Big tanks and home insurance

[Drydock]

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone else can input on this. I have never even heard about this idea before, but I thought I would put it out there for some comment. Obviously, professional advice should be sought, but I also have found that there is a wealth of experience and good advice from the members of this board as well.

I was just talking with a friend who was formerly in the insurance industry and he questioned me about the larger tank I am thinking of buying and whether or not I had considered what affect it would have on my homeowners insurance. Needless to say, I have not...

Has anyone heard about having to pay a special premium for a large tank? (100 Gallons +)

Are there any horror stories of a tank causing damage (either directly or indirectly) and coverage being denied because it was not covered or reported? Perhaps there are some good experiences as well...

My assumption was that if a tank leaks and causes water damage, that's my problem. I have never really considered what would happen if a fire or vandalism happened and caused a tank to leak and cause damage.

Not exactly a happy topic, but I thought it was an important one nonetheless.

I look forward to your comments.

Roger

[BigA]

I haven't had experience with this myself, but I know someone who purchased a tank from one of the LFS in the city. 120gal. When he went to get his brand new house insured, he let the insurance company (not sure which one) know about his tanks and they allowed him to add in a rider to the insurance contract to cover water damage in case something happened. It cost an extra $4/month. Sure enough, 1 of the seals on the tank broke and 120 gallons of water came down onto the second floor of his house. $30,000 worth of damage. Most of which was covered because he was up front about the tank in the first place.

For an extra $50 per years, that is not a bad investment. Again though, I do not know what company he is with, nor do I know if they all offer it. Doesn't hurt to ask though.

[CalgaryFan]

I would definately look into it, might as well try right? Especially with a tank 100 gallon+..Water damage is a nasty little parasite to deal with.

[jvision]

When we moved into this house, I asked if our insurance would cover my tanks. The broker said we were covered, as I'd just upped the policy amount and coverage (some of the art in our place is worht a bit, too.)

[darkangel]

We have water and flood insurance on our house and it did'nt cost any extra, But they did nail me big time for the mig welder and cutting torch in the garage.

[stribbelldk]

My wife asked the insurance company if special insurance was needed for when I build my fish room(600+ gal) in the garage. They said if it was in the garage, no special insurance was needed. But if it were in the house, it was not needed either, just highly recommended.

The cost to clean up and fix a leak or major spill is too high for me, so I would put the insuranse on. Fifty bucks ayear is cheap compared to a $30k+ reno cost!!!

Derek

[Fishnut]

I've spent many years in the insurance industry as a home insurance broker and have never known of an exclusion for aquariums in a home. Nor have I ever seen a rider or endorsment to a policy for aquariums in a home. Most policies include water damage. This would include, sewer back-up, burst pipes, water escape from a hot water tank or any other appliance in a house as well as water damage due to aquariums, water beds, etc. Water damages always excluded are things like ground water, flooding, and so on. It's important to make sure your policy covers water damage or water escape. Most do but some require you to pay a small additional premium of $10 to $25 for the coverage. It's something you should have even if you don't have an aquarium in the house because of the other risks that it covers.

[rocker85675]

i read on mosterfishkeepers a thread where his 480gal? busted and destroyed his house. cant remember the specifics but it would be worth looking for, it had lots of details about his insurance and what they covered and what they did'nt.

[Finbert]

My insurance is covered from "the sudden and accidental escape of water from a domestic water container" and describes a domestic water container as anything in your home that would normally be used to contain water. But it specifically excludes slow leaks.

Since I live in an apartment, I doubled my liability insurance just to be on the safe side.

[Fishnut]

Just another note that most policies read that resulting damage is covered so a policy may not cover the tank itself but only the resulting damage.

[fairdeal]

I checked with my home insurance provider when I saw this thread - good question by the way. She told me I'm covered for water damage (but many homes are not) from the "sudden and accidental" as previously mentioned, but nothing for slow leaks, mechanical failures or what she described as improper setup or manufacturers improper or faulty construction. This just raises a whole different set of questions in my mind. How do you prove those sort of things? Sounded to me after the conversation that the only things I am 100% covered for is if the place caught on fire and the tanks exploded or if someone broke in and smashed the tanks just for fun. Oh yeah just as a parting comment - covered for up to $2500 for loss of "critters" in the house (after my $500 deductible I'm assuming). This went up from a former $1500 last year and I was told there is no rider available to increase this amount. That would barely cover 1 1/2 groups of frontosas, so I guess I just eat the rest. (no pun intended)

I'm glad this came up as I for one just let this slide for years and not paying much attention to the consequences of major water damage. Now I know where I stand at least. I also hope that this will encourage everyone to check to ensure they have at least some sort of coverage should that catastrophe that we all dread happens.

[werner]

Several years back, I had a hose pop off a canister filter on a 130 gal tank while I was out. The water ran across 3 rooms until it reached a cold air return duct, and then drained into the basement where it ran to the floor drain. Fortunately, we had originally (1) gotten approval for an aquarium from the landlord, and (2) made sure that our renter's insurance covered potential water damage from the aquarium. The lino in the kitchen and carpet in 2 other rooms had to be replaced. The basement was unfinished, so it was okay.

A call to your agent to confirm that your homeowner's/renter's insurance covers water damage is easy. Adding a bit of extra coverage if you need to is cheap.

[Tanker]

When I first started keeping "more than a few" tanks I called up the insurance company I was with and asked abotu coverage, so they said $4 a month and off I go.. la dee da.

Well, they added on a "sewer backup" rider... did me no good since we were on the third floor. If the sewer backed up and flooded my apartment, there are two other floors of problem we need to deal with, first. Turns out my lease actually had a clause in it prohibiting a tank larger than 50 gallons... so I instead had 14 tanks ranging from 5-45 gallons... but not a one was over 50

Fast forward to the present, and we're on the main floor, with a new company which offers included coverage up to 33 gallons total, and since I have an average of 100 gallons give or take, we upped it for about $15 a year with the same coverage as above posters noted: sudden loss is covered, slow leaks are not. Our landlord here has no such restrictions as well on size, and we're on a concrete slab so I have no concerns as well!

[Kirito]

On 5/28/2008 at 4:38 AM, darkangel said:

We have water and flood insurance on our house and it did'nt cost any extra, But they did nail me big time for the mig welder and cutting torch in the garage.

I had no problem with torch and gas tank. They told me they will cover me as long as i use them as a hobby, not as a business, teaching purpose, or selling purpose.  If i do any of those, i need to have separate insurance for them. 

But for the tank, i had to pay extra coverage when i switched the tank to a larger one.