SEIB Insurance Brokers has formed a partnership with Stallion AI Services to provide sport horse coverage to the UK's largest equine semen storage centre's client base.
Clients of Stallion AI Services will receive access to specialist SEIB Insurance policies with a 20% discount. The arrangement offers coverage tailored to sport horses valued at £50,000 and above, operating on an agreed value basis.
The partnership comes as the global equine insurance market expands. The market was valued at US$580 million in 2023 and is projected to reach US$1.77 billion by 2033, representing a compound annual growth rate of 13.7%.
Stallion AI Services operates the UK's largest equine semen storage and distribution centre with frozen semen available from over 800 stallions for UK and worldwide export. The company has collected semen from over 600 stallions and carried out over 11,000 collections.
Services include horse semen collection, freezing, storage and distribution, accompanied by quality assessments using metrics such as progressive motility and concentration. The centre also provides fertility testing, mare insemination services and artificial insemination equipment.
Paul Glasper, commercial director at SEIB Insurance Brokers, said the partnership aligns with the broker's focus on "providing unparalleled protection for sport horses."
The partnership extends to specialist embryo and semen insurance addressing risks in high-value genetic material. When it comes to these cases, transport of semen is at the risk of the receiver, Kylmore Stud notes.
Insurers face complex valuation challenges. DUAL North America's executive vice president of bloodstock and equine Jason Collier noted that insurers will only cover foals for two to three times paid stud fee, with "purchase price, whether privately or at public auction, is the insurable value.”
Biotechnology procedures carry inherent risks. Fewer than 20% of retrieved oocytes develop into a viable embryo, with about 23% of mares not producing an embryo on the first attempt. Pregnancy rates following embryo transfer range from 50% to 80%, with early embryonic loss at 10% to 25% compared to naturally produced embryos.
Research published in PMC shows sperm progressive motility declined significantly between 1984 and 2019, with overall declines predicted at 33.51%, representing a serious economic concern for the breeding industry.
SEIB's sport horse policy includes optional veterinary fees cover up to £10,000 per claim and emergency colic surgery coverage of up to £2,500. Additional automatic inclusions cover repatriation costs up to £500 from Western Europe and postmortem costs up to £400.
