Insuring your reef

fishsince3 · 09/21/2009, 09:56 AM

Has anyone ever thought about insuring there major investments in there tanks? So much can go wrong within a tank to make it crash or something so simple externally like rotted wood in a stand we fail to see. Has anyone ever done this and what are everyones' thoughts?

tydtran · 09/21/2009, 09:58 AM

Never considered it. Even if you could find a seller for the policy, the premiums are likely to be crushing.

catfisher · 09/21/2009, 10:01 AM

Sounds like an excellent business venture for someone to start up a reef insurance company.

graha321 · 09/21/2009, 10:11 AM

I called our insurance company and they treat it like any other equipment. They'll cover the tank, stand, equipment, but NOT livestock.

100%hydrophylic · 09/21/2009, 10:13 AM

yea we rent so we had to make sure with our insurance before we got the aquarium. they say they only cover and water damage that could occur.

1DeR9_3Hy · 09/21/2009, 10:57 AM

I know I read somewhere on here that someone was propping for $$$...and they were quoted to insure their 'expected profits' from the future sale of propagated corals should those corals become destroyed before the sale date.

Like when a farmer insures their crops against losses i guess...

mcrist · 09/21/2009, 10:57 AM

I had a tank leak on me a few years ago and my home owner’s policy covered most all of it. I had a $500 deductable but they went after the tank manufacturer and I got my deductable back. They covered $500 dollars of livestock which wasn’t a lot but it helped. I was more worried about the tank, equipment, and the water damaged. One note though is that when I went to sell that house it did come up as water damage when they did a background check on the house. I was able to explain to the buyer what happened and it didn’t kill the sell of my house.

1DeR9_3Hy · 09/21/2009, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mcrist
I had a tank leak on me a few years ago and my home owner’s policy covered most all of it. I had a $500 deductable but they went after the tank manufacturer and I got my deductable back. They covered $500 dollars of livestock which wasn’t a lot but it helped. I was more worried about the tank, equipment, and the water damaged. One note though is that when I went to sell that house it did come up as water damage when they did a background check on the house. I was able to explain to the buyer what happened and it didn’t kill the sell of my house.

And the dark side of the hobby shows its face...

I know you didnt want to sue the aquarium manufacturer, but i have seen first hand how insurance agency's handle this (multiple times over). They hire an outside forensics company to detail the aquarium and then submit their idea of why it failed. They then send this report to ALL aquarium manufacturers that sell in your area. Then its up to the individual aquarium manufacturers to prove they either built it or didn't build it. Then if they did, they have to prove that it was reasonable to expect failure in that situation given ________ circumstance. Its very frustrating for small aquarium manufacturers, and the larger one just add the legal costs into the price of there tanks. But i guess its like that anytime you deal with insurance agency's in a situation similar to this.

username in use · 09/21/2009, 11:06 AM

If you rent, you should get a renters policy, and it will cover what has been mentioned. Water damage and whatnot, if you have a homeowners policy you should already be covered. However, if you do have a rather large and expensive setup, I believe that you can place additional coverage on your policy for it, however it will mean documenting with receipts and pictures everything you have, and it may raise your premium. One way to keep your premium a little lower though, is to take a higher deductible. Like 1 or 2 thousand dollars. This may seem like a lot, but when water damage can do 30 or 40 grand worth of damage, its really nothing, and you shouldnt make a claim for anything less than 2 grand anyway because it will make your premium go up.

mcrist · 09/21/2009, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by 1DeR9_3Hy
And the dark side of the hobby shows its face...

I know you didnt want to sue the aquarium manufacturer, but i have seen first hand how insurance agency's handle this (multiple times over). They hire an outside forensics company to detail the aquarium and then submit their idea of why it failed. They then send this report to ALL aquarium manufacturers that sell in your area. Then its up to the individual aquarium manufacturers to prove they either built it or didn't build it. Then if they did, they have to prove that it was reasonable to expect failure in that situation given ________ circumstance. Its very frustrating for small aquarium manufacturers, and the larger one just add the legal costs into the price of there tanks. But i guess its like that anytime you deal with insurance agency's in a situation similar to this.

I am not sure I understand why they would send it to all aquarium manufactures. I know who made my tank and they contacted them directly. You are correct about the forensics engineer came over to my house and took a bunch of photos and concluded that the seam had failed. The beauty of it is when I originally contacted the tank manufacturer that had the nerve to tell me that their tanks don’t fail and they wouldn’t cover my loss. I even had it on their stand and they wouldn’t even discuss it.

RobbyVonAwesome · 09/21/2009, 11:33 AM

I'm actually an insurance agent, and I'm licensed in 47 states.

Insurance varies a lot from company to company, but I can tell you that no insurance policy will cover your livestock. If you really have a LOT of livestock (tens of thousands of dollars) and you NEED a policy on it, you might be able to go to a Lloyd's insurer (Lloyd's of London is a big one) and they might be able to write a policy on it. But then, if you have that much in livestock, you can probably afford to retain the risk yourself.

Another thing to consider is business property. If you sell anything from your tank, your tank CAN be considered business property by your insurer, and will be subject to special limits. For example, the homeowners policies I sell have a limit of $2,500 that we'll pay for property used for business purposes (even if you don't have a registered business).

If you live in an upstairs apartment or condo, make sure your homeowners/renters policy has enough liability to cover your neighbor downstairs AND the damage to the building. If your tank breaks, it will go through the floor/walls and down to your neighbors unit. Remember, the spot that's good for a tank in your unit would likely be a good spot for a 100" flatscreen in his. You'll be liable for all of that if your tank leaks, so make sure your policy has enough to cover it.

Beyond that, talk to your agent about your situation. They are in the business of protecting you and your belongings, so they will be able find a solution for you.

seapug · 09/21/2009, 11:37 AM

I talked to my homeowner's insurance company and they beasically repeated what raha321 said. They will cover all damage to furniture, floors, walls, etc. but not the estimated value of the livestock contents of the tank.

Covering your livestock would require a specialty insurance policy or some sort of business policy, which would require proof you were running a legit aquarium livestock business operation from the home.

NutsoFish · 09/21/2009, 11:49 AM

You need to check with your insurance company about coverage for water damage. My tank broke on the third floor of my house (rented townhouse) and my insurance company would not cover it, not one dollar. They said they only cover water damage due to pipe leaks, etc. I live in Canada though, so it might be different?

*EDIT* (I had said homeonwer's and renter's insurance won't cover it) I had renter's insurance, not homeowner's...with renter's they will not cover the floor/drywall, etc. Had to pay to fix it myself.

RobbyVonAwesome · 09/21/2009, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by NutsoFish
*EDIT* (I had said homeonwer's and renter's insurance won't cover it) I had renter's insurance, not homeowner's...with renter's they will not cover the floor/drywall, etc. Had to pay to fix it myself.

If you have renter's insurance, there is no coverage for the building. However, if you were sued by the apartment complex for damaging the building, the liability coverage on your renter's policy would pay. Most companies will not even talk about opening your liability coverage without someone filing a suit against you. However, unless the lawsuit is for something that's specifically excluded (libel and slander are examples), they HAVE to protect you.

RobbyVonAwesome · 09/21/2009, 01:22 PM

Also, water damage is one of the most common sources of damage on homeowner's policies. Consequently, companies are sometimes very restrictive about HOW the damage happened, and how long the occurence was (i.e., was it a slow leak, or did all the water escape at once?). This varies from company to company AND from state to state, so PLEASE talk to your agent about exactly what's covered and what's not.

09/21/2009, 09:56 AM	#1
fishsince3 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Chicago Posts: 119	Insuring your reef Has anyone ever thought about insuring there major investments in there tanks? So much can go wrong within a tank to make it crash or something so simple externally like rotted wood in a stand we fail to see. Has anyone ever done this and what are everyones' thoughts? __________________ -Mike If god didn't want us to eat animals - why did he make them so delicious? Current Tank Info: 14g biocube, AI LED, LPS/SPS mix

09/21/2009, 10:01 AM	#3
catfisher Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 527	Sounds like an excellent business venture for someone to start up a reef insurance company. __________________ Current Tank- 90 Gallon mixed reef, 20 Gallon Sump. Evergrow WiFi Black boxes, JBJ ATO, TLF Reactor w/GFO, Reef Octopus NWB110 Skimmer. Coral- Red Lobo, Orange Blast Acan, Frogspawn, Hammer, War, Ac

09/21/2009, 10:13 AM	#5
100%hydrophylic Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: GA Posts: 1,636	yea we rent so we had to make sure with our insurance before we got the aquarium. they say they only cover and water damage that could occur. __________________ :) Current Tank Info: 75g mixed reef, 28g nano SPS

09/21/2009, 10:57 AM	#6
1DeR9_3Hy Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 2,575	I know I read somewhere on here that someone was propping for $$$...and they were quoted to insure their 'expected profits' from the future sale of propagated corals should those corals become destroyed before the sale date. Like when a farmer insures their crops against losses i guess... __________________ I hope it never catches on, I like having the oldest tank on here and I don't have to worry about calcification, bio pellets, Vodka dosing, DSBs, Chaetomorpha (I don't even know what that is) Carbonite hardness and all of these other things many people worry about. If I had to think about all of that stuff I would get a stroke. My test kit came in a wooden box and the directions say to keep in a cool chariott. I throw some food in the tank, wave hello to the fish and go out with my wife and have a nice glass of merlot with dinner. Have a great day but most of all, have fun. -PaulB Current Tank Info: 27 Gallon DAS softy/fish reef

09/21/2009, 10:57 AM	#7
mcrist Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Allentown, Pennsylvania Posts: 1,598	I had a tank leak on me a few years ago and my home owner’s policy covered most all of it. I had a $500 deductable but they went after the tank manufacturer and I got my deductable back. They covered $500 dollars of livestock which wasn’t a lot but it helped. I was more worried about the tank, equipment, and the water damaged. One note though is that when I went to sell that house it did come up as water damage when they did a background check on the house. I was able to explain to the buyer what happened and it didn’t kill the sell of my house. __________________ Mark Current Tank Info: 450 Gallon Peninsula

09/21/2009, 09:58 AM	#2
tydtran Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: New Jersey Posts: 853	Never considered it. Even if you could find a seller for the policy, the premiums are likely to be crushing.

09/21/2009, 10:11 AM	#4
graha321 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: MN Posts: 99	I called our insurance company and they treat it like any other equipment. They'll cover the tank, stand, equipment, but NOT livestock.

09/21/2009, 11:06 AM	#9
username in use Sciencing Daily Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 6,560	If you rent, you should get a renters policy, and it will cover what has been mentioned. Water damage and whatnot, if you have a homeowners policy you should already be covered. However, if you do have a rather large and expensive setup, I believe that you can place additional coverage on your policy for it, however it will mean documenting with receipts and pictures everything you have, and it may raise your premium. One way to keep your premium a little lower though, is to take a higher deductible. Like 1 or 2 thousand dollars. This may seem like a lot, but when water damage can do 30 or 40 grand worth of damage, its really nothing, and you shouldnt make a claim for anything less than 2 grand anyway because it will make your premium go up. __________________ Joshua "With fronds like these, who needs anemones?" - Albert Einstein Current Tank Info: multiple nano's sprinkled around the house

09/21/2009, 11:33 AM	#11
RobbyVonAwesome Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Oklahoma City Posts: 394	I'm actually an insurance agent, and I'm licensed in 47 states. Insurance varies a lot from company to company, but I can tell you that no insurance policy will cover your livestock. If you really have a LOT of livestock (tens of thousands of dollars) and you NEED a policy on it, you might be able to go to a Lloyd's insurer (Lloyd's of London is a big one) and they might be able to write a policy on it. But then, if you have that much in livestock, you can probably afford to retain the risk yourself. Another thing to consider is business property. If you sell anything from your tank, your tank CAN be considered business property by your insurer, and will be subject to special limits. For example, the homeowners policies I sell have a limit of $2,500 that we'll pay for property used for business purposes (even if you don't have a registered business). If you live in an upstairs apartment or condo, make sure your homeowners/renters policy has enough liability to cover your neighbor downstairs AND the damage to the building. If your tank breaks, it will go through the floor/walls and down to your neighbors unit. Remember, the spot that's good for a tank in your unit would likely be a good spot for a 100" flatscreen in his. You'll be liable for all of that if your tank leaks, so make sure your policy has enough to cover it. Beyond that, talk to your agent about your situation. They are in the business of protecting you and your belongings, so they will be able find a solution for you.

09/21/2009, 11:37 AM	#12
seapug Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: 4980 ft. Posts: 7,954 Blog Entries: 1	I talked to my homeowner's insurance company and they beasically repeated what raha321 said. They will cover all damage to furniture, floors, walls, etc. but not the estimated value of the livestock contents of the tank. Covering your livestock would require a specialty insurance policy or some sort of business policy, which would require proof you were running a legit aquarium livestock business operation from the home. __________________ insert clever saying here. Current Tank Info: 200 gallon custom Marineland DD peninsular tank. LPS dominated mixed reef. Previous 90 gallon mixed reef TOTM April 2009.

09/21/2009, 11:49 AM	#13
NutsoFish Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 45	You need to check with your insurance company about coverage for water damage. My tank broke on the third floor of my house (rented townhouse) and my insurance company would not cover it, not one dollar. They said they only cover water damage due to pipe leaks, etc. I live in Canada though, so it might be different? EDIT (I had said homeonwer's and renter's insurance won't cover it) I had renter's insurance, not homeowner's...with renter's they will not cover the floor/drywall, etc. Had to pay to fix it myself. Last edited by NutsoFish; 09/21/2009 at 12:37 PM.

09/21/2009, 01:22 PM	#15
RobbyVonAwesome Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Oklahoma City Posts: 394	Also, water damage is one of the most common sources of damage on homeowner's policies. Consequently, companies are sometimes very restrictive about HOW the damage happened, and how long the occurence was (i.e., was it a slow leak, or did all the water escape at once?). This varies from company to company AND from state to state, so PLEASE talk to your agent about exactly what's covered and what's not.