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With the 2014 eventing season now underway, it is important you have adequate insurance provision in case of injury to you, your horse or a third party. We’ve asked Charlotte Collyer, senior marketing executive of leading specialist equine insurance provider, Petplan Equine, to provide a guide to insuring your event horse.

The important thing to establish when taking out insurance is that it provides adequate cover to meet your needs. Perhaps the best advice I can give is to choose a specialist equine insurer who offers options and different levels of cover.

When taking out an insurance policy, in addition to the horse’s veterinary history, its age and other factors, the insurer will need to establish the level of risk to horse and rider. Many specialist insurers will offer at least two levels of cover according to risk, for the leisure and competition horse for example, which is reflected in the premium you pay.

Petplan Equine offers seven levels of cover under different activity groups. These are based on a range of different activities according to their level of risk. For example retired horses may be insured under Group One while Group Seven covers those involved in more risky activities such as Point to Pointing etc. This way, you only pay for the cover you need for the activity you do with your horse. And this can change throughout the life of your horse as it works its way up through the competition levels for example. When starting out in unaffiliated eventing you can insure under Group 4 but when you affiliate you can upgrade to Group Five. If you then go onto Advanced Affiliated eventing Group Six will provide the cover you need.

The Petplan Equine team of equestrian experts knows that you may like to try more advanced activities with your horse as your partnership develops before committing to a higher activity level. So it offers the opportunity to upgrade by one activity group for free, a total of three times per year allowing you to “try before you buy”.

For example, if you are insured for Group 4 activities such as unaffiliated eventing you may upgrade to a Group 5 activity free of charge on three occasions throughout the year. The actual number of times an upgrade is possible depends upon the number of groups by which the policyholder wishes to upgrade: you can upgrade one group three times, two groups twice or three groups once in a policy year. It is vital that you make sure your horse is sufficiently fit and you are confident in his and your own ability at this level.

To take advantage of this free up-grade you must call to notify Petplan Equine of your intention 72 hours before undertaking the activity in question.

If you then wish to compete more regularly at this level, you can upgrade to a higher activity level at anytime throughout the year.

For further information visit www.petplanequine.co.uk or call 0330 102 1658

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For more information please contact:

Name	Telephone	Email
Charlotte Collyer	0208 707 8335	charlotte.collyer@allianz.co.uk

Petplan Equine is the UK's leading horse insurance provider offering a wide variety of flexible horse insurance and rider insurance policies which cater for all levels of experience.

Established more than 20 years ago, Petplan Equine is part of Allianz Insurance, one of the largest general insurers in the world.

For more information about a Petplan Equine horse insurance policy, please visit:
petplanequine.co.uk/insurance/quote.asp

Note to editors:

• Petplan Equine was founded in 1988.
• It is part of Allianz Animal Health, the largest provider of animal health insurance in the world and part of Allianz – one of the largest general insurers in the UK.
• In addition to horse and pony insurance options, Petplan Equine provides dedicated products for veteran horses and rider only insurance cover.
• It is the sister brand of Petplan, the largest provider of small animal insurance in the UK.
• Petplan Equine believes in supporting the equine community and provides more financial support to equestrian sports and activities than any equine insurance provider in the UK.
• The Pet Plan Charitable Trust was founded in 1994 to raise much needed funds for animal welfare and veterinary projects. Money is raised by Petplan and Petplan Equine customers giving an optional £1.50 to the Trust when they take out or renew their policy. To date, almost £5 million has been awarded by the Trust.
• Petplan and Petplan Equine are specialist insurers. As such, the company employs more horse riders and owners than any other and more former veterinary practice staff than any other to ensure the provision of specialist knowledge.
• Redwings Horse Sanctuary is the UK’s largest horse sanctuary, caring for over 1200 rescued horses at its nine sites around the country, with 500 more living in happy Guardian homes across East Anglia. The charity is entirely funded by public donation. Find out more at www.redwings.co.uk.