Catlin Insurance - Underwriting Ambition

Insurance is an invisible but crucial element for any rider.

You never realise how essential it is until the terrible moment when something goes wrong. When I started to buy my Olympic horses in 2007, we made sure that they were insured from the moment the sale went through. We bought horses from all over the world, Magenta (Maggie) and ESB Irish Fiddle flew over from USA, Jeans and FBW Chico came over by lorry from Germany; Adam from Italy. Castlebanny Prince came from just down the road, and WP in Limbo just stayed where he was as he came from my trainer Clayton in Wiltshire where I was also based.

Having arrived with us, they started on a very focused training and competition schedule to get qualified for the Olympics, which entailed travelling to Germany, Italy, Portugal, France, Poland, then France again finishing of course with the flight to and from Hong Kong. With all this action going on, it was essential for the whole team and their owners to feel secure that there would be help at hand whenever it was needed. Only insurance can provide that.

Not everything went smoothly on the road to the Olympics – the most traumatic episode of the campaign was the death of Adam. Such a stunning and talented horse, but very very sensitive. I took Adam and Jeans to their first small local dressage competition. While we were preparing Adam, he reared up, tipped over and hit his head on the ramp of the lorry. No one’s fault, but just one of those ghastly, ghastly accidents. The vet was very quick and made a very clear decision that the only course of action was to put him down.

There is never any consolation for the death of a beautiful animal. However, it was a huge relief to have had him insured. The procedure was quick and easy and we were able to buy ESB Irish Fiddle with the funds in time to make the Olympic nomination deadline. Not a replacement, but a different and also very individual horse. Fiddle has has a fabulous start to the 2011 season, coming from behind at the Barroca Three Star Event to a fifth placing after a blistering double clear. Without insurance, I would not have had the opportunity to ride this talented horse.

I use Catlin for all my horse insurance. Catlin is a major insurance underwriter, owning the largest syndicate at that mecca of insurance, Lloyd’s of London. Catlin is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 250 Index. With 50 years combined experience trail blazing equine insurance, they underwrite many of the top horses across the world. Their strength lies in their global experience, their professionalism and especially their swift and fair approach to claims, which won them ‘Claims Team of the Year’ in the 2009 London Market Awards .

This year Catlin are embarking on a very exciting project to offer insurance to horse owners in China, which is sorely needed and well overdue.