When it comes to horses, they’re not just pets. They’re our family members, best friends, and partners. Any experienced horse owner knows that horses are special animals with special needs. The vet bills can rack up, and no one wants to be caught making a life-altering decision because they can’t afford proper medical care or surgery. Purchasing horse insurance is a way to avoid that unpleasant process and gain peace of mind for the welfare of your animals.
With so many options available, which one is the best? Insurance ranges from accident and illness to loss of use. Which one do you need? Which is most affordable? These reviews give you the best horse insurance available this year.
A Quick Look at the Winners for 2023
Image Product Details
Best Overall
Blue Bridle Equine Insurance
Multiple types of coverage
Air Transit and Territory
Extension coverages are available Customizable policies
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Best Value
ASPCA
Offers wellness coverage
Affordable
Extensive accident/illness coverage
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Kay Cassell Equine Insurance
Extensive coverage options
Cover many conditions that other insurance companies don’t
Personalized policies
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Broadstone Equine Insurance Agency
Insurance available for $1,000 to $100,000 value
Offers liability insurance
24/7 claims department
Click to Get Quote
Hallmark Equine Insurance Agency
Liability coverage is not available in all states
No vet certificate required
Add-ons for colic surgery and loss of use
Click to Get Quote
Our 9 Pet Insurance Reviews for Horses
- Blue Bridle Equine Insurance — Best Overall
Compare Blue Bridle Equine Plans
Availability: 42 states
Specialty: Equine medical and surgical insurance
Conditions: Eligible between 31 days and 20 years of age
Blue Bridle Equine Insurance is our recommendation as the best overall horse insurance in 2023. This company pioneered equine insurance and has been in business for 40 years. It’s reliable and offers a wide variety of medical and surgical policies to meet your needs.
Compare Blue Bridle Equine Plans
Availability: 42 states
Specialty: Equine medical and surgical insurance
Conditions: Eligible between 31 days and 20 years of age
Options for coverage include accident-and-illness insurance, loss of use, surgical or colic-only policies, medical assistance, and multiple add-on options to combine more than one type of coverage. Blue Bridle also offers Air Transit and Territory Extension plans that offer coverage if your horse leaves the U.S. or Canada. To reduce your policy premiums, you can add per-incident deductibles.
Pros
Multiple types of coverage
Air Transit and Territory Extension coverages are available
Customizable policies
Per-incident deductibles
Cons
Not available to horses over the age of 20
Only available in 42 states
- ASPCA — Best Value
Compare ASPCA Plans
Availability: All 50 states
Specialty: Wellness plans
Conditions: No coverage for pre-existing conditions
ASPCA is well-known for its pet insurance policies, but it has extended its healthcare plans to cover horses. ASPCA is the best horse insurance in 2023 for the money. Since it’s primarily been in the pet insurance business rather than the equine business, its policies look different than other equine insurance policies.
Multiple types of coverage
Air Transit and Territory Extension coverages are available
Customizable policies
Per-incident deductibles
- Multiple types of coverage
- Air Transit and Territory Extension coverages are available
- Customizable policies
- Per-incident deductibles
Not available to horses over the age of 20
Only available in 42 states
- Not available to horses over the age of 20
- Only available in 42 states
Compare ASPCA Plans
Availability: All 50 states
Specialty: Wellness plans
Conditions: No coverage for pre-existing conditions
You can choose colic, accident, and illness coverage for your horse or add preventative care benefits. This isn’t something that most companies offer, making ASPCA stand out from the competition. Accident-and-illness coverage with ASPCA is extensive and covers conditions that include colic from impaction, displacement, spasmodic, and enteritis. Hoof abscesses, ingestions, cuts, and trailer accidents are also covered.
Unfortunately, ASPCA doesn’t offer any reimbursement for the treatment of pre-existing conditions. If your horse requires joint injections, has arthritis, or navicular disease, you’re out of luck. Wellness plans may cover diagnoses like Cushing’s disease, strangles, or cancer, but only if your horse is diagnosed after you have purchased the policy and the waiting period for coverage has passed.
Pros
Offers wellness coverage
Affordable
Extensive accident/illness coverage
Cons
No coverage for pre-existing conditions
- Kay Cassell Equine Insurance
Compare Kay Cassell Equine Plans
Availability: Continental U.S.
Specialty: Medical, surgical, transportation
Conditions: N/A
Kay Cassell Equine Insurance is our premium recommendation for horse insurance in 2023. This family-owned company prides itself on offering personalized, customizable policies. It includes major medical, surgical, and transportation insurance. Unlike many other companies, this one enables you to make the decisions for your horse’s health. Policies have maximum payout limits but are less restrictive on what care they will pay for.
Offers wellness coverage
Affordable
Extensive accident/illness coverage
- Offers wellness coverage
- Affordable
- Extensive accident/illness coverage
No coverage for pre-existing conditions
- No coverage for pre-existing conditions
Compare Kay Cassell Equine Plans
Availability: Continental U.S.
Specialty: Medical, surgical, transportation
Conditions: N/A
The options for coverage with Kay Cassell are extensive. There are many policy options for performance horses and even lease horses, which many other companies don’t offer. Examples include Cutting Horse insurance, Barrel Racing horse insurance, Polo Horse insurance, and Prospective Foal insurance. There are 33 different policy packages to choose from, so you’re sure to find one that meets your needs.
Pros
Extensive coverage options
Cover many conditions that other insurance companies don’t
Personalized policies
Transportation insurance available
No condition restrictions
Cons
Payout maximums
Expensive
- Broadstone Equine Insurance Agency
Compare Broadstone Equine Plans
Availability: Continental U.S.
Specialty: Major medical and surgical insurance
Conditions: No mortality insurance over age 15 or over $100,000 value
Broadstone Equine Insurance Agency offers a wide variety of equine insurance plans that are centered around major medical and surgical coverage. Horses can be insured for values as low as $1,000, so you don’t need a high-value competition horse to obtain insurance. Broadstone also offers liability insurance for trainers, boarders, or riding instructors.
Extensive coverage options
Cover many conditions that other insurance companies don’t
Personalized policies
Transportation insurance available
No condition restrictions
- Extensive coverage options
- Cover many conditions that other insurance companies don’t
- Personalized policies
- Transportation insurance available
- No condition restrictions
Payout maximums
Expensive
- Payout maximums
- Expensive
Compare Broadstone Equine Plans
Availability: Continental U.S.
Specialty: Major medical and surgical insurance
Conditions: No mortality insurance over age 15 or over $100,000 value
A veterinary exam will be required when purchasing mortality insurance. This can only be purchased prior to your horse’s 15 birthday, and they must be insured for under $100,000.
If you need to make a claim, Broadstone offers 24/7 access to its claims departments to answer all your questions.
Pros
Insurance available for $1,000 to $100,000 value
Offers liability insurance
24/7 claims department
Cons
Requires veterinary exam
No mortality insurance over age 15
- Hallmark Equine Insurance Agency
Compare Hallmark Equine Insurance Plans
Availability: Lower 48 states; liability policies are not available in Alaska, Hawaii, Louisiana, or Florida
Specialty: Mortality coverage
Conditions: Horse must be between 24 hours and 21 years of age for mortality coverage
Hallmark Equine Insurance Agency specializes in Full Mortality coverage resulting from an injury, illness, or human destruction. Its policies also cover death as a result of theft. While we don’t like to think about this possibility, it does happen, and Hallmark can provide you with peace of mind by giving you the replacement cost of your horse. You can even purchase a Guaranteed Extension option if a condition occurs during your policy period. This extension gives you coverage for an extra 12 months beyond the plan’s expiration date.
Insurance available for $1,000 to $100,000 value
Offers liability insurance
24/7 claims department
- Insurance available for $1,000 to $100,000 value
- Offers liability insurance
- 24/7 claims department
Requires veterinary exam
No mortality insurance over age 15
- Requires veterinary exam
- No mortality insurance over age 15
Compare Hallmark Equine Insurance Plans
Availability: Lower 48 states; liability policies are not available in Alaska, Hawaii, Louisiana, or Florida
Specialty: Mortality coverage
Conditions: Horse must be between 24 hours and 21 years of age for mortality coverage
Coverage with Hallmark is anywhere in the continental U.S. or Canada, and your horse doesn’t need to be vet certified to obtain coverage (assuming that their value is under $100,000). If you are insuring a foal under 30 days of age, you will require a Foal Vet Certificate when applying.
Add-on options with Hallmark include colic surgery coverage up to $3,000 and a full loss-of-use plan, which will reimburse you up to 50% of their value if they permanently become unable to perform.
Pros
Liability coverage is not available in all states
No vet certificate required
Add-ons for colic surgery and loss of use
Cons
No medical insurance is available
Loss-of-use policy only reimburses 50%
- Great American Insurance Group
Compare Great American Insurance Group Plans
Availability: Continental U.S.
Specialty: Competition horse coverage
Conditions: N/A
Great American offers customizable insurance policies to meet your needs. Its customer service is top-notch. It has on-staff experts in all horse breeds and disciplines, including racing, cutting, showing, dressage, driving, hunter/jumper, saddle seat, reining, and pleasure riding.
Liability coverage is not available in all states
No vet certificate required
Add-ons for colic surgery and loss of use
- Liability coverage is not available in all states
- No vet certificate required
- Add-ons for colic surgery and loss of use
No medical insurance is available
Loss-of-use policy only reimburses 50%
- No medical insurance is available
- Loss-of-use policy only reimburses 50%
Compare Great American Insurance Group Plans
Availability: Continental U.S.
Specialty: Competition horse coverage
Conditions: N/A
Policies include major medical and mortality coverage, with optional surgical and medical add-ons. They cover every competition discipline imaginable, including racing, which many other policies refuse to cover. Liability coverage is also available, and you can even obtain extra coverage for short-term events, meetings, or fundraisers within the industry.
The Great American mobile app makes it easy to submit claims and view your account information. It also gives you 24/7 access to a customer service agent. Since its policies are more extensive than those of the others on our list, the premiums are also higher. These policies are designed to meet the needs of equine businesses, boarding barns, or owners of high-level competitors rather than everyday pleasure horses.
Pros
Specialty competition insurance
Customizable policies
On-staff equine experts
Superior customer service
Mobile app for managing policies and claims
Cons
Expensive
Policies not designed for pleasure horses
- Markel Insurance
Compare Markel Insurance Plans
Availability: Lower 48 states
Specialty: Mortality and liability insurance
Conditions: Horses valued under $50,000
Markel Insurance offers mortality and liability policies for private horse owners, farriers, and instructors. No vet certificate is required for horses valued at less than $50,000 with no pre-existing conditions.
Specialty competition insurance
Customizable policies
On-staff equine experts
Superior customer service
Mobile app for managing policies and claims
- Specialty competition insurance
- Customizable policies
- On-staff equine experts
- Superior customer service
- Mobile app for managing policies and claims
Expensive
Policies not designed for pleasure horses
- Expensive
- Policies not designed for pleasure horses
Compare Markel Insurance Plans
Availability: Lower 48 states
Specialty: Mortality and liability insurance
Conditions: Horses valued under $50,000
Markel has several specialized policies for equine operations, including farm and ranch insurance, farrier liability, horse club, horse instructor, show animal club, and therapeutic riding insurance. What it doesn’t offer is medical or surgical insurance. Individual animals can only be covered with mortality insurance to cover the financial loss of death due to theft or accident. However, it reimburses for mortality due to humane euthanasia when it’s medically necessary.
Pros
Unique policies for equine businesses
Liability policies for farriers
No vet certificate required
Mortality insurance applies to humane euthanasia
Cons
No medical or surgical coverage
- USRider Horse Insurance
Compare USRider Horse Insurance Plans
Availability: Continental U.S.
Specialty: Mortality insurance
Conditions: Horse must be between 91 days and 15 years old
USRider offers comprehensive coverage for theft, death, humane euthanasia, or illness/disease mortality. If the basic plans aren’t quite enough for you, you can add on medical/surgical coverage, liability, and equine essentials for preventative care reimbursement.
Unique policies for equine businesses
Liability policies for farriers
No vet certificate required
Mortality insurance applies to humane euthanasia
- Unique policies for equine businesses
- Liability policies for farriers
- No vet certificate required
- Mortality insurance applies to humane euthanasia
No medical or surgical coverage
- No medical or surgical coverage
Compare USRider Horse Insurance Plans
Availability: Continental U.S.
Specialty: Mortality insurance
Conditions: Horse must be between 91 days and 15 years old
In order to qualify for coverage, your horse must be under 15 years of age and have a clean bill of health. You will require a veterinary certificate upon enrollment.
Pros
Medical/surgical add-ons
Preventative care add-ons
Cons
Horse must be under 15 years of age
Veterinary certificate required
- Horse Insurance Specialists
Compare Horse Insurance Specialists Plans
Availability: Continental U.S.
Specialty: Emergency and mortality coverage
Conditions: Value of stock must be agreed upon in writing
Horse Insurance Specialists is a good choice for full mortality coverage and emergency colic surgery coverage all in one. Its coverage cap is $3,000 past the first year of enrollment. Monthly premiums aren’t standard and are decided based on your horse’s age, breed, use, and value. However, $250 is the policy minimum that you can expect to pay.
Medical/surgical add-ons
Preventative care add-ons
- Medical/surgical add-ons
- Preventative care add-ons
Horse must be under 15 years of age
Veterinary certificate required
- Horse must be under 15 years of age
- Veterinary certificate required
Compare Horse Insurance Specialists Plans
Availability: Continental U.S.
Specialty: Emergency and mortality coverage
Conditions: Value of stock must be agreed upon in writing
Major medical coverage cannot be purchased without a mortality policy and is only available as an add-on. There are options for a stallion infertility plan and a limited mortality plan that will cover death as a result of a natural disaster, including fire, hail, earthquake, flood, accidental shooting, or an attack by a wild animal.
It’s important to note that the value of your stock must be agreed upon with the insurance company prior to establishing a policy. Even if you feel that your horse is worth more, you will still only receive coverage for the agreed-upon value. If you wish for a higher value, you will have to prove your horse’s worth.
Pros
Mortality coverage and emergency colic surgery coverage
Premiums are based on the horse’s value
Stallion infertility option
Limited mortality option to cover natural disasters
Cons
Max coverage of $3,000 per year
The value of your stock must be mutually agreed upon
Buyer’s Guide: Choosing the Right Horse Insurance Provider
Do You Need Horse Insurance?
Equine insurance policies cover different aspects of your horse’s care. Unlike dogs or cats, horses aren’t usually considered pets when it comes to insurance. They are considered livestock, competition tools, or working animals, so they are insured a little differently. You won’t find wellness care packages for horses like you might for dogs or cats. In most cases, policies are designed to reduce liability for injuries caused by your horse and replace your horse’s value should they die or receive an injury that renders them unusable.
Mortality coverage and emergency colic surgery coverage
Premiums are based on the horse’s value
Stallion infertility option
Limited mortality option to cover natural disasters
- Mortality coverage and emergency colic surgery coverage
- Premiums are based on the horse’s value
- Stallion infertility option
- Limited mortality option to cover natural disasters
Max coverage of $3,000 per year
The value of your stock must be mutually agreed upon
- Max coverage of $3,000 per year
- The value of your stock must be mutually agreed upon
Whether you need horse insurance depends on what you use your horses for and whether you feel that you can take the financial hit if they are hurt. Many horse owners will only insure horses over a certain value, as the premiums can be high for low-valued animals. Please note that we only mean “low value” in financial terms, as that is the only value that insurance companies take into account.
Types of Horse Insurance
Here are the most common types of equine insurance available.
Mortality Insurance
Mortality insurance for horses is similar to life insurance for people. It covers death due to illness, injury, or illness. Some (but not all) companies cover humane euthanasia if it is deemed medically necessary by a licensed veterinarian.
You can purchase full mortality coverage or limited mortality coverage. These policies cover a percentage of the predetermined value of your horse, and rates typically increase as your horse ages.
Major Medical
Major medical coverage varies drastically between insurance companies, so you need to know what you’re looking for. Some plans offer coverage for illnesses, vet visits, accidents, diagnostic procedures, medications, surgeries, and aftercare.
There is usually a deductible and a maximum annual coverage limit. Bills have to be submitted for approval by your insurance provider, and you are reimbursed a predetermined portion of your vet bill. These plans usually do not cover pre-existing conditions, preventative care, elective procedures, alternative therapies, or dental care.
Surgical
Surgical policies primarily cover life-saving or emergency surgery, namely colic surgery. These are not all-encompassing policies, and many only cover colic surgery because this is the most common life-saving procedure required in horses.
It’s worth noting that colic surgery coverage only extends to the cost of the surgery itself and doesn’t cover the costs of hospital stays or aftercare.
Loss of Use
Loss-of-use policies can offer significant peace of mind for horse owners who use their horses in competition or breeding. These policies usually require extensive documentation from your vet, including any prior diagnostic tests, to ensure that your horse is healthy at the time of purchase.
These aren’t standalone policies and require the purchase of a mortality or medical policy. However, if your horse is deemed unusable, they will provide you with the subsidized income that you would have received from your horse’s activities.
Liability
At a minimum, horse owners should hold liability insurance. Sometimes this is included as part of farm or ranch policies, but you need liability coverage if you ever take your horse off your own property. You need it on your own property too, but this doesn’t require a separate policy.
While we don’t like to think about it, having a 1,000-pound animal involves risk. Should your horse damage someone’s property or injure someone, you could be sued for thousands of dollars in damages. This is where liability coverage can help.
Do I need insurance as a horse rider?
If you lease or ride someone else’s horse for non-commercial purposes, you should still arm yourself with liability insurance. This will ensure that you are covered for any accidents or injuries that occur while the horse is in your care.
Am I covered while traveling?
Most insurance companies on this list provide coverage for incidents that occur anywhere in the U.S. and Canada. They also offer extended short-term coverage that you can purchase if you take your horse outside that jurisdiction.
If you are looking for roadside assistance coverage, some companies, like USRider, offer services like emergency veterinary care and emergency boarding arrangements if you purchase its Horse Roadside Assistance Policy.
What documents do I need to provide for equine insurance?
Generally speaking, you need documentation that shows your horse’s health history. This includes their background, veterinary certificates of health, X-rays, age, breed, sex, and documentation showing their purpose and use. These will be used by the company to determine the overall value of your horse.
Can my horse be covered by pet insurance?
No. Pet insurance companies do not offer policies that cover horses, even if you consider them pets.
Conclusion
When it comes to choosing horse insurance, you want the best provider possible. Our recommendation for the best overall horse insurance in 2023 is Blue Bridle Equine Insurance. It has customizable policies that meet the unique needs of any horse owner. ASPCA offers the best horse insurance for the money. Since it specializes in pet insurance, its policies are more reminiscent of pet policies than equine ones. Not only do they provide good value, but they also cover several conditions that most other insurance companies don’t. For premium coverage, we recommend Kay Cassell Equine Insurance. It has more policy choices and more customizable options than any other insurance company.
Featured Image Credit: hedgehog94, Shutterstock
