Insurance

[Jayne]

Hi all can anybody help me with this thought ? Is there such a thing as insurance for the contents of our marine tanks, as we are all to well aware of the monumental cost of stocking and maintaining them, God forbid should I get up one morning and find armegedon has happened overnight, or a power failure has happened, and i have lost everything! My house insurance will only cover the tank but no contents, any ideas

[charlie]

Good question!!!!! I know when my first effort on this 300 that I have crashed, I tried and my Ins. agent said no, the contents are not covered. Maybe if you are registered as a business????? I really don't have any idea, but maybe I should check into this!!!!

[Ninong]

Is there such a thing as insurance for the contents of our marine tanks...

As far as I know, no. I don't know of any insurance policy that will cover the livestock. You had better inform your insurance agent of the exact size and value of your aquarium and related equipment to make sure you are fully covered without having to specifically name the aquarium on your policy. You don't want to have a 500-gallon reef tank that suddenly blows out the front glass one day flooding your apartment and the apartments on the next two floors beneath you in your expensive co-op building and then find out that all the consequential damage is not covered because the insurance company claims they weren't notified in advance.

That's just a hypothetical but it has actually happened. We have had people post that their tank broke, spilling all of the water and contents all over their expensive hardwood floors, AND the expensive hardwood floors of the condo beneath them and their insurance company refused to step up and cover all of the damage. And the people beneath them sued for damages. Some companies will not cover this sort of exposure and others may require you to take out a rider to cover such expensive potential water damage.

...or a power failure has happened, and i have lost everything!

A power failure is something you can protect against. Many people have UPS setups to run the essential equipment for as long as two or three hours. For longer power failures, you would need a generator. Most homeowners where I live have generators because of our exposure to hurricanes.

Wayne Shang has an APC SU700XL with battery pack to keep the circulation pumps running for approximately four hours on his 718-gal reef aquarium in the event of a power outage. I'm not sure if he also has a generator or not.

APC SU700XL with battery pack:


64Ivy (Michael Moye) has a full-house generator to run his entire house in the event of power failure. That saved his 539-gal reef aquarium when his house in Greenwich, CT lost power for several days due to an ice storm.

[ibefishy]

When I moved recently I had to buy a renters insurance policy and the agent I spoke with looked up what the policy covered and it covered everything from the inhabitants of the tank to the furniture and floor. A $48,000 renters policy cost me $108 for the year. I asked several times and got the same answer from two different agents of the same company. They assured due to a tank failure the tank would be covered as well as everything inside. I dont think it would cover the inhabitants in case of a power failure that lasts for days though.

[Ninong]

A $48,000 renters policy cost me $108 for the year. I asked several times and got the same answer from two different agents of the same company. They assured due to a tank failure the tank would be covered as well as everything inside. I dont think it would cover the inhabitants in case of a power failure that lasts for days though.

You can't believe everything the agents tell you because they often don't tell you the whole story. And what they tell you is not binding on the company. Only what is written in the policy is binding on the company.

Here is what you need to figure out. You need to figure out the limitations on the value of the contents of the aquarium. If you can't figure that out from reading the policy, then you have to call the company directly and ask them specifically what the limitations are and exactly what documentation you will need to prove the value of the loss.

For example, don't expect them to cover $20,000 for a single aquarium if your policy is for only $48,000. A 300-gal aquarium loaded with expensive livestock could easily have cost $20,000 in total. What if you try to claim fish that cost $1,500 a piece? I seriously doubt that they would cover something like that. They might even tell you that they won't cover more than $1,500 for the entire aquarium, including contents. That's why you have to find out exactly what is covered and what is not. Sometimes it's difficult to figure that out just by reading the policy.

Another point to remember is that in the event of a claim, especially a substantial claim, they will do their best to deny as much coverage as possible. That's just how it works. Take my word for it.

If you have an inexpensive aquarium that would cost no more than $1,500 to replace, including contents, then you probably have nothing to worry about. If your aquarium cost upwards of $2,000 plus another $3,000 for contents, plus the potential for thousands of dollars in consequential damage (water damage), then you may not be fully reimbursed. You need to find out what the limits are and whether you need a rider to cover damage above their usual limits, assuming they're willing to write a rider.

For example, most homeowner's policies have limits on the amount they will pay out for women's jewelry and men's jewelry that is undeclared. The limit on men's jewelry is lower than the limit on women's jewelry. My policy had a $1,000 limit on men's jewelry. If I wanted to insure my Rolex watch for full replacement value, I would have had to purchase a rider. Since my watch is always with me, the only way I'm going to lose it is in a holdup. I decided that the cost of the rider was not worth it. I bought the watch in 1977.

You need to find out from the insurance company directly how much they will pay out on your particular policy for the loss of the aquarium itself, how much for contents and how much for consequential damage.