Vet fees cover is the number one reason why so many owners choose to take out a horse health insurance policy. It gives peace of mind and reassurance that should illness or injury strike, youll have the funds in place to help your horse as best you can. Not everyone is in a position to be able to fund unexpected vet costs, which is why they trust their insurance provider to do it for them.Its often when finances become tight that we question the need to have insurance and we ask is the cost worth it?. Any equine can suddenly fall ill with colic, get kicked in the field and be badly injured, or be diagnosed with a serious health issue that requires ongoing treatment to keep it under control, like gastric ulcers. These are just three examples of how quickly you can find yourself building up a hefty vet bill.Top causes of horse health insurance claimsGastric ulcers is the leading cause for horse owners making a claim against their health horse insurance policy. According to figures released by SEIB Insurance Brokers, gastric ulcers accounts for 71% of claims for digestive disorders in 2023. More than half of these claims were for over 3,000. This is a rise of 700 compared to 2022, when the cost of gastric ulcers claims averaged 2,459 and accounted for slightly fewer claims (59%).Colic also triggered a high number of claims, as colic surgery alone can run to thousands of pounds.SEIB revealed that another leading cause for claims in 2023 was horses who had suffered an external injury as a result of an accident or trauma, such as a fall, kick or cut. The average cost of these was just over 1,100 and 50% occurred while the horse was stabled or turned out, rather than being ridden.Do you need horse health insurance?I have had some of my horses insured in the past, but not all of them. Its a topic that people feel strongly about, and what one person thinks wont suit another. However, in my experience its usually when you can afford it least that your horse injures themselves or becomes ill, prompting an eye-watering veterinary bill to land in your inbox a few days later. Even if youve saved money to pay vets bills instead of having horse health insurance cover, you may find yourself having to choose between different treatment optionsbasedon your affordability. And once your pot of money has been used, what happens if your horse requires urgent veterinary treatment before you have replenished said funds?I know some owners set aside money to pay for veterinary bills often the same amount each month that an insurance premium would cost, says equine solicitor Rebecca Stojack, senior associate at law firm Geldards. This may seem a safe option, but it might only take one claim to wipe out your savings. Then, if your horse needs more treatment a short time later, you risk not having enough to fund their care. You should only forgo insurance if you can be sure that you can afford anything that comes your way.More causes of insurance claimsSEIBs report for 2023 also shows that claims for degenerative disease and development disorder averaged 2,232 last year, with both forelimbs being the most common cause and accounting for over a quarter of claims.Pay outs for other lameness averaged 2,474. Of these claims, 24% were caused by disease or injury, while problems with tendons and ligaments in one or both hindlegs triggered 16% of claims.Vets fees for teeth, gums and jaw disease was the sixth most claimed for, while a high number of claims for spavin and kissing spines means these conditions also appear in SEIBs top 10 reasons for horse health insurance claims last year.Going back a few years, the most claimed-for condition in 2018 by Petplan Equine policyholders was alsogastric ulcers. The total amount of claims it paid out for veterinary fees in that year came to over 1 million.At KBIS, 53% of veterinary fees claims between 2016 and 2018 were related to lameness in horses, and one in four holders of its leisure and competition policies made a claim.Where to buy horse health insuranceHere is a handy list of horse insurance companies that are well known in the industry:SEIB Insurance Brokers Horse Insurance OptionsPetplan Equine Get a QuoteAgria Get a QuoteKBIS Get a QuoteShearwater Insurance Equestrian Insurance OptionsNFU Mutal Equine Insurance OptionsThe Insurance Emporium Build Your Own Horse or Pony Insurance PolicyHorse Insurance Get a QuoteOther providers of horse health insurance include the Harry Hall One Club, whose members can opt in for Horse Vet Fees Insurance, while the charity World Horse Welfare offers its members horsesAccidental External Injury Insurance.Agrias equine lifetime insurance policy was the first of its kind when it was launched in the UK in September 2022, providingcover for vet fees up to 10,000 every year. Only issues/injuries that occur before the insurance policy is taken out are excluded and no exclusions are added after a claim is made, providing the policy is not cancelled or cover does not lapse.What is covered?Most horse health insurance policies will cover non-routine veterinary fees to a set amount. This amount will differ from provider to provider so check. You cant claim for routine treatments such as vaccinations, annual boosters or worming, but treatments that complement veterinary intervention, such as physiotherapy, remedial shoeing and acupuncture (provided theyre recommended by your vet as part of the claim), may be covered. Check the policy as this can depend on what level of cover you have.Alternative therapies, such as herbal treatments, are unlikely to be claimable. Some polices include hospitalisation fees and transport to and from the vets too. Check the small print. Any pre-existing conditions your horse may have will not be covered and its vital to inform your provider about these when taking out insurance. Dont delay this.With most policies, you have 12 months from the incident happening to the claim ending, or up to the list of the vet fee cover whichever comes first. KBIS offers 15 months from the incident happening to the claim ending.Horse owners often see vet fees as the most important part of insurance, as cover for the cost of diagnosis and treatment is a priority, says a spokesperson for Petplan Equine. Its worth checking the exact cover you get under your policy. Some policies with other insurers will have additional limits with the veterinary fees benefits for things such as diagnostic investigation, and may even exclude cover for some conditions.What are the limits of veterinary fees cover?There are two options here, so ask which your horse health insurance provider offers.Option oneThe first option provides cover for treatment up to the full veterinary fee limit you choose, with no additional hidden limits for each condition, so you can claim for as many different incidents as you need to. This is the ideal situation for most horse owners.Option twoThe second option, which is generally less popular with horse owners, is when the fee limit is per 12 months, not per incident. With this cover, if the limit for vet fees is 5,000, thats the maximum that can be paid out over the whole year, so if your horses vet bills exceed this amount, you may find that you have to fund some of the vet fees yourself.What is catastrophe cover?Some insurance companies offer catastrophe-only cover, but not all. It is a budget policy, which is an alternative to traditional horse insurance and is limited to claims for certain types of vets fees only.Our catastrophe cover covers your horse for accidental external injury (a cut on their leg, for instance), plus three life-saving procedures, explains KBIS. These are joint of tendon sheath flushing as a result of sepsis, colic surgery and surgery for pastern and pedal bone fractures. Usually only the surgery costs will be covered, and not hospitalisation or diagnostic fees.Horse health insurance for veteransSome insurance companies stop providing full vet fees cover to horses when they reach a certain age, often 16 or 17, when veteran cover starts and the horse is only covered for external injuries. Some providers, including Petplan Equine and KBIS, insure horses for illness and injury up to the age of 25. With Agrias lifetime cover, it is possible to insure a horse with full vets fees cover from the age of 30 days old until the day it days, no matter its age.Some horse owners take a risk by insuring their horse for a lower value that they are worth in order to keep insurance premiums lower, but still have vets fee covered. By very careful with this, though, as setting a horses value too low could mean you have restrictions imposed and, if the worst happens, you wont receive their full worth.Horse health insurance: do you really need it?I have owned a lot of horses, only a few of whom have been insured. The majority have not been because I confess that I have questioned the cost of having a policy in place, especially when I own several horses. However, I would not have been able to afford to take my ex-racehorse King Muro to the Royal Veterinary College for an MRI scan without his insurance cover from Petplan Equine, who very quickly approved his referral (within 24 hours). Without that scan, we would never have truly known what was going on inside his hooves.Similarly, when my sisters Thoroughbred Classic Action stood on himself while cross-country schooling and punctured his fetlock joint with a dirty stud, it was reassuring to know that he could be boxed up and taken straight to the nearest equine hospital. There he received a joint flush and the necessary treatment to make a full recovery, and NFU Mutual settled the bill quickly.When you need it, horse health insurance cover is invaluable and it does mean more diagnostics and treatment options are available. There have been times when Ive been forced to choose the more affordable treatment option for an uninsured horse based on my bank balance at the time. Sadly for one mare, that meant saying no to colic surgery and we had to have her put to sleep. That was a very sad day indeed.Final thoughtsIf youve had horse health insurance in the past but never made a claim for vet fees, you may be thinking its not worth it and all will be fine if you dont renew I get it! It isnt compulsory of course; its down to you as a horses owner to decide whether to take it out or not. The obvious risk if you choose to forgo horse health insurance is not being able to pay for any veterinary treatment or diagnostics your horse may need, so write down all the pros and cons on a piece of paper and use that to help you decide. As an absolute minimum you need to have third party cover and ideally personal accident in place, just in case you and your horse are involved in an incident.Main image: copyright ShutterstockRelated contentGastric ulcers in horses: why the time of day you ride and feed is so importantDo I really need to get my horse insured?How to recognise choke in horsesHow to tell if a horse is lame5 things your horses vet really wishes you wouldnt doThe post Gastric ulcers is leading cause of horse health insurance claims appeared first on Your Horse.