Who's insurance company covers water damage?

[RMS18]

I have travelers and had asked about this a long time ago and they said I was covered, but now I can't find where they told me that. I will have to look into it again and if not then I will look in to switching also.

Yea check into that. I called twice so I could get 2 different people. Both ended up checking with their senior advisor and came back saying no. The first guy said yes then said let me check to make sure. The he comes back retracting his statement.

 

[Dan Friday]

Was the tank on a Marineland stand? I have 2 different buddies who had their marine land tanks seams fail. One was a 150, the other was a 200DD. Both were on marine land stands and they cut them both big checks. My understanding of it is that the tank needs to be on their stand to be covered.

 

[Dan Friday]

Yes on their stand ,level flat the works still are claiming it was neglect!

 

[Dirk Griffin]

Having been an insurance agent for 28 years and having tanks for 35+ years and traveling the country for shows/swaps I have seen and heard many things over time.
A few posts have hit some good points but the best answer is this is a very VERY gray area......
I am not aware of any policy anywhere that specifically says 'aquarium' anywhere in its language damage from or to, covered or not which brings in the gray part of this. Which then has the adjusters after a claim looking at the policy and try to interpret what their/your's says is/is not covered depending their interpretation of what happened.
A book could be written over all of the different and possible scenarios each tank and circumstances could and will make many/most claims different from the next. Was it the tank, the house/condo/whatever you live in, the stand, the flooring, vandalism, and others. A big one is potential FRAUD, yes some ******s purposely have a claim.
For those of you who had a covered claim, good for you. However, going across state lines, having a different claims office handle things even having a different type of claim could change the outcome very quickly.
The biggest 'gray part' are the different policies in each state and most agents do not write the checks out after a (big) claim meaning the adjusters and his/her supervisor either ok some, none or all of the damage. Most policies do not have 'aquariums' in any of their policy language so the interpretation of what is/is not covered will not be the same anywhere.
Also MOST agents when asked about aquarium coverage... are going off of their gut instincts," it is water damage and is 'sudden and accidental' of course it is covered, there is nothing to worry about"...NOT TRUE and in many/most cases claims are only partially covered if at all. Agents are giving you an what they think is an 'educated guess' when give you an answer. 99%+ have never had a claim involving any type of tank of any sort. Wind, lightning, hail, fire, broken water pipes...yes...aquariums NO!
In most cases, after your deductible
-what is inside the tank will/can not be covered ever, for many reasons
-the tank is not covered, depending on the type of claim. Warranty claims vary widely for various and no reasons at all.....Many policies state after a covered claim for an example: they will cover damage from *a broken/frozen pipe*, but will not cover *fixing the broken pipe. For some of you....I am not making this crap up. Policies are actually written this way
-water damage to the property-floor, walls, ceilings...are usually covered
-personal property that is wet is sometimes covered, furniture, carpets, electronics (anything you own) is repaired, cleaned or replaced (when you re-buy it)
I have personally witnessed with friends in the hobby (in MN)
-damage to the house covered, nothing else. Not the tank, inhabitants, personal property, nothing else
-strangely a few weeks after that incident (involving different insurance companies) our office received a fax describing different personal containers of water-water beds, aquariums, ponds, other and what was/was not covered by our company. We had a water bed endorsement you could buy for coverage....nothing else was available or would be covered for any reason, period
-damage to house and personal items all covered due to the tank being pvc/hard plumbed leaking/causing damage. The normal tubing many of us use....this would have been not covered. This does not mean, pvc is the answer but it did help here
-luckily a friend was the adjuster and walla, covered....few questions were asked

There are many examples throughout this thread describing what happened in their case...whether a good out come or not.
I missed lots of things just to keep this a bit shorter....covering everything what could/might happen would be very long and drawn out with no definite conclusions. I certainly don't have all of the answers, no one does. If you were covered for something, you were fortunate. If you were not, it is not surprising. The partial coverage result is almost normal.
The adjusters are the ones with more answers, interpretations of policy language would be another book to read......
IF there was a 'normal' coverage available to add to our policies...imo, it would not be a cheap endorsement to add. There are too many variables to consider and to some how put a price on it vs what will/will not be covered, yuk!
**For those who have 'endorsements' would love to see them posted!!*
To repeat, for most of us it does no matter what your agent says. While this is the only person we can ask....They are not the adjusters who write the checks for our tank issues. For a high percentage of claims, they are also not the supervisor approving those adjusters claims/checks. Another portion of a particular claim for more policy interpretation to occur for or against.....
Good luck

 

[HM3105]

I have Allstate, I asked them specifically about coverage for my salt water aquarium. I had to add a rider to cover damage caused by it failing, as long as it isn't a slow leak. I specifically asked, if a seam fails will I be covered and they replied yes. I made sure to have the whole thing in email (for whatever that will be worth).

 

[ReeferDave01]

I just emailed my company - Farmers. They do NOT cover and do NOT offer any riders for covering aquariums. Below is the email. Obviously if members are saying that they have policies that offer coverage, Id be interested and will be calling them as I have multiple houses (own rental homes) insured under Farmers and may go somewhere else. Email from agent:

You are NOT covered for leaks or floods from the fish tank because it's not a household appliance or dwelling structure. No homeowners insurance policy / company offers riders to cover water loss from a fish tank. A fish tank is like a water bed back in the days.

 

[ReeferDave01]

Quick update. I told my Farmers agent that I will be looking at other companies. He called the Claims to get clarification, and then I talked to agent over the phone. So Farmers DOES cover any water damage - dwelling and personal property from leaks, floods, etc. However they will not cover the tank if the tank bursts by itself. If, someone breaks into the house and takes a baseball bat to it, or if some little kid comes over and smashes the aquarium, then it is covered.

 

[rayn]

As I said earlier I have State Farm. I happened to be there today and asked them about this specifically. They cover damages to the house from a disaster. They don't cover a known leak the owner just ignored.

They don't cover pumps or other equipment. However if I decided I had enough money invested in pumps, lights, reactors, or equipment that could be destroyed or damaged by running dry I could put a personal property policy on them if I wanted to. Not sure this would be worth it on a smaller system, but possibly on some of the larger builds.

 

[Sharvey103]

Amica and they cover it because I had a 265 fail back in May. No problems taking care of everything but tank and livestock. If I had it built into the wall they would have covered everything.

 

[jimmy2times]

i got allstate with a water ryder they are rock solid on claims for sure and recommend them

 

[chefjpaul]

I just had to use it.
(Travelers Insurance, 1M policy, didn't even know my parinoid wife changed it).

Flooded my floor and my downstairs neighbors ceiling, she just got done remodeling. Luckily she is very cool about it.

That thing about patience in this hobby. Yeah that one.

 

[BigJohnny]

I just had to use it.
(Travelers Insurance, 1M policy, didn't even know my parinoid wife changed it).

Flooded my floor and my downstairs neighbors ceiling, she just got done remodeling. Luckily she is very cool about it.

That thing about patience in this hobby. Yeah that one.

Wow sorry to hear that, at least you had insurance! Do you know if you had a specific policy/rider for it or if your general insurance covered it? Did you have a store bought stand or diy? What happened if you don't mind me asking?

 

[chefjpaul]

Wow sorry to hear that, at least you had insurance! Do you know if you had a specific policy/rider for it or if your general insurance covered it? Did you have a store bought stand or diy? What happened if you don't mind me asking?

General liability.

It was stupid on my part, setting up a new controller, which worked perfectly, to fill my under stand ato resivor from the main water resivoirs in another room, which are higher than the tank. Back siphoned. The diaphragm pump just let loose.
I knew better, just rushing around.

 

[Syntax1235]

I'm covered by a Horace Mann. I had to send them pictures of my tank. Water damage is covered without a rider.

 

[HiddenUser]

State Farm and they've said that if it's a slow gradual leak it would not be covered. It would basically take a seam to blow out and the tank to drain with minutes in order for it to something they would cover.

 

[chefjpaul]

They covered me due to my negligence

 

[vertigo01]

Allstate covered the damages to anything and everything (even the Roomba) that had seen saltwater when my wife's nano IM 16 decided to split.
Gotta say, the ATO worked like a charm. Kept pumping till there was none left in the 10 gal container.

 

[USMC 4 LIFE]

If you're prior military and qualify for their services, USAA is really good. I have EVERYTHING (banking, loans, insurances) with them. They specifically covered all my tank equipment and flood damage for $30 a year. Yep you read that right.

 

[KJAG]

Very timely thread. Just dealt with First American for our water heater replacement( total nightmare)and was already thinking about going State Farm. Another reason to pull the trigger.

 

[915MANG]

My Friend had USAA they covered his Mess, 400g Every where. I also have USAA