[certain-death]

Hi all,

We recently bought a housewith 10 acres to house ourselves and the ever expanding family of "pets".

We currently have 4 goats, 4 pigs, 2 horses, a minature shetland, a handful of chickens, geese, ducks and turkeys, 5 dogs and 3 cats. Theres new additions coming all the time as well so the list is sure to expand.

All the animals are classed as pets as we do it purely as a hobby.

At the moment we have the animals that are expensive for serious vet visits insured individually (dogs and horses) and take a chance with the rest.

What I wondered is if there is any insurance available to cover all the animals including the dogs and cats?

We also store alot of feed etc in our large outbuilding, which I'm not convinced would be covered by our home insurance. We also have a tractor stored in the outbuilding along with a fortunes worth of tools etc.

I'm really looking for an all in one solution thats easy to manage should anything go wrong.

Can anyone advise if such an insurance exists and where I should start looking?

Thanks

Ian

[Anke]

Talk to the NFU - but insuring outbuildings, livestock and consumables like feed is almost certainly too expensive (other than public liability). IMO - insuring dogs and cats is not worth it either - you are better off to put the equivalent amount every month into the piggy bank (or a savings account)  and use it when needed. Worked for us so far.

[pharnorth]

It's a tricky one and really a personal decision. When you have a modest well secured house and a couple of pets insurance is straightforward but when you get a diverse set of belongings and responsibilities it gets more of a debate as to what you insure.  My set up sounds quite similar to yours and as it happens we went through our NFU insurance in some detail last week and it is reasonably comprehensive. We have had 2 burglary claims in 20 years both to outbuildings and both were paid up quickly. Both times we improved security and in the current round of local break ins we have been left alone so far. So as Anke says talk to NFU first off but also consider the best approach to security. 

I also take Anke's approach of having a fund for some eventualities for example I never do extended warranties on white goods when they try and sell me one I ask them why they are selling me goods they expect to fail within 3 years anyway.  With the animals (including horse) I have a sum in mind that I will not go above re Vets bills. This is partly to offset the tendency these days to 'try everything ' when reluctant to let go.

[YorkshireLass]

I'd also talk to the NFU - you get an actual human person to speak with, and they can explain options, even if you decide not to go for it (they won't be the cheapest but I don't know offhand who else would cover for outbuildings etc)

I don't have pet insurance, but I have a credit card with a high limit if needs be. I also have a sort of mental line beyind which I wouldn't go for treatment - partially financial and partially that the expensive procedures tend to be the extreme and invasive sort.

[Scotsdumpy]

Agree with talking to the nfu  -  we lost our barn through heavy snowfall several years ago now. They were extremely helpful and paid for our beautiful new barn. After this happened we met with them in person at a local office and went through all our requirements going forward. Our original insurance covered the building but not the contents - so, the years worth of hay and the baler were not covered. Now we have an insurance that covers 'the business' (we are not a business, don't claim vat, don't claim farm payments etc) so if the barn or other buildings come down and smash balers, tractors, etc we are covered - interestingly my craft tools and machines and materials are also covered should my static caravan blow away. We also cover public liabilty as we live in Scotland where the right to roam laws could see us liable for accidents happening on our land this also covers us if we accidentally hit someone on our drive with a moving vehicle - think courier/postie speeding down the drive when we are reversing out of the cow shed. There are other bits that I can't bring to mind. The price of all this was slightly more than we paid for a normal house policy.

[Marches Farmer]

We found our NFU policy jumped by far more than the rate of inflation every year, even though we'd only had one claim for part of the lambing shed roof blowing off in a gale in 2004.  We're now with Farmers & Mercantile.  One of our neighbours jumped ship from the NFU and the local agent said the following year that whatever price he was quoted the NFU would match it, so maybe big farms are of more value to them rather than a lot of small ones.

[waterbuffalofarmer]

Ditto. Btw welcome to the the forum

[certain-death]

Hi all,

Thanks for the welcome and advice. Will give NFU a try and see what they come up with. Maybe best just setting up a kitty incase anything goes wrong.

Thanks for the help and Merry Christmas to you all.

Ian