What is an insurance bet in horse racing

While this type of bet may seem like it should be the default option for any punter, it carries the cost of paying out lower odds than you’d get if you placed a back bet on the same selection.

How insurance betting in horseracing works

An insurance bet is pretty much what it says it is – a bet that pays you out if your selection doesn’t perform as you predicted.

When you place an insurance bet in horse racing your entire stake will be refunded in the event that your horse places in a race instead of winning it.

The number of places paid out by an insurance bet vary.

If your insurance bet covers you up to second place, you’ll only get refunded if your horse finishes second, but will get odds that are closer to your selection’s odds in the regular win market.

If your insurance bet covers you for additional places, you’ll get a refund if your horse finishes in these places. However, your odds will be quite a bit lower than what you’d get in the win market.

Insurance betting strategy

Insurance betting is something you can use to cover yourself in a wide variety of situations.

Probably the best way to use it is when betting on a horse you’ve identified as a strong favourite who offers some value on their price.

For example, if you find a strong favourite priced at 3/1 in the win market, it can make a lot of sense to take a slightly lower price to cover yourself if it places instead of wins.

However, if you have a strong favourite priced under Evens, an insurance bet is going to pay out such low odds on the win you’re likely to be better off taking the full price.

Insurance betting can also be used when you’re looking for a strong contender that offers better value than the favourite.

If the favourite obliges and wins its race, while your horse places, you lose nothing. At the same time if your horse upsets the favourite, you’ll get a payout at a decent price.

Insurance betting by the bookie

Major bookmakers use different terms to describe insurance betting and may handle these markets differently. We take a look at some of the major players below.

Bet365

Bet365 uses the term ‘cover bets’ to describe insurance bets.

The cover bet option is found in the More Markets section of the racecard alongside the ‘betting without’ prices.

Bet365 only offers cover bets to 3^rd place on races with larger fields, while cover bets to 2^nd place are the standard across its race markets.

William Hill

You can access insurance betting at William Hill by clicking on the Insurance Markets link on any race card on their website.

The market will then display a single column of insurance bet prices if the race is only paying insurance to 2^nd place, or two columns if the insurance is paying out to 3^rd place.