Insurance

[Ishkabod]

I remember speaking to a guy in a fish store who was on a bit of a spending spree because all his tanks Burst in the summer heat and flooded his house. The insurance covered all the damage including the fish and filters in the tanks. He got a quote from Aquarium enthusiasts on price and the insurance company said okay. He sweentend the deal for them by saying if they let him buy a couple of bigger tanks and fewer of them he could do it cheaper. So they agreed to that too. Personally i'd get a written statement from the insurance company stating what they would cover and what they wouldn't in the event of a flood caused by the tank. That way there is no confusion if it happens to you and things should go allot smoother. Plus they can't go back and say no your not covered because you have written proof.

Good luck and be sure to let them know what the other companies say and maybe they will change their statement.

Have fun

L

[RD.]

The insurance covered all the damage including the fish and filters in the tanks.

It's possible that he had some form of special rider under his homeowners policy (or pet insurance) that specifically covered his pet fish (or he was confused as to exactly what was covered), but typically livestock and/or equipment will not be covered.

Edited June 10, 2009 by RD.

[Shai]

but with tenants insurance your belongings/contents are covered, so i don't know if it would cover the replacement of the tank or if it would cover the flood damages to the apartment that the tank leak/bust would cause????? confused! lol.

I work in insurance but not home insurance, so here's my understanding of how it ought to work:

Contents insurance should cover the tank if it busted for a reason other than tank failure. For example, if someone broke into your house and smashed the tank during the course of robbing you blind, or your house burned down, you should be able to claim the cost of replacing the tank along with your other unrecoverable property.

If the tank splits a seam, or your pumps back up and flood, your insurance should cover replacing the carpet and any belongings that were damaged by the water...but not the tank itself. This probably would be included under the liability portion of the policy due to potential for someone else's stuff to also get damaged.

If you accidentally smashed the tank yourself, like that YouTube video where the kid sends a dumbbell into the tank, or that other video where someone knocks over a bicycle on Christmas and the handlebar goes right through the glass... I believe occurrences like that would fall under the "oops" clause and the claim adjuster would probably just laugh. If they're nice they might reimburse you for flood damage only.

It's definitely best to check with the insurer though. I'm still thinking I might give my broker another call and ask him again. Getting something in writing is also a good idea. Insurers should have no problem providing a Letter of Intent stating the specific circumstance is covered if they are willing to cover it. If they do have a problem with it, I'd start shopping around.

[DatFishySmell]

Update: So I received a letter from my insurance company to confirm the changes I made to our home policy. Turns out the additional $39/year was for a comprehensive endorsement coverage. From what I could understand in the letter, it was additional coverage for house hold items. But get this, it does not cover items made of glass and my deductable was $1000.

So I made another call to my insurance broker and explained to them why I didn't need the additional endorsement coverage and noted that other insurance companies seemed to have no problems covering property damages as a result of an aquarium/filter leaking as it was no different then any of my other appliances like my laundry/dishwasher.

I got a call back from insurance company couple day's later and they've now agreed to remove the additional endorsement and agreed to add a line in my insurance policy stating coverage for ensuing damages as a result of an appliance and fish aquarium leaking. I also asked if they can send me a letter of our agreement.

Thanks everyone for your comments, it was very helpful.

[BettaFishMommy]

good to know that you can request this sort of thing from insurance companies. i think i'm going to do the same!