Insurance rider?

[AlanM]

Is it wise to get a rider or special endorsement on your house insurance policy before setting up a bit tank, or is it typically covered by insurance already? I remember I had to get one for a waterbed when I was renting a long time ago.

[smallreef]

It really depends on your base policy..you may want to contact your agency and find out what is covered...mine covers firee damage but for anything specific for my tank i needed an additional rider for it...

[dmatt56]

Nationwide was not willing to insure the entire tank. Hardware - yes. Anything alive - no.

[dbartco]

Usaa covers it like an appliance, so any damage incurred covered, but not livestock. I had to file a biggie a few years ago because of a slight malfunction (of the brain...)

[smallreef]

Yeah mine is kinda the same..allstate covers everything but fish, inverts, coral...they will cover the sand and liverock since its notthe considered a living animal,lol

[PotomacBoater]

Does it cover damage to your home caused by hundreds of gallons of water during a tank failure?

[ridetheducati]

Does it cover damage to your home caused by hundreds of gallons of water during a tank failure?

 

Yes. Take pictures of all your hardware including the surrounding area.

[Jsbarber12]

Be careful, if the tank water is due to one of your mistakes then you are SOL, most insurance companies use a standard ISO ho-3 contract , they all just call it something different , let's say you had your tank on a stand or area that was not level, well that would fall under negligence and therefore not be covered. You don't need a rider for your equipment your agent is just getting more $ from you that way. You will never get your livestock covered .ever. But your equipment is covered regardless , unless the damage to it is excluded in your policy.

Slow leak from tank that ends up ruining flooring , not covered.

If you do sustain water damage though from your tank it will cover all personal property damaged and any structural damage unless the leak of water was a specifically excluded peril.

Pick my brain for anything else , I'm a senior underwriter w/cpcu so I can pretty much answer any specific ?'s you might have.

 

[Jsbarber12]

 

Yes. Take pictures of all your hardware including the surrounding area.

 

Not 100% it all depends on the cause of the failure or what your adjuster would say the "proximate cause"

 

Say your return pump failed , because of a power flicker or outage due to work being done on the lines and sump overflows everywhere , you are SOL

But if it fails due to storm then your fine.

 

[ridetheducati]

Not 100% it all depends on the cause of the failure or what your adjuster would say the "proximate cause"

 

Say your return pump failed , because of a power flicker or outage due to work being done on the lines and sump overflows everywhere , you are SOL

But if it fails due to storm then your fine.

 

Prior to an incident, would it be beneficial to document the equipment? I would think maintaining a current inventory would help the process.

[Jsbarber12]

You should always have an inventory of everything in your home, the best way is take pictures and document model# and serial# and email them too yourself so you can access them anywhere . And I'm talking everything , no matter how small it is, if something happens ie total loss you need to be reimbursed for everything down to toilet paper and tooth brush.

[fry_school101]

State Farm added a waterbed rider to my renter's policy. It was the closest thing they had for dumping a couple hundred gallons on the floor.

[Jsbarber12]

Your policy would already cover that( considering its a standard ho4 policy- ho4= renters) so the endorsement is a waste of money to be honest.