Horse Insurance for a Breeding Business

livestock insurance

When you breed horses, you run a moderately high risk and unique liability exposures that may not be covered by your regular homeowners’ policy or a farm insurance policy. Whether you raise horses or own a stallion that you service other mares with, you should have horse business liability insurance because you have a commercial horse venture that requires commercial liability coverage.

Listed below are just a few commercial exposures horse breeders can encounter.

  • Horse Sales
  • Open House Events
  • Visitors to Your Farm
  • Advertising and Promotions
  • Showing
  • Riding/Driving Horses to Promotional Events on and off Premises

If you stand a stallion at public stud:

You also have a Horse Boarding and Care, Custody & Control Liability Insurance (CCC) exposure because you care for mares and foals owned by others. Some farms also provide foaling services which is another CCC exposure.

 How Risky is Horse Breeding and Incidental Exposures? Moderate.

Horse activities are reasonably safe compared to many other activities people participate in.  Yet, horse-human activities do carry inherent risks.  Accidents do happen when people at different stages of capability attempt to touch, handle, train, ride, drive and control large animals that are unpredictable even when well trained.  And some horse-human accidents are serious.  Even with the best of intentions and management practices anyone can have a claim made against them and be sued.

You worry that you could be sued or otherwise have a claim made against you for bodily injury or property damage by a customer, guest or someone else who comes in contact with you or the property that is part of your horse operations.  If sued, you will need to hire a lawyer to defend you and you wonder how you would go about doing this.  If found negligent or responsible, you would likely have to pay for either a court-ordered or agreed-upon settlement to the injured party.  Fortunately, much concern can be relieved when you buy a Commercial General Liability Policy [CGL] to insure horse breeding and incidental activities.

Commercial General Liability Insurance protects you from financial loss should a mare owner, a visitor to your farm, or a trespasser become injured [Bodily Injury] or their property is damaged [Property Damage] in relation to your breeding, boarding, horse sales and  promotional operations, and they make a claim or file a lawsuit against you for damages.

Care, Custody & Control Liability Insurance insures against your financial loss if a non-owned horse in your care
becomes sick, injured or dies and the owner attempts to hold you responsible for the loss because of your negligence. This insurance is not included in your General Liability Policy unless requested by you and added by endorsement or as a separate policy.  If you board, handle or care for horses owned by others, be sure to ask for this additional coverage by completing that part of the application and choosing the limits that are right for you.  Our underwriters will then quote it and you will have a chance to decline or accept this valuable insurance protection.

Learn how to plan ahead with our Five-Pronged Strategy.

Related Coverages To Consider

If You Rent the Boarding Stable Property Your Business Occupies, We Can Also Insure Your Tack,  Equipment, and Machinery for Loss or Damage

As a stable property renter, you may not have access to property insurance for tack, equipment and machinery you use in your business. Ark Agency can insure these items by adding a Property Coverage Endorsement to the General Liability Policy.  The items and values must be declared in the application process and the additional premium is charged for this endorsement.

General Liability Coverage & Limits

The General Liability Policy includes specified maximum limits or amounts of liability insurance for:

Medical Expense: Pays for the low-cost medical expense with no questions asked about your liability or responsibility in the matter.

Legal Defense Costs: Today court costs and hiring of a lawyer can quickly mount to $50,000 or more, an expense you do not want to come out of your pocket if you are sued and have to hire a lawyer.  If sued in relation to this activity,       the policy provides legal defense whether the case has merit or not.

Settlement or Claim Costs: For bodily injury and property damages for which you are responsible and held negligent and liable.

 Four of the most common claim incidents for boarding stables are:

1.  A mare owner visits your farm to see your stallion and is injured while there.

2.  A horse buying prospect tries out a horse you are offering for sale and is injured while riding it.

3.  A fence is damaged or barrier gates are left open and a horse you either own or board gets into the road. As a result, passengers are injured and the car is damaged when colliding with the horse.

4.  A horse that is cared for but not owned by you gets injured or dies while in your care because of something you did or did not do to keep the horse safe and healthy.

Where to Begin

For horse insurance that can be tailored to your precise needs, you can depend on Ark Agency every time. Our team members work directly with you to ensure all of your needs are covered with the right liability insurance. Contact us today by email or calling 1-800-328-8894 to request a personalized horse insurance quote.

*General information is provided on this insurance topic. Acting on our coverage recommendations does not guarantee coverage if you have a loss or claim.

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