Here are some of the areas we feel our Full Mortality policy provides more comprehensive coverage:
- Exclusion Free Guarantee until age 15 (“EFG till 15”) – This guarantees that if an injury or sickness occurs after the NAS mortality policy is in place, the insurance company cannot exclude coverage related to the health problem until your horse turns 15. With most other companies there is only an additional 12 month guarantee that the health problem will be covered. As an example, for a 3 year old horse that undergoes colic surgery while insured, another company (with a 12 month extension) could exclude colic from coverage after age 4. With EFG till 15, that same horse would be guaranteed coverage for death related to colic until age 15. That is an additional 10 years of coverage.
- Guaranteed Renewability – For all horses up to age 15, we guarantee to renew the coverage regardless of the horse’s health (and at NAS’ standard rates) as explained in the policy’s “Extension of Coverage Period” paragraph. Many horses can incur a life-threatening injury or disease during a policy year that causes death months or even years after the policy expires. Other companies could refuse to renew the coverage (or substantially raise the premium rate) because the horse could no longer pass the annual veterinary exam they require. In contrast, NAS guarantees, until the horse turns age 15, that it will not cancel coverage because the horse is suffering from a life-threatening illness or disease. Further, NAS guarantees to apply standard rates to the horse.
- “Agreed Value” Coverage – In contrast to the “Actual Cash Value” policy offered by most other companies, ours is an Agreed Value policy. This means we guarantee to pay the amount insured, unless you have — prior to a problem developing — taken action to change the amount of coverage. Under an Actual Cash Value policy issued by other companies, they have the right to contest the insured value even after you have had a loss. In our opinion, if you can’t be sure how much you are going to collect, it destroys the primary reason behind insurance — security and peace of mind.
- Renewal Dividend – For policies covering 20 or more horses, we offer an Experience Rating Plan to directly reward the people who have the fewest claims with us. For a large policy, the “Renewal Dividend” could amount to a 32% reduction in premium.
- Expanded Coverage Territory – Coverage in the U.S.A., Canada, England, The Republic of Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Switzerland, including transits between these countries is automatically included.
- Broad-Form Theft – Our policy includes theft coverage at no additional premium. Other companies have numerous exclusions in their theft provisions that severely limit the extent of any coverage (and they may charge a .25% higher premium).
- Pro-Rata Refunds – Our policy guarantees you will receive a pro-rata refund if you cancel before the policy expires. In contrast, many other policies have a “short rate” provision which allows the companies to charge extra if you cancel before the end of the policy year.
- Wobbler Syndrome/Ataxia – Our policy covers severe cases of Wobbler Syndrome and ataxia (loss of coordination) at no additional cost. Other companies may charge an additional premium for this, and usually the coverage is limited to certain distinct causes of ataxia such as Cervical Vertebral Malformation.
- Mortality Veterinary Exams Paid by Us – We will pay the veterinarian for the mortality health insurance examination.