Typical right, I lure (pun intended) you in with pretty fish and awesome corals and then I drop a big boring bomb on you.
I promise I will throw in some entertaining videos.
There are a ton of people who shell out big bucks for pet insurance on doggies, kittens, and horses but have you ever heard of someone taking a policy out on their guppy?
Odds are no, most providers won’t pay for your goldfishes triple bypass…but insurance is very important to consider.
Especially if you are having an affair with a married woman, and her best friend knows about it and confronts you…then throws a guitar at your tank and slaughters your fish. Slide right on into 1:50 if that reference was lost on you.
Poor Channing Tatum, I will console you.
When you have a tank there are two types of insurance to consider: Insurance for the aquarium and equipment itself, and then insurance that covers damages caused by the aquarium. You know, like when your pretty hardwood floors get soaked and you have four inches of water in your dining room. T was never a boy scout, but their motto is his language.
Your aquariums, their contents, and any damage caused by them may or may not be covered by your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance. You need to check your specific policy to find out more but don’t forget to read the small print, because there is always small print.
Many insurance policies have a comprehensive exclusion list and it is not unusual for aquariums to show up on this list. Your insurance company might only pay for damages caused by an aquarium up to a certain amount of gallons, or only cover aquariums that live up to certain standards. It is also quite common for insurance policies not to cover the livestock of the aquarium. Some insurance companies will consider plants and corals inhabitants, while others see them as decor. I know, we should just tell them to quit being haters but for some reason it is never that easy.
It is also common for insurance companies to have a notification limit. If for instance your policy has a $2,500 notification limit, you have to holler at the insurance company about any possessions that are worth more than that amount. Let’s say your home is burglarized by unicorns and you file a claim for a $3,000 necklace that got stolen, the insurance company may refuse to cover your baubles if you failed to notify them about you keeping such a precious piece of bling in your home. Flash back to the aquarium scene, keep in mind that if you file a claim for the entire aquarium you may hit this $2,500 ceiling even if the tank itself did not cost $2,500 to buy. Trust me, the dollars can keep piling up quite rapidly. You buy a $1,500 tank, treat yourself to some sweet LEDs, you add some nice filters and a heater and soon you’ve reached the notification limit without even realizing it.
Take a good look around your home, because believe it or not this can be applied to darn near everything.
I remember when I was younger – and slightly paranoid of robbers – I took videos of my parent’s house so that we would have a record of everything we owned. Now those are the funniest home movies to watch, oh hello orange shag carpet and wallpapered everything!
What crazy things do you all have insured? I once heard of a South American reporter that had her legs insured for millions.
