Civil Liability Insurance for the owner or guardian of the horse

Apart from professionals who are insured by their insurance linked to the establishment, individuals or breeders must take out specific insurance for damage caused to third parties due to the horses in their care.

Definitions of Civil Liability Insurance

Civil liability insurance provides according to article 1382 of the civil code that "any act of man, which causes damage to others, obliges the person who through whose fault it has happened to repair it".

Article 1385, of the Civil Code indicates that "the owner of an animal, or the one who uses it while it is for his use, is responsible for the damage that the animal has caused, either that the animal was in his custody whether he was lost or escaped. "

Civil Liability Insurance covers consequential bodily, material and immaterial damage (directly related).

• Bodily injury: any bodily injury suffered by a natural person.
• Material damage: any alteration, destruction, deterioration, disappearance of a thing of a substance, any physical damage suffered by the animal.
• Non-material damage: any pecuniary damage, resulting from the deprivation of enjoyment of a right, of movable or immovable property, of the interruption of a service rendered, or of the loss of profit or income, exclusively following a consequential material damage.

Civil liability and guardian of the equine

When an accident occurs and a horse causes damage to a third party (material or bodily injury), it is then essential to identify a person responsible so that the victim can obtain compensation for his damage.

Contrary to what one might think, the person responsible for the animal is not necessarily its owner but more precisely its guardian.

The notion of guardian of the equine induces a "transfer of responsibility" which occurs in all of the following cases:

• Pension contract, ½ pension,
• Equine rental (for racing career, sport horses in valuation)
• Care contract (veterinarian, farrier, dentistry, etc.)
• Transport contract (paid or as part of a global service) OR in a more general framework, any professional likely to be transferred the care of horses within the framework of his activity.

The offered civil liability guarantees 

Basic guarantees:

• Responsibility towards staff
• Liability towards third parties (inexcusable fault, material damage, theft, etc.)
• Damage to entrusted property (other than horses)
• Criminal defense recourse following an accident.

Optional extensions:

• Damage to entrusted horses
• Civil Liability Organizer of Equestrian Events
• Individual accidents of passing Riders
• General legal protection (disputes in professional life)

"Damage to entrusted horses" guarantee

Our professional horse civil liability contracts provide for 3 levels of guarantees, making it possible to have high guarantee ceilings and a very comfortable compensation threshold per equine:

• Option A: Maximum loss amount set at € 100,000 / year, without exceeding € 30,000 / horse.
• Option B: Maximum loss amount set at € 200,000 / year, without exceeding € 30,000 / horse.
• Option C: Maximum loss amount set at € 400,000 / year, without exceeding € 30,000 / horse.

To know ...

In this case of questioning (damage suffered by a entrusted horse), the professional, and in particular the equestrian center or the owners' stable which houses the horses, must be extremely vigilant with regard to the liability limits.

This ceiling is unenforceable against third parties except if it appears in the written pension contract and signed by the depositor. When the equestrian center is called upon to transfer custody of high value horses, it must ensure that the guarantee ceiling is mentioned in the pension contract.

Thus, in the event of damage to the horse, the stable will only be required to compensate the owner up to the ceiling (which will become enforceable against him).

Otherwise, she will have to assume out of her own funds the difference between the amount paid by the insurance and the amount of the victim's loss.

WARNING :

The owner of a entrusted equine which has suffered damage can claim to be compensated through the PRO Liability guarantee of the structure if and only if the professional's fault is proven.

The Owner insures and bears the risks not falling under the Civil Liability of the Establishment, in particular an accident or illness to which the horse is a victim and for which the Establishment's liability is not legally recognized.

He can take out all-cause mortality insurance for his equine, which guarantees the horse in the event of death following an accident or illness (see death guarantees - veterinary expenses).

The Civil Liability Insurance of professional structures

In general, the Civil Liability Insurance for horse professionals can be taken out by:

• Equestrian centers,
• The Studs,
• Equine breeders,
• Calibrators, inseminators, Embryo transfer,
• Racehorse training centers,
• The owners' stables,
• The equine ethologist,
• The independent riding instructor, groom ...

The Civil Liability Insurance must be adapted according to the declared activities, the status of the structure and its subscription is compulsory.

Civil Liability Insurance covering the structure, must detail the list of insured activities, directly related to the horse trades. (See list above)

Professional Civil Liability Insurance is intended not only to cover the risks of damage caused to third parties by horses in the care of the professional at the time of the facts but also to compensate the owner of the horse kept by the professional when he has been injured following a professional misconduct committed by the latter.

The civil liability insurance of non-professional equine owners

Equine owners, individuals or non-professional breeders, must take out Civil Liability insurance to cover damage caused by their equines to third parties.

Several solutions are available to them:

• When the keeper of the equine is holder of an FFE license, the rider can subscribe to an "RCPE" extension. This covers the owner's liability when he is not riding. Price: 28 € / equine / year for the first equine.
• Addition of the civil liability guarantee on the equine mortality insurance contract (for horses up to the age of 18).
• For breeders or owners with 5 or more equines: Possibility of subscribing to the professional horse liability contract, without designation of animals covering only damage caused to third parties.
• Addition of the Civil Liability Insurance guarantee on your housing contract.

Warning: make sure that the guarantee offered covers you everywhere, including when participating in equestrian competitions or gatherings.