Gathering data for possible insurance on tanks... help please?

dreaminmel · #1 05/15/2007, 10:32 PM

If you have a minute to help please click the link below and type away...

If I can get an insurance company in NY to offer this there is a large chance other states will as well...

Thread gathering data, please help

dreaminmel · #2 05/17/2007, 03:11 PM

Much more feedback is needed... there is no way I'll be able to push this farther with the companies without some more data. I personally want the option to insure the living organisms in my tank so if you all ruin it for me by quietly lurking, well, hmmm, maybe I need to offer bribes?

j/k

C'mon guys/gals! Help me out!

leveldrummer · #3 05/17/2007, 03:21 PM

seems like to many variables and too much risk vs. loss for any insurance company to even think about, you would probably be better off figuring what your monthly bill would be with insurance, and putting that money in a jar somewhere. hopefully you will have enough saved to replace incase of a crash.

dreaminmel · #4 05/17/2007, 05:02 PM

I have worked in insurance for almost 10 years now and can confirm they deal with high risk people every day. We're not looking to insure human error with this proposition, only for the same perils of loss that already cover your home and/or belongings. (fire, wind storm causing tree to open up your house, etc...) Since there are more dogs in households than aquariums this is in fact something they are considering as it is lower risk than they are used to. They just need data to get to the next step. I am trying to get this data as there are people here who do want this coverage. By a company making it an option, only those who want it would buy it. Those who prefer to have a generator or the like as their only safety measure can continue to do so even though a generator won't help in a house fire. Simply trying to give interested parties the option... =)

Even though I do have self control to a degree there are a lot of people out there like me that don't have the discipline to accumulate thousands of dollars for "in case their fish/corals die". I have a roof to replace, a front wall to demolish and reconstruct and a car that needs a few repairs. If I can cover my living reef organisms by simply paying a little more money on my home insurance I would sleep a little easier. I have much more urgent things demanding my paycheck. =)

leveldrummer · #5 05/17/2007, 05:37 PM

makes a lot of sense!! why wouldnt this be covered under normal home owners insurance?? if your house burns down, doesnt it cover all the stuff you have in it too? if you had the venus di milo... and had proof, is should be covered right?

dreaminmel · #6 05/17/2007, 05:39 PM

Not living pets or fish. Some home policies with the bells and whistles will pay a small reimbursement on the death of a dog, cat or bird but that's the best they offer right now.

And if you did have an expensive painting or collectible it would only be covered up to a certain limit unless you get it appraised and pay an additional premium to specifically cover it for the value. They have to do this to protect themselves from fraud. Otherwise everyone would have 10 Picassos and rare fur coats... As much as I hate to even suggest this due to the legalese... reading your policy coverages and exclusions is very important even though it can be the equivalent of Nyquil.

dreaminmel · #7 05/25/2007, 08:53 PM

bumpin' for more feedback =)

TIMMYE · #8 05/26/2007, 04:26 PM

As far as covering things like this on insurance, it will depend on every policy and each state. I am in the process of also trying to get my home owner to cover everything in the tank. My agenet is awesome as she working hard to get this done for me. worst case is I will have to get a rider policy to cover the tank at additonal cost. But everything will have to be documented with pics and cost.

The problem with policys like this is, say you buy an ORA Blue Tort frag for example for 45.00. Say in three years something happens and it now is a full show piece that is 8x10" what is the cost of this? How do come up with this, and how often do you update your policy for this? Just my .02

dreaminmel · #9 05/26/2007, 05:47 PM

What I am trying to talk my companies into doing is offering a blanket endorsement for a preset amount where determining value of individual items is not necessary. All you would need to decide is if you wanted $2000, $5000 or more in total coverage.

Please let me know how your agent makes out with that as of the 21 companies I deal with not a single one of them will do it. Yet... that's what I'm trying to change if only people would give me the data that I need to collect. If I get more data I have a couple companies willing to submit the option to the NY state insurance dept. for approval so they could start offering the coverage.

dreaminmel · #10 06/04/2007, 10:27 PM

Crunch time... I only have 3 weeks left to collect data from people on their ideal insurance option. Thank you to all who have contributed so far.