After graduating from school or leaving an apprenticeship to begin a farrier career, what questions will cross your mind? Where will you find clients? How much should you charge for a trimming or shoeing? What type of clients do you want to work for? Certainly, there are dozens of other questions that will receive much deliberation as you launch your practice.

However, questions about insurance likely aren’t high on that list of priorities. But think about the needs you have as a business owner. You need to protect your vehicle in case of an accident. You need health coverage should you need to visit a doctor. In case a horse injures you, some level of disability coverage is sound planning.

Among various types of insurance, liability coverage is often ignored. However, having this insurance is critical to your hoof-care practice.

Common Misconceptions

According to Lance Allen, a veterinarian and director/executive underwriter with Markel Insurance, there are three likely reasons farriers typically reject carrying a liability policy.

“My homeowner’s insurance will cover me.” The assumption of blanket coverage isn’t just a farrier misconception, but is one held by most people across insurance types. This assumption is easily preventable by reading your insurance policies — not a task looked forward to by most.

“When was the last time you read your auto policy?” Allen asks. It is crucial to thoroughly read all of your coverage and understand what it covers and limits.

“I don’t have anything worth taking, so they won’t sue me.” This is the most common reason that Allen hears from new farriers. Just because you believe that you don’t have much to protect doesn’t mean someone won’t sue if they feel you were negligent in a case in which their horse was injured. Sure, you may not have the money now, but a decision against you can haunt you for years.

“Judges have ways of cutting through that issue,” he says. “And juries don’t care what you have.

“Particularly if you are starting out, you don’t want to owe somebody $5,000 when you can get basic protection for much less.”

Furthermore, general equine liability laws likely won’t protect you.

“Equine liability laws will protect me from being sued.” Many young farriers might believe they don’t need it, particularly because the majority of states have equine liability laws that are designed to protect them from a lawsuit. However, no farrier should rely on those laws.

“Nothing in those laws, in most states, is going to prevent a farrier from being sued if a horse is injured, or if a person or other property is damaged,” explains Allen. “Most of these laws have a giant loophole that leaves a farrier exposed to acts or omissions that could be considered negligent. An astute attorney is going to claim the farrier was negligent if someone is injured.”

Under certain liability coverages, an insurance company will represent you and pay any damages up to the policy limits.

“The cost of this coverage is nominal compared to the cost of 2 hours with an attorney,” Allen says. “By the time you’ve talked with an attorney for 2 hours, you’ve paid for your policy.”

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because you’re working on backyard horses that you don’t need liability insurance.

“You don’t want to think that just because you’re working on inexpensive horses, you don’t need protection,” he says. “What if a 12-year-old girl is holding the horse and it takes off? She could have a million-dollar injury.”

Understanding Coverage

As a hoof-care professional you need to build insurance into your business plan and the cost of insurance into the prices you charge. The best way to get started is to sit down with a knowledgeable insurance agent and hash out what you need. If you have little or no experience with insurance, talk to family members, friends and other farriers you know about whom they work with.

You’ll rely on the agent to think of the questions and scenarios you haven’t. One benefit of Markel is that its representatives know the horse business, and more importantly, what the farrier does to keep their horses sound. It is beneficial to find an insurer that understands the insurance needs of farriers.

Furthermore if you or your spouse has an equine-related business beyond farriery, such as horse training, they can build a comprehensive policy for both businesses.

You should sit down every year with your agent and review your circumstances to ensure that you have adequate coverages.

Broad areas and terms of interest include:

• General liability. Includes cost of legal defense and paying damages with no out-of-pocket expenses.
• On and off premises. Protection against claims due to bodily injury or property damage caused by a farrier’s activities, regardless of where it occurred.
• Completed operations. Coverage for bodily injury or property damage caused by the work that the farrier has performed. For example, a shoe comes off, resulting in injuries to a horse or rider.
• Care, custody and control liability. Coverage for injury to a horse while it is in your care, custody and control.
• Equipment and supplies floater. Provides coverage for loss or damage to transportable inventory such as tools and supplies. Most vehicle coverage doesn’t automatically include your rig’s contents of tools and inventory.

Markel offers three basic levels of coverage. Each of these comes with varied levels of coverage and cost. Any of these policies is customized based on an individual’s needs. Any increases in coverage will raise your annual cost.

Each state has its own insurance laws, so these plans are subject by state. But by and large, basic coverage rules apply to each state. So if you travel as a farrier, your practice will have coverage throughout North America.

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