Owning an equestrian property for many horse owners can be a dream come true but with it does come additional responsibilities, none less so than ensuring you have adequate insurance in place. The experts at KBIS British Equine Insurance explain more.
Equestrian property insurance policies
While a standard household policy may extend cover to include your stables and barns under the section Outbuildings, it is unlikely to provide cover for non-standard buildings, arenas, horse walkers, machinery, hay and straw and will certainly not cover you for any business activities such as livery.
Taking out specialist equestrian property insurance will mean you are able to cover your own home and contents and that of your horse’s, altogether under one policy. Including everything from timber stables, to show jumps, feed, farm machinery, saddlery and tack, arenas, gallops and even equine pools!
Cover options
Any insurer you approach should be able to explain the cover options available to you, but it is important that you relay relevant information as clearly as possible in order to ensure the policy will provide sufficient cover. When possible supplying pictures of buildings and the layout of your yard will help the insurer to fully understand your requirements:
- Ensure the sums insured are adequate – remember the policy works on a reinstatement basis, to put you back in the same position as before the loss.
- Have you described the building correctly – are they open sided or fronted?
- Do you have good physical security in place i.e. bars on the windows of tack rooms?
- Do you have any alarms systems installed?
- Is hay and straw kept on the premises, if so where?
- Do you want to extend cover to include accidental damage?
- Is it a private residential property or commercial?
Once you have relayed the relevant information your insurer will be able to provide you with a quote. While the premium will be affected by the degree of cover being provided, the two main influencing factors are the type of buildings and what they will be used for.
Building classifications
Equestrian Buildings can generally be classified into four descriptions; standard construction (brick, blocks or stone with a slate or tile roof), non standard construction (i.e. steel frame with timber cladding), timber and buildings used for the storage of Hay and straw. A timber barn used for the storage of hay and straw will be rated significantly higher than a row of brick stables.
If you are running a business from the property then you may want to consider protecting against business interruption, loss of earnings/profit following an insured peril.
In addition factors such as claims history and the location of the property, such as being at flood risk, will also affect the policy premium.
KBIS offer a comprehensive property policy from which you can choose the areas you wish to cover whether it is a private residential property or a commercial business. For further information visit KBIS British Equine Insurance, visit their website.