Catastrophic Accident & Illness
This endorsement adds catastrophic accident and illness coverage to your equine mortality policy. It helps reimburse eligible veterinary costs when a covered event happens during the policy term and you report it on time.
What it Covers
- Annual aggregate limit: $5,000 per horse
- Deductible: $375 per claim (and each reoccurrence)
- Pays reasonable and customary veterinary fees for treatment a licensed veterinarian provides when care is necessary due to a catastrophic accident, illness, or disease
- Covers treatment performed:
- during the coverage period, or
- within 60 days after the policy expires if the horse remained insured through the end of the policy period
Reporting Rules
- Notify the insurer immediately as the base policy requires.
- The endorsement can still pay eligible expenses you incur up to 90 days before you report the condition, as long as you act reasonably and the late notice does not harm the insurer’s ability to handle the claim.
- This coverage sits excess over the Colic Surgery Expense Endorsement (if you have it) and primary to other similar coverage available to you.
- If mortality coverage on the horse ends (expiration, cancellation, or deletion), this endorsement ends automatically unless you reinstate or restore the mortality coverage.
- After the policy pays a claim under this endorsement, it treats the premium for that horse as fully earned.
Key Exclusions
This endorsement does not cover expenses for:
- Routine care and other treatments that support a healthy horse
- Diagnosis or treatment of gastric or intestinal ulcers
- Lameness diagnostics or treatment—even if a catastrophic accident triggers it—except lameness tied to tick-borne illness, EPM, laminitis, or lacerations
- Diagnostic bone scan (nuclear scintigraphy), MRI, and CT
- Nutraceuticals, even with a veterinarian’s recommendation
- Transportation, veterinary travel/call charges, and emergency fees
- Congenital defects and certain nutritional/developmental conditions (for example: umbilical hernia, undescended testicles, contracted tendons/club foot)
- Elective/voluntary procedures (such as neurectomy, castration, caslicks, cosmetic procedures)
- Alternative therapies (such as chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, whirlpool, treadmill, laser, hyperbaric chamber, therapeutic ultrasound, magnetic therapy)
- Dental procedures unless a visible, external, accidental, violent injury requires them
- Farrier services, including corrective or therapeutic shoeing, even when medically prescribed
- Joint injections and similar joint therapies, including corticosteroids and anabolic steroids
- Complications that result from an excluded procedure, treatment, or condition
- Postmortem/necropsy
- Treatment you receive more than 90 days before you notify the insurer
Practical Summary
Use this endorsement as a $5,000-per-horse safety net for serious, unexpected problems—then plan to pay many common costs out of pocket. It can help most when your horse needs significant treatment for a covered accident, illness, or disease and you keep records and report quickly. It will not help with ulcers, most lameness workups, advanced imaging, emergency/travel fees, supplements, alternative therapies, joint injections, or elective procedures.
Important: This summary is provided for convenience. Please refer to the actual policy wording for full details and exclusions.
- American Equine Catastrophic Accident & Illness Coverage Form (EMP1210516)
Standard Mortality Policy and Automatic Coverages