Reef Tanks and Homeowners Insurance

[mjszos]

A general question for you all, and one I have not seen posed here before;

I am a first time homeowner, and recently had a discussion with my partners parents regarding my tanks. During this conversation they posed the question as to whether or not I notified my homeowners insurance of the 65 gallons of water sitting in a box in my living room.

So here's my question; Should I notify my HOI company? Would I expect my premiums to go up due to the added risk of a tank? If I do not notify my insurance and experience a critical failure, would I potentially be SOL when filing a claim?

Cheers!

 

[o2manyfish]

A general question for you all, and one I have not seen posed here before;

I am a first time homeowner, and recently had a discussion with my partners parents regarding my tanks. During this conversation they posed the question as to whether or not I notified my homeowners insurance of the 65 gallons of water sitting in a box in my living room.

So here's my question; Should I notify my HOI company? Would I expect my premiums to go up due to the added risk of a tank? If I do not notify my insurance and experience a critical failure, would I potentially be SOL when filing a claim?

Cheers!

It's a good question - I've been in my home, paying insurance, for almost 30 years. When changing policies over the years we have had multiple inspections by the insurance companies. We had a 400g tank for the past 20 years. Nobody ever noted the fish tank, and it never showed up on a new policy after inspection.

Dave B


PS - When I got started building tanks in the late 80s early 90's we had aquariums insured as art. And used to get aquarium crashes covered. That ended in the early 90s - the wouldn't cover 'living' items.

 

[HankstankXXL750]

Read your policy. You might need a rider to cover the tank. Water damage I would think would be covered, but make sure there aren’t any specific exclusions.

 

[acesfull44]

I would absolutely recommend a review of your policy with your agent. Most items that are not technically part of your homes structure are not covered in a general context. I have specific riders on my policy to cover Memorabilia, Jewelry, Personal Liability etc. Worst thing that happens is your agent/company says you would be fine, or your find out you need to add a rider and can do so prior to any damage taking place due to having an issue.

 

[mjszos]

It's a good question - I've been in my home, paying insurance, for almost 30 years. When changing policies over the years we have had multiple inspections by the insurance companies. We had a 400g tank for the past 20 years. Nobody ever noted the fish tank, and it never showed up on a new policy after inspection.

Dave B


PS - When I got started building tanks in the late 80s early 90's we had aquariums insured as art. And used to get aquarium crashes covered. That ended in the early 90s - the wouldn't cover 'living' items.

This is good to know!

Read your policy. You might need a rider to cover the tank. Water damage I would think would be covered, but make sure there aren’t any specific exclusions.

I will read my policy. My main concern with calling my broker to ask them the question, and why I posed it here is that I know its not impossible that if you inquire about something it could show as you being aware of a potential issue and not resolving it thus resulting in your insurance failing to cover instances in the future. I've most commonly heard of this happening with a dying tree for instance that the owner was aware of and say inquired on a quote to chop down but then never followed through, well then the tree falls and damages their roof and they're forced to pay out of pocket. Really hoping to avoid that situation (or any critical tank failures for that matter!)

 

[vetteguy53081]

A general question for you all, and one I have not seen posed here before;

I am a first time homeowner, and recently had a discussion with my partners parents regarding my tanks. During this conversation they posed the question as to whether or not I notified my homeowners insurance of the 65 gallons of water sitting in a box in my living room.

So here's my question; Should I notify my HOI company? Would I expect my premiums to go up due to the added risk of a tank? If I do not notify my insurance and experience a critical failure, would I potentially be SOL when filing a claim?

Cheers!

It may be classified as flood insurance which is costly. Last I knew, K & K insurance does marine tanks- BUT at a cost and most policies cover liability with tanks but you will find almost all have a standard $500 deductible and if your tanks value is $750 or less- dont bother

 

[mjszos]

It may be classified as flood insurance which is costly. Last I knew, K & K insurance does marine tanks- BUT at a cost and most policies cover liability with tanks but you will find almost all have a standard $500 deductible and if your tanks value is $750 or less- dont bother

Truthfully I'm most interested in making sure coverage is maintained to the home. While a loss of the tank would be devastating, it's a heck of a lot cheaper to replace a tank than to repair water damage. Will be reviewing my policy documents today to see where I stand.