Читать книгу Horse Economics - Catherine E O'Brien - Страница 36

Unfortunately, many of you will need to utilize your health insurance for surgery or another involved claim. And sometimes, a doctor or hospital, through coding or processing error charges you for items that are covered under your insurance plan. When this happens and you contact the insurance company or doctor’s office only to hear the words, “We will take care of it,” don’t assume it will be done!

Often, this bill gets sent to a collections agency before you realize it, and then the “delinquent” account gets reported to the credit bureaus, ending up on your credit report. Sometimes, it can take months to get a claim resolved. So, always make sure bills have been settled and obtain written confirmation that the matter is resolved. If a delinquency was incorrectly reported to the credit bureau, make sure it is completely removed from your credit report and notated as an error—not a delinquent account that was finally paid.

Long-Term Care Insurance

When preparing for the future, the importance of planning to pay for long-term care is often forgotten or ignored. This can be financially draining—even devastating—because annual costs in a skilled nursing facility can run well over $50,000. (Rates vary widely by state: the American Association of Retired Persons—or AARP—has information about average costs for nursing home care state by state.) Purchasing a long-term care insurance policy helps to minimize the risk of having too little money to pay someone to care for you when you can no longer care for yourself. This policy allows you to plan in advance and fund associated expenses.

When considering such a policy, a few items to discuss with your licensed life and health insurance agent include:

 Maximum benefits allowed under the policy—the dollar limit of coverage.

 Elimination period—the waiting time for benefits to start.

 Covered services—what is included and excluded under the policy.

 Benefit triggers under the policy—generally, coverage begins when the insured can no longer perform a specific number of daily living activities, such as eating, bathing, or walking.

Property and Casualty Insurance

Property insurance covers your interest in a physical property for its loss or the loss of its income-producing abilities, and casualty is just another name for liability—such types of insurance cover your legal liability for injuries done to others, or damages done to another’s property. This includes home-, horse-, and business-owner’s insurance, automobile insurance, as well as general and commercial liability insurance, to name a few.

Homeowner’s Insurance

There are various forms of property coverage. I will limit my discussion to the “fully loaded” homeowner’s policy, which provides insurance for your dwelling, personal property, other structures on the premises, and liability. Consult your agent and determine whether the following key items are included in your policy:

  Replacement coverage on your dwelling and personal property.

  Replacement coverage on your barn(s). It is best to list barns as “other structures” rather than underwrite them as a separate endorsement to your policy, which can be more expensive.

  Schedule of artwork, antiques, and jewelry. This is a specific list of items of particular worth insured for their full value, which may be over and above the “jewelry” or “artwork” limit in your policy.

  Liability coverage of your horses both on and off your property.

  Coverage of legal fees should you need to defend yourself.

You should also ask about:

 Covered perils, such as fire and wind. Some perils, sewer and septic backup, for example, may have to be added to your policy by endorsement.

  How to ensure all your property has adequate coverage and is represented properly under your policy.

  How to avoid becoming underinsured and keep policy limits current.

Homeowner’s insurance saves you from financial loss by providing the means to rebuild structures or reacquire items that may be damaged or destroyed. While quite often nothing can prevent the occurrence of a disaster, you and your household will be able to put the pieces back together far more quickly with the aid this coverage provides.

Automobile Insurance

Automobile insurance provides a method of paying for specific vehicle-related financial losses during the term of your policy. In many states, drivers are required by law to carry liability coverage or no-fault personal injury protection to pay for losses they may cause others and medical and related expenses due to a car accident. Drivers often elect to also get collision and comprehensive coverage on their vehicle(s). Collision pays for any damage incurred if you hit another object or roll your car, and comprehensive coverage insures your vehicle in case of vandalism, theft, or breakage caused by fire, wind, flood, or other forces of nature.

If you own a horse trailer, it is important that it is covered for both collision and comprehensive and listed separately on your automobile policy, because when your trailer is attached to a vehicle with liability coverage, it is covered for liability only. In this case, if your trailer is hit by another vehicle or a tree falls on it, your insurance will not pay for the damages sustained.

Personal Liability Umbrella

In our increasingly litigious society, many individuals provide their personal and financial interests an extra layer of protection by investing in personal liability umbrella policies. These offer coverage over and above your other types of insurance, such as your homeowner’s or automobile policies. A personal liability umbrella only activates when other coverage is exhausted. For example, if you are the cause of a major car accident involving several vehicles and numerous injuries, the damages you are responsible for may go well beyond the limits on your regular automobile policy. In this case, the personal liability umbrella could save you from financial ruin.

More often than not, this type of coverage is relatively inexpensive—and it could be invaluable as a protection for your current assets and future earnings. Those who can especially benefit from personal liability umbrellas include professionals, families with young drivers, owners of rental property, and sports enthusiasts (i.e., horseback riders, skiers, and boaters).

Equine-Specific Insurance

Personal Horse Owner’s Liability

Most homeowner’s insurance policies do not cover equine-related exposures, so as a horse owner, it is prudent to purchase a personal horse owner’s liability policy. This policy covers your legal liability for bodily injury and property damage to others caused by your animal, and also any defense costs. Make sure this coverage is provided when the horse is on and off “owned premises,” so if you keep your horse at a boarding stable, you have coverage.

Some insurers have restrictions: the personal horse owner’s liability policy will not cover exposures resulting from any type of commercial activity. This means that if you receive money or any other type of compensation for an equine activity, such as boarding a neighbor’s horse or giving riding lessons to a friend, you may jeopardize your coverage. In these cases, you need a commercial general liability (CGL) policy. This policy will cover personal horse exposures, as well as those that could be considered “business” exposures. (For more information on CGL policies, see p. 159.)

Regardless of your insurance coverage, it is a good idea to use a waiver anytime someone rides your horses or spends time in your barn. “Susie from next door” might not dream of making a claim on your liability policy, but her insurance company could. Consult an attorney about items your waiver should include, and be sure he reviews and revises it for legal adequacy and accuracy.

Equine Mortality/Theft, Loss of Use, and Medical/Surgical Insurance

If the purchase price of your horse was sizeable, and the money for a replacement horse hard to come by, equine mortality/theft coverage can be obtained. Many mortality policies offer an agreed value^♦ settlement wherein the purchase price of the insured animal is paid upon his death. (This is similar to term life insurance for a person, see p. 40.) They can include coverage for humane destruction in the event it becomes necessary due to injury or illness, and insure your horse in case of theft. Mortality policies usually provide guaranteed renewal coverage and extension provisions.