim, you are looking at a minimum of £695.00 per annum based on a sum insured of £3000.

Is it worth buying horse insurance?

Horse Insurance is there to assist you with paying for unexpected veterinary treatment. It helps in the decision-making you might face if your horse requires emergency surgery or trying to track down the cause of a mysterious lameness. Accidents occur and liability claims, together with their defence costs, can run into thousands of pounds.

Do you need a vet certificate to insure a horse?

If you are buying your horse it is worth getting the horse vetted to establish that there are no obvious problems. Over certain values, insurance companies will expect a vetting certificate for new policies. Veterinary histories are also useful as they establish if the horse has had previous problems that might re-occur.

What should I insure my horse for?

At a minimum make sure you have third-party insurance in place. This is also known as public liability or legal liability. Thereafter you have to think of whether you wish the horse to be insured just for its value/purchase price or whether you want to also add a veterinary fee or loss of use cover.

Paying for your insurance

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 a cheque to us or

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

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