home owners

i got off the phone with my uncle a few minutes ago after he asked about my snake. he told me that if home owners insurance finds out they will cancel our insurance because it is an exotic reptile. he said due to ignorant people and their careless heating techniques, homes have burned down from poor husbandry. is there anything that can be done about this(insurance cancellation)? surely the problems have come from the heatlamps or hot rocks or something, i dont see how heat tape can just catch on fire especially if you have temperature controls rigged up?

does anyone know more about this, im about to go look up a bit on insurance.
just wondering.

I have heard of this happening to some reptile owners:mad: .I am not sure if its certain companies or certain policies.You might want to read your homeowners policy for any clauses concerning this.

as said it really depends on your insurance carrier. Many of us don't ask and don't tell.

that's what i figured.
this really really irks me right now.

I rent but I am of the don't ask, don't tell policy. There is no need for them to know...

well, jic- what would cause some sort of fire? if we have everything down pat, and were to go word/word with plastic reptile housing (like the directions given here) would we have to worry about some sort of fire? that's the only catch, if it ever did happen, we wouldnt be covered.

The silly thing is more homes burn down from grease fires in your kitchen than from a reptile related fire I'm quite sure. Funny they don't cancel your policy if you have a stove do they.


I'm with the "some things are best left unsaid" group.


~~Jo~~

thats what i was thinking earlier; i dont seem to recal an absence of stoves in the house.
beh.
i just want to make sure now, that all the precautions we take should help stop some queer fire. i really could see someone knocking over a heat lamp or such, but honestly.

Becareful....

If your home should burn down, catch fire etc... and the inspector sees you have viv (or reminants of one) you could end up losing your claim as you were in violation of the terms of the contract. There is only one thing insurance companies love more than collecting premiums... that's finding a way not to pay out on them.

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Originally Posted by Krynos

Becareful....

If your home should burn down, catch fire etc... and the inspector sees you have viv (or reminants of one) you could end up losing your claim as you were in violation of the terms of the contract. There is only one thing insurance companies love more than collecting premiums... that's finding a way not to pay out on them.

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That would be true only IF the terms of your contract specifically state restrictions regarding reptile enclosures with wired heat. I'm quite sure ours says nothing of the sort. Therefore, if we were to lose our home due to fire (for any reason) they would have to pay the claim. That's not to say they might not choose to drop us after paying, if they have something against keeping snakes.....but according to the contract we currently have, it's not an issue.

One problem here though.If you do not see anything in your home owners policy stating that having reptiles is a violation to your policy.How could your insurance company cancel you or not pay your claim if something did happen.Perfect example.We used to have a fish tank and one day i heard a buzzing sound:confused: .Well several days later i discovered the tank was leaking water down onto the electric outlet.Now if this would have caused a fire how could our insurance company not pay our claim? Tons of homes have fish tanks so whats the differance? Reptiles need heat(electric),fish need air and heat(electric),but you never hear of someones insurance refusing to pay a claim because the fish tank caused the fire.It seems more and more reptile lovers are always getting jacked some how:mad: .Sorry for the ranting:oops:

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Originally Posted by joepythons

One problem here though.If you do not see anything in your home owners policy stating that having reptiles is a violation to your policy.How could your insurance company cancel you or not pay your claim if something did happen.Perfect example.We used to have a fish tank and one day i heard a buzzing sound:confused: .Well several days later i discovered the tank was leaking water down onto the electric outlet.Now if this would have caused a fire how could our insurance company not pay our claim? Tons of homes have fish tanks so whats the differance? Reptiles need heat(electric),fish need air and heat(electric),but you never hear of someones insurance refusing to pay a claim because the fish tank caused the fire.It seems more and more reptile lovers are always getting jacked some how:mad: .Sorry for the ranting:oops:

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That's the thing, Joe. They can't deny your claim unless there is a specific restriction in the contract.

I may be wrong, but I have a feeling this is NOT a case of reptile lovers getting jacked....it's more a case of hearsay and assumptions that get built up into urban legends that say anyone with a snake in their house can't get home-owners protection. This just simply isn't true.

Now...trying to buy insurance to cover your $six-figure collection in case something were to go tragically wrong...that's a whole other story. It can be done, but I'll bet it can't be done cheaply.

I'd say there's nothing wrong with checking the fine print of your policy to make sure it doesn't include some funky clause. If not, you should be fine. =)

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Originally Posted by joepythons

fish need air

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huh? LOL

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Originally Posted by alexrls

huh? LOL

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LOL...the water has to have oxygen in it....the oxygen comes from circulating the water and introducing air into it, which is the bubbles you see in most fish tanks. (Pretty sure I got that process right enough...I'm not much of a fish person.)

yeah its just funny cause he mentioned air and heat but not water.
whatever

i still think its funny:imslow:

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Originally Posted by JLC

LOL...the water has to have oxygen in it....the oxygen comes from circulating the water and introducing air into it, which is the bubbles you see in most fish tanks. (Pretty sure I got that process right enough...I'm not much of a fish person.)

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Thank you for explaining that part;) .You are 100% correct on your description.

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Originally Posted by alexrls

yeah its just funny cause he mentioned air and heat but not water.
whatever

i still think its funny:imslow:

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The reason i did not mention water is because, i was refering to electricity causing a fire.

ahhhh, i will have to let my uncle know about this bit then. thanks for posting i was really getting annoyed for a bit there. prehaps now after 40 something years my uncle can finally get himself a snake. grazie everyone!

I know things can happen w/ defaults in the equip. we use.
Case in point in Montgomery Cty. Md a few weeks ago the heat lamp for a pet turtle caught fire/ shorted and did over 40k worth of fire damage.
Like others have stated check your Insurance.
Also renters should check there lease, if it states such as mine no exotics thrn that can cause complications with insurance claims also.
I like everyone else is on the don't ask don't tell deal. But the fire w/ the turtle made me think.