When people first insure horses, they are generally advised go to a specialist broker or direct insurer for the added support, expertise and service through this difficult and complicated process. A great deal of people think that by going to a direct insurer rather than a broker, they will get to a decision maker more directly regarding claims and cover problems, but this is rarely actually the case. The person you talk to on the telephone is rarely the person who makes the decisions, and most larger brokers have an underwriting decision maker working very closely with them, so decisions take a similar amount of time whichever way you go.