Insurance Needs for Yard Owners

The EEA has teamed up with Cheryl Johns the owner and founder of LiveryList and the Yard Owner Hub to spread important news to our auidences.

Cheryl is a qualified and experienced yard manager, marketing advisor, and business consultant with experience across a range of industries. Cheryl works as a consultant for equestrian charities and organisations to develop their understanding of the livery sector.

In this blog, Cheryl discusses the importance of insurance for equestrian businesses.

"As a business owner, ensuring that you are appropriately insured for your business activities is an absolute necessity.

Whilst there is no legal obligation for yard owners to hold any insurance for the services they provide- except for Employers Liability where necessary- holding insurances for your premises and the services you provide can help protect anyone who may be on the yard, both horse and human.

Depending on the type of services you offer, and your business situation, insurance needs will vary. Here we will briefly lay out those to be aware of.

Public Liability Insurance:

Whether you have a small yard of DIY liveries at home, or a large purpose-built facility offering full livery you should have a public liability policy in place. This will help protect against claims of negligence against the yard owner in the event of damage, loss, or injury to any parties- human or equine- on the premises or affected by its activities and will also cover any associated legal fees

Care, Custody and Control:

Care, Custody and Control (CCC) insurance cover the injury or death of an equine in your care, where you may be found liable. Contrary to belief, it is advised to hold this insurance even if you own or manage a DIY livery yard, as there may still be occurrences where you could be found liable in the event of injury or loss to an equine on your yard though the livery services and facilities you provide.

Employers Liability:

If you employ anyone on the yard- either employed or freelance- you have a legal responsibility to be appropriately insured.  If someone working for you is injured, they could make a claim against you. If you are inadequately insured this could not only be costly if you are found personally liable, but you could also face criminal prosecution. Even with subcontracted staff and volunteers, in the eyes of the law if they are working under your instruction and using your equipment then you are deemed as their employer and should have an Employers’ Liability policy in place.

Business Disruption Insurance:

Storm damage, flooding, fire, burst pipes, theft or malicious damage ca all affect a business. Whilst buildings and content policies should be able to contribute to the reparation of any physical loss or damage, this often will not include any cover for the stoppage and losses of the business income for any length of time. Business Interruption insurance can cover you for a nominated period whilst the business may need to be closed for repairs to be carried out.

Buildings and Contents Insurance:

If you own your yard, then a Buildings and Contents policy should be in place for the premises and facilities. In the event of damage or losses this will help cover the cost of repairs. You should also consider suitable insurance to cover anything stored on the premises such as farm vehicles and machinery, tack and equipment, or consumables such as hay and bedding.

If your premises is rented, then you need to be clear in your tenancy agreement whose responsibility it is to insure the premises. Usually, a commercial tenant is not required to arrange their own buildings insurance policy, this should be the responsibility of the landlord/ property owner.

Insurance Requirement for Clients Horses:

Whilst covered to an extent under your livery yard insurance policy, as ‘best practice’ it is ideal to ensure that your livery clients hold public liability insurance for their horses. Should a horse on your yard cause damage or injury to the premises, people, or other equines on the yard then they would be suitable covered for any losses to be claimed against. It is ideal to request a copy of the horses insurance for your records.

Insurance Requirement for Service Providers:

If anyone is providing services for your livery clients be this freelance grooms, equine therapists, trainer and the like, it is sensible to ensure that they have suitable professional insurance to cover their activity on the yard, and to request a copy for your records. 

You can find various resources in relation to insurance on the Yard Owner Hub, including some useful insurance-related documentation and templates, and two recent webinars we have held in relation to yard insurances and care, custody and control insurance."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cheryl Johns, owner and founder of LiveryList and the Yard Owner Hub, is a qualified and experienced yard manager, marketing advisor and business consultant with experience across a range of industries. She works as a consultant for equestrian charities and organisations developing their understanding of the livery sector.

ABOUT LIVERYLIST

Launched in 2011, LiveryList is the UK’s leading directory of equestrian establishments. In 2023 they launched the Yard Owner Hub, and industry leading and industry recognised resource for the owners of equestrian establishments.

Thanks Cheryl for talking about this important topic!