Fines for Equine Insurance Directors Under Consumer Credit Act

Strategic Insights -

Directors of Equine and Livestock Insurance Company, a leading UK equine insurance firm, have been fined substantial sums for violating the Consumer Credit Act. The company, which sells policies through a sister firm, Entertainment & Leisure Insurance Services, has faced widespread criticism for its policy conditions, with experts suggesting they may be impossible to claim under. The British Horse Society and the British Show Jumping Association have expressed concern about the firm's services, and the Horse and Hound magazine has stopped carrying its advertisements.

Key Takeaways:

  • Two directors, Brian Richard Martin and Elizabeth Martin, were fined £5,500 each, plus costs, by Bury Magistrates for distributing insurance advertising material that did not comply with the Consumer Credit Act.
  • The company, Equine and Livestock Insurance Company, sells its policies through a sister company, Entertainment & Leisure Insurance Services.
  • The firm's equine policy has been criticized for its onerous conditions, including excluding payment for accidents within 14 days of the policy being taken out.
  • The British Horse Society and the British Show Jumping Association have expressed concern about the firm's services, and the Horse and Hound magazine has stopped carrying its advertisements.
  • Despite claims, the company's managing director, Brian Martin, stated that the firm had never refused a claim where a horse had to be put down.
  • The company's capital strength has improved significantly over the past 18 months.
  • The firm's advertising in the prestigious country magazine Horse and Hound has been halted due to the controversy.

Statistics:

  • £5,500: the amount each of the two directors was fined.
  • 14 days: the period within which accidents are excluded from payment under the firm's equine policy.
  • 18 months: the time period over which the company's capital strength has improved.
  • B' rating (1992): the financial rating agency Standard & Poor's gave the company for 1992, recommending care in determining the extent to which such companies are used.

Sources:

  • The Sunday Times, "Two directors of Equine and Livestock Insurance face fines over consumer credit act breaches", 1994 (Copyright (C) The Sunday Times, 1994)