Horse owner liability and riding school insurance explained

Horse liability insurance is easy to misunderstand.

There is a big difference between owning a horse for yourself and running a riding school, coaching business or agistment operation.

If you are paid for lessons, agistment or another horse-related service, check whether your insurance covers that business activity.

What is horse owner liability insurance?

Horse liability insurance can cover certain legal liabilities if your horse causes injury to another person or damages their property.

For example, a horse could:

• kick someone
• damage a vehicle
• escape onto another property
• injure another rider
• damage someone else's fencing or equipment

Having a horse involved does not automatically mean you are legally responsible.

Liability depends on the circumstances.

Insurance is there to respond where a covered claim falls within the policy and you are legally liable.

Is horse liability insurance compulsory?

There is no general requirement for every Australian horse owner to hold standalone horse liability insurance. However, requirements may apply through a club, venue, landlord, contract or horse-related business.

That does not mean the risk should be ignored.

A horse is a large animal and an incident involving another person or expensive property can create a significant claim.

It is worth checking whether you already have relevant cover before buying something new.

Is liability included in horse insurance?

Sometimes.

Different policies structure it differently.

Liability may be:

• included
• available as an optional extra
• offered as separate cover

Check:

• the liability limit
• the excess
• the activities covered
• who is insured
• whether business activity is excluded

Do not assume "horse insurance" automatically includes liability.

What does personal horse liability not necessarily cover?

One of the biggest issues is commercial use.

A policy designed for someone riding and looking after their own horse may not be designed for a business taking money from customers.

This is where riding schools, paid coaching, trail-riding businesses and commercial agistment can need a different type of cover.

What changes when you start charging for lessons?

You have moved from a purely personal activity into an income-earning one.

That can change the insurance you need.

For example, someone who occasionally helps a friend with their riding is not necessarily in the same position as someone who:

• charges for weekly lessons
• advertises as a riding instructor
• operates a riding school
• supplies horses to customers
• runs clinics
• employs other coaches

If you start earning income from the activity, tell the insurer or broker.

Do not assume an existing personal policy automatically follows you into the business.

What insurance can a riding school need?

There is no single riding school policy that is identical across the market.

Depending on the business, cover can include:

Public liability

This can respond to covered claims where the business is legally liable for injury to another person or damage to third-party property.

For a riding school, this is one of the main areas to consider.

Professional indemnity

This can be relevant where the business provides professional advice, instruction or coaching.

The exact need depends on the activity and policy.

Personal accident

This is different from liability.

Liability relates to certain claims made against you.

Personal accident insurance relates to injuries suffered by the insured person.

Property and equipment

A business may also need to insure buildings, equipment or other business property.

The horses themselves

Business liability insurance does not necessarily cover a horse for death, illness, theft or veterinary costs.

Those risks may need separate horse insurance.

What about riding instructors and coaches?

Coaching can create its own insurance requirements.

Some equestrian associations provide insurance arrangements for accredited coaches that can include personal accident, public liability and professional indemnity.

That does not mean every riding instructor is automatically covered.

It also does not mean ordinary personal membership insurance should be treated as business insurance.

If you earn income from coaching, check the cover that applies to the coaching activity itself.

Does club membership cover a riding business?

Do not assume it does.

Membership organisations can provide useful insurance benefits, but those benefits apply within the activities covered by each scheme.

Some ordinary membership policies are specifically designed around non-income-earning equestrian activity.

If you run a riding school or other horse business, check the actual business activity rather than relying on the fact that you belong to a club or association.

What about agistment?

Agistment introduces another layer of risk because horses belonging to other people may be on the property.

The insurance needs can depend on what services you provide.

A property that simply provides paddock space may have different risks from an operation that:

• feeds horses
• handles them
• trains them
• transports them
• provides riding facilities
• provides lessons

Tell the insurer exactly what the business does.

What if the horse is used for both personal and business activities?

Tell the provider about both.

For example, you might own a horse that you compete personally but also use in paid lessons.

Do not assume the personal use makes the commercial use irrelevant.

The insurance should reflect how the horse is actually used.

What should a horse business have ready?

You may be asked about:

• business activities
• annual turnover
• number of customers
• number of horses
• whether horses are owned by the business
• whether customers ride your horses
• coaching qualifications
• employees or contractors
• agistment
• competitions or clinics
• property and facilities
• previous claims

More complex equestrian businesses may benefit from specialist advice.