The state statute limits a horse business's liability. It does not stop the lawsuit.
Most states have an equine activity liability act that says riders accept the inherent risks of being around horses. What the statutes do not do is stop a claim from being filed, and they all carry exceptions for faulty tack, a horse matched badly to a rider and a hazard the operator knew about. Equine liability is the policy that defends those claims for boarding barns, riding instructors, trainers, trail outfitters, therapeutic riding programs and horse shows, and the application asks about every one of those activities separately because each is rated on its own. We place them alongside the property, the mortality coverage on the horses, and the workers compensation the barn staff need.
Tell us the situation.
One licensed human replies the same business day — not five agents, not an auto-responder. If the policy you have is already the right one, we will tell you.
We use this to quote and service your insurance, and we do not sell it or pass it to lead networks. Privacy policy.
Send us what you have. We’ll tell you if it’s right.
Your current policy paperwork, a renewal notice, or nothing at all. A licensed agent reads it and replies the same business day.
What equine business businesses actually need.
Commercial equine liability
Injury or property damage arising from your horse operations: a rider thrown in a lesson, a boarder kicked in the aisle, a horse loose on the road. Defense included.
Without it — A farm or homeowners policy excludes business activities, and the first injured student is a claim against the owner personally.
Care, custody and control
Injury or death of horses you board, train or transport that belong to others.
Without it — The boarder's horse that colics in your barn is your claim, and general liability excludes property in your care.
Property and equipment
Barns, arenas, fencing, tack and the tractor, against fire, wind and theft.
Without it — A barn fire is the total loss the whole business was standing in.
Mortality and major medical on owned horses
Death, theft and, with the medical rider, veterinary bills for the horses you own, at an agreed value.
Without it — A lesson string is inventory; a farm policy does not insure livestock at value.
Workers compensation
Barn staff, grooms and instructors hurt on the job, in a trade where getting hurt is routine.
Without it — Required from the first employee in most states, and agricultural exemptions are narrower than owners assume.
Hired and non-owned auto
Liability when staff drive their own vehicles or you rent a truck to haul.
Without it — The driver's personal policy responds first and often excludes the business use.
The claims we actually see.
Ordered by how often we see them, not by how dramatic they are. Each one names the coverage that answers it — and the policy people wrongly assume already does.
Most common
A rider is injured during a lesson or a trail ride
Covered by Commercial equine liability
The signed release and the state statute are the defense; the policy pays the lawyer who raises them and any judgment that survives.
Common
A boarded horse is injured or dies in your care
Covered by Care, custody and control
The boarding contract should state the standard of care and require the owner to carry mortality; most do not, and the barn pays.
Less common, severe
A horse gets loose and causes a road accident
Covered by Commercial equine liability
Fence maintenance is the defense and the underwriter asks about it.
Rare, catastrophic
A barn fire
Covered by Property, mortality on owned horses, care custody and control on boarded ones
Three policies respond to one fire, and only if all three were bought.
What the policy will not cover.
Pick a procedure to see what the exclusion actually means and whether it can be placed somewhere else.
Equine liability is priced activity by activity. Each of these is a question on the application and a line on the quote.
Activities the equine application rates separately
Riding lessons and camps
Instruction is rated on the number of students and whether helmets and releases are required, and camps add the minors exposure.
Can it be placed? Yes, with helmet and release policies in writing.
Trail rides for the public
Guided rides for people who have never ridden are the highest-frequency equine claim.
Can it be placed? Yes, with guide ratios and a horse suitability policy.
Shows, clinics and events
Hosting the public and other people's horses for a weekend is a special event exposure on top of the barn's.
Can it be placed? Yes, per event or on an annual schedule.
Racing
Excluded on standard equine liability forms.
Can it be placed? Yes, on a racing program.
What our equine business clients ask us.
Does the equine activity liability act mean I do not need insurance?
No. The statutes limit liability for the inherent risks of horses and require a warning sign and, in some states, release language, but every one has exceptions for negligence: faulty equipment, a dangerous horse, a rider matched badly to a mount, a known hazard. Claims are filed under the exceptions, and the policy is what defends them.
How much does equine liability insurance cost?
A small boarding barn with a few lesson students pays a modest annual premium; a busy lesson program, a trail operation or a show facility pays according to the number of riders, horses and events. Care, custody and control adds according to the number and value of boarded horses. The activity list on the application is the price.
What does an equine liability application ask for?
The applications we work from ask the acreage and facilities, the number of horses owned and boarded, each activity offered (boarding, lessons, training, trail rides, camps, shows, breeding, therapeutic riding) with its revenue, the number of riders and students a year, helmet and release policies, instructor certifications, fencing and turnout practices, employees, and five years of claims. Each activity is rated on its own.
Do I need care, custody and control if my boarders have their own insurance?
Yes, because most do not, and the ones who do have mortality policies that pay the owner and then look to the barn for the cause. Care, custody and control is the barn's own protection for the horses it did not own but was paid to look after.
Commercial insurance is 96% of what we do — it is not a department here, it is the whole business. Not ready to talk? The guides answer the questions this page raises in more depth. Already insured with us and need a certificate or a policy change? Ask the service team rather than starting a quote — it is faster and it goes to the people whose job it is. We also write home and auto, which is usually cheaper alongside the business policy than apart from it.
Handed a lease, a vendor packet or a client contract with insurance requirements? Paste it into the COI Requirements Decoder to see what each one means for your business, or read what the requirements mean.