Help- Insurance Claim, shattered tank, ruined home :(

[WitsNWrasse]

Originally Posted by vhuang168

I would love to know who made the tank! Esp since it was custom!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The tank was made by Aqueon, at my local fish store that I have been going to for 4 or 5 years now. When I set it up i checked that the floor was level, and the stand it is on is an "Approved stand" or whatever because it was custom. so the thing was DEFINITELY level and correctly supported- no rocks fell that night. I also have egg crating on the bottom, so weight was evenly distributed and no pokey rocks could have created a weak point.

ALSO- if anyone is curious about using the new aquascape fix by fauna marine, i HIGHLY recommend it. I literally could NOT get my rocks apart to find my fish in this disaster, and i didn't have time to boil water, so i had to take a chisel to my aquascape . After everything was said and done, i went through my rocks one by one and spooned hot water on the epoxy and chipped it right off so I can use it again when i set back up.

Originally Posted by steallife904

also, do you know how thick the glass on your tank was?

Shoot, I'd have to look- this is something I should know off hand, but I don't.

I attached a picture (i honestly don't post much here, normally just creep, so hopefully i did this correctly). Ignore the crazy wires, i obviously had to rip everything that was plugged in so i wouldn't get shocked standing in an inch of water.

Originally Posted by ericarenee

I agree 100% I have Theft coverage and Huge Natural Disaster coverage with a High Deductible. I fought with my Insurance company Complaining trying to charge me more saying I did NOT have enough insurance to rebuild my home in case of a fire.. But the thing is i can Buy two homes just like mine for the amount they tell me i need..

Even if you do get them to pay for this.. Carpet base drywall and a few cabinets . your insurance raise because of the claim will cost you much more...

I actually have a MOLD Mildew Lead paint and hazmat osha Partnership and a few other useless pieces of paper i had to buy. OOPS take classes for to do some of the work i do in schools and gov buildings...
ITS ALL About money.

I contacted a public adjuster and we are hiring him to help our case. The emergency people (Servpro) did come out within 2 hours and got fans and dehumidifiers going immediately, as well as sucking up all the water. This morning the drywall is dry to the touch, and the walls actually look perfect. The floor of course is ruined and the kickboards on my cabinets, but otherwise everything seems to have dried out okay.

Originally Posted by neiltus

I am going to chime in on this...and your not going to like or enjoy some of the answers.

1. You need to read and understand what your paying for with your homeowner or renter policy, and all insurance policies for that matter. It's very common for agents to sell less coverage to show lower rates.

2. Servicemaster, or a water remediation company can help if acted on quickly. Fans (a ton of them) and dehumidifiers can save baseboard (sometimes) and drywall and cabinets. Time + the bacteria that are in our aquariums are not your carpet's friend.

3. You probably can't sue your insurance company. I don't know the laws in your state, but your policy may call for mediation only. See #1.

4. Being able to hold any insurance company liable for something someone who works in their phone bank tells you is next to impossible. Some attorneys will take your money and tell you otherwise. See #1 about in writing.

5. Geico, State Farm and other major insurers suck. I suggest after this is done looking at your states complaint database when selecting a new insurer.

6. Since your in a condo, you might need to look at what is past the drywall. This could involve neighbors or the building. This might be a reason to need an attorney.

Very sorry and wish you well. Been through this multiple times with overhead fire sprinklers freezing in my office buildings and living in hurricane prone areas. I have found it cheaper to not be covered and to pay for it myself and take steps to prevent it. Your not really out a home....trust me, roof is still there, you still have electric, plumbing and to a certain extent privacy.

So i did have Servpro come (see above), and like i said everything actually looks kind of okay. I definitely want to switch or take a second look at my insurance- the Public Adjustor actually told me I had a good case, because the insurance company didn't even come and look at the damage when they denied me. They couldnt even state a particular part of my policy where it falls under an exclusion, they just said it wasn't included in the "16 points that are covered". however, my adjuster said that if it isn't specifically excluded, then it is their fault and it has to be covered.

So far my one neighbor who would have been affected hasn't said anything.... so I am going to assume that they don't have any water damage in their home ? lol

Originally Posted by ericarenee

Then i think you have done the right thing. I would of course consult a lawyer.As far as the amount of damage for sure get others to look at it.
At this point get several very well Documented Estimates.and detailed report s from the cleanup company..

What you can do yourself to prevent further damage..
1 Remove anything wet and keep fans on. .
2. Because its living space. Get a Pump sprayer and a Gallon of SHOCK-Wave.. Spray this on all the walls at baseboard and lower. being sure to get it soaked under the wall seal plates , Behind the cabinets and under them as much as you can.. Move furniture out from walls to allow the to dry out...

This will limit the damage and risk of mold spreading into the walls . SHOCK Works .I Keep it on my work van and use it every water leak i repair then i paint all effected area with OIL Base killz before i cover it back up..

I will look into this shock-wave spray- i haven't heard of this before ! Although I am very familiar with Killz. Maybe I should have just painted all my walls with killz. lol. MARINE PROOF HOUSE !





Overall, thank you soooo much everyone. Has anyone ever worked with a public adjuster before ? The guy came yesterday and made me feel soo much better about the situation.

When I get new floor, I am going to put tile down for sure. Has anyone ever looked into "waterproofing" their baseboards at all ? I mean killz would only go so far on a baseboard, but if we put a small strip of rubber on the bottom or back to "seal" the baseboard against the wall ? I dunno it sounds stupid when i type it out. I just NEVER want to go through this again, and if i spill a bunch of water I just want to be able to rent a water vacuum and clean it up myself and have my walls be okay !

[schnebbles]

silicone caulk would probably seal your base, I don't think kilz seals water out does it? There is a product called Drylock that you can but on brick (probably any surface). i work at Lowes and we sell a lot of it for basements where people are worried about moisture.

I'm really sorry for your troubles, that's just awful.

[Green Chromis]

Originally Posted by rocsec1

It used to be that not everyone could get USAA, I've been a member for over 30 years but I think that changed. Maybe not be a member but can get coverage.

USAA, was for military officers and their families, now I believe you only need to be in the military, and any rank.

[TigeBell]

Originally Posted by Green Chromis

USAA, was for military officers and their families, now I believe you only need to be in the military, and any rank.

Correct. Their requirements have changed over time.

[steallife904]

this seems like something the manufacture of the tank should handle. It seems like an issue with the tank.

[WitsNWrasse]

Originally Posted by steallife904

this seems like something the manufacture of the tank should handle. It seems like an issue with the tank.

I've had the tank for 3 years now- has anyone successfully gotten a replacement for a tank that old from the manufacturer ?

[Elricsfate]

Originally Posted by Green Chromis

USAA, was for military officers and their families, now I believe you only need to be in the military, and any rank.

It's actually even a bit looser than that.

My ex-wife's step father was an officer. So she qualified...so I qualified...so 25 years later my kids (not with her) qualify.

So it's basically gotten to the point that if you have a relative in the service, you're good. Which is awesome, because they are awesome.

[steallife904]

Originally Posted by WitsNWrasse

I've had the tank for 3 years now- has anyone successfully gotten a replacement for a tank that old from the manufacturer ?

you would have to check the warranty but its worth trying to reach them.

[GimpyFin]

Originally Posted by WitsNWrasse

I've had the tank for 3 years now- has anyone successfully gotten a replacement for a tank that old from the manufacturer ?

I'm not sure what the warranty is on an Aqueon tank, but Marineland ones are lifetime, provided the tank wasn't altered after the fact and it's on a store bought stand. At the very least check with Aqueon/Central aquatics and go from there. The LFS might even be able to help. If it is warrantied and the above is true, I'd look into getting reimbursed for water damage as well.

[Pittsburgh]

All Aqueon tanks 65gal and up carry lifetime warranty.
http://www.aqueonproducts.com/assets/011/20202.pdf

[ericarenee]

If you really want to protect from water damage to walls and have to tear out baseboards and drywall. What we do in Commercial Kitchens,wet floor areas and most Basement Renovations i do..
Cut out the bottom 4 inches of the Drywall replace it with Duro-rock Running a big bead of urethane based adhesive along the floor to seal the durock to the floor.... Then run tile base up the walls just above the duro- rock . ALL You will have to do is Tape the Joint from duro-rock to drywall with Duro-rock tape and mortar..

This is The most cost effective to prevent the walls from wicking water

I think tile floors look best with tile base boards and is a very small added price to the Floor replacement compared to the piece of mind it will give you...

[Desert Sea]

Originally Posted by WitsNWrasse

I've had the tank for 3 years now- has anyone successfully gotten a replacement for a tank that old from the manufacturer ?

Aqueon tanks 55 gallons and bigger have a lifetime warranty but that's only in an unaltered state. You mentioned that yours was 'custom'. What was custom about it and who performed the customization? Drilling holes in it will void the warranty but looking at your picture, that doesn't appear to be the problem. I can't tell from the picture if the center brace is still there or not. But the crack looks to be from stress as if the front panel bowed out too much and finally let go.

[WitsNWrasse]

oh my gosh that is great i hadn't even had a chance to look yet and see if they had lifetime warranty or if it was just a year or something. I might give them a call and see what they say.

Originally Posted by Desert Sea

Aqueon tanks 55 gallons and bigger have a lifetime warranty but that's only in an unaltered state. You mentioned that yours was 'custom'. What was custom about it and who performed the customization? Drilling holes in it will void the warranty but looking at your picture, that doesn't appear to be the problem. I can't tell from the picture if the center brace is still there or not. But the crack looks to be from stress as if the front panel bowed out too much and finally let go.

Yes, the center brace is still there. By custom I mean that I picked out the silicone color, where my overflow box would be, its size & dimensions, and how big the holes are for the drain and return. I picked a standard stand since the back side (open side) would be against my chaise lounge and be covered, and the cabinetry doors on the side you see pictured. I attached another view of the broken tank.

Originally Posted by ericarenee

If you really want to protect from water damage to walls and have to tear out baseboards and drywall. What we do in Commercial Kitchens,wet floor areas and most Basement Renovations i do..
Cut out the bottom 4 inches of the Drywall replace it with Duro-rock Running a big bead of urethane based adhesive along the floor to seal the durock to the floor.... Then run tile base up the walls just above the duro- rock . ALL You will have to do is Tape the Joint from duro-rock to drywall with Duro-rock tape and mortar..

This is The most cost effective to prevent the walls from wicking water

I think tile floors look best with tile base boards and is a very small added price to the Floor replacement compared to the piece of mind it will give you...

this is AWESOME information, erica, thank you so much. I am definitely getting tile floors after this fiasco (the home came with laminate, and i didn't have enough money to redo the floors when i purchased the place). that is basically exactly what i meant when i mentioned wanting to "seal" those baseboards, just prevent the drywall from soaking up water if there's a flood. gotta redo the floors and drywall anyway, might as well take some preventative action.

[SPS_77493]

All I can say is get better ins coverage/company-GEICO is a nightmare to deal with.

Just a Few years back GEICO was using ASI ins out of Florida for home insurance. Basically they go through another company.

[musty baby]

You might want to contact a company that specializes in flood damage. My cousin owns a company here in Iowa and they can really do incredible things.

Somewhere on Youtube is an ad where she set up and then dumped a pool (to clarify, several hundred gallons) in their own house and fixed everything without damage.

[neiltus]

I have concrete floors. Cool in the summer, cooler in the winter...ha. But darn near bulletproof, if your on slab, it might be less expensive than tile.

My dad would always build our houses with some sort of wainscoating. This was because after a storm he did not have to match texture or re-blow texture. The wainscoating could be removed and replaced after being sprayed or stained outside.

Killz is a good idea, but there are better oil based primers to seal studs and such after water exposure. Go visit a benjamin moore or sherwin williams and discuss mildewcide additives to oil paint and or stuff to kill it prior to applying the primer.

Also, last couple dry outs I have had to do we ran dehumidifiers and fans for about a week to dry out everything drier than it normally is.

At the end of the day, have a drink, smile, and sleep in your own bed. It sucks, but you will recover...crappy insurer or not.

[brianacooper11]

Kind of terrible thing to say, but I think your disaster has benefited many in causing us to think about what would happen to OUR tanks, and maybe plan, too (I am). Thanks for the vicarious education, and really sorry for you, fish, everyone.

[bnumair]

sorry for the loss, most insurance will not cover such damage unless its written in policy mostly under addition plumbing coverage or if they do cover you, they will drop you at renewal and it will be on your insurance records as claim/loss which in turn will up the insurance for next company to insure you.

[2wheelsonly]

I had a situation similar to this a few years ago. I spent over $110k on a remodeled basement. Home theater, in wall tank, dedicated fish room, custom cabinets, computer area, bar. The whole nine yards...

I had internal plumbing burst below my upstairs kitchen above my basement (in between). Enough water came into the basement to cover 1910 square feet with a 3 inch depth. I called ServPro, quick estimate was $45,000 to pump it out and repair the dmgs.

I called State Farm and basically they decided to fight me, even though I was covered for all plumbing in the house they tried to say the weather outside caused it which was not possible. I went the avenue of taking legal action and fought for a bit; I had to tell Servpro to leave. After a few miserable days of reading and learning how to fix it while making trip after trip to home depot I managed to removed all carpet. Took the baseboards off, punctured holes ever 3 inches in the drywall that was submerged.

Used industrial fans to dry out.

Servpro basically told me the sky was falling, that's what they do. They are in a tough business of accountability and when they are involved there are always dealings with insurance. Since this is the good ole US of A you can almost expect insurance companies WILL try to screw you if they can. Corny commercials aside, they don't care about YOU. To make matters worse, our legal system makes it very hard to beat them when they throw money at lawyers and already know all the loopholes.

My suggestion is don't spend a dime fighting those crooks. I was able to repair everything for under 10k. Never had any signs of mold or odors. I disclosed that situation when I sold the house and the new buyers didn't care because it looked so good.

Be very careful of Servpro and hidden charges, they like to play the "hidden overcharge" game and hope you have lost the will to fight.

[Mrs. Music]

So sorry for your aquarium disaster. That truly sucks. I hope it all works out in the end. I am going to double check our policy. Years ago, I walked into our finished basement one morning to find the carpet squishy, and cold. I called our insurance company, and they sent someone to our house to clean everything. Pulled carpet, and padding. Huge fans, and dehumidifiers. The insurance adjuster found the wet pipe in the utility closet. It appeared to be a slow leak that finally burst. There was some mold discovered (actually explained a mold problem we were having in the rooms above). Everything was repaired, replaced and covered, and treated for mold. We had no hidden charges and they even "paid" my husband for work he did to reduce our deductible. The company was a locally owned disaster cleanup company.

[steallife904]

Originally Posted by 2wheelsonly

I had a situation similar to this a few years ago. I spent over $110k on a remodeled basement. Home theater, in wall tank, dedicated fish room, custom cabinets, computer area, bar. The whole nine yards...

I had internal plumbing burst below my upstairs kitchen above my basement (in between). Enough water came into the basement to cover 1910 square feet with a 3 inch depth. I called ServPro, quick estimate was $45,000 to pump it out and repair the dmgs.

I called State Farm and basically they decided to fight me, even though I was covered for all plumbing in the house they tried to say the weather outside caused it which was not possible. I went the avenue of taking legal action and fought for a bit; I had to tell Servpro to leave. After a few miserable days of reading and learning how to fix it while making trip after trip to home depot I managed to removed all carpet. Took the baseboards off, punctured holes ever 3 inches in the drywall that was submerged.

Used industrial fans to dry out.

Servpro basically told me the sky was falling, that's what they do. They are in a tough business of accountability and when they are involved there are always dealings with insurance. Since this is the good ole US of A you can almost expect insurance companies WILL try to screw you if they can. Corny commercials aside, they don't care about YOU. To make matters worse, our legal system makes it very hard to beat them when they throw money at lawyers and already know all the loopholes.

My suggestion is don't spend a dime fighting those crooks. I was able to repair everything for under 10k. Never had any signs of mold or odors. I disclosed that situation when I sold the house and the new buyers didn't care because it looked so good.

Be very careful of Servpro and hidden charges, they like to play the "hidden overcharge" game and hope you have lost the will to fight.

Servpro was who came and told me the sky was falling! said I needed to remove drywall, insulation, have a grand worth of machines running for a week, flooring removed, mold stuff sprayed, etc... thank god a nice person came over and told me all that needed to be done and I could do myself which fixed the issue just fine. From what I was told as long as the water and moister are removed quickly (within a few days) your good.

Also FYI.... running your A/C or heater will pull out moister as well. Forgot to mention before the guy also told me to crank up the A/C which will pull out the moister. I ran A/C 24/7 for the first day or so at like 71 or 72 (im in Jacksonville FL and this was in summer on a 90+ day so 70 or 71 kept A/C running)

[soulpatch]

I will note that this stinks but others are right in that the clean up crews are there to basically try to rob your insurance company and they in turn are there to not pay it. It is a petty fight all around.

I had a FW tank blow a filter o ring a few years ago sending roughly 75 gallons into my basement. It was literally raining. new carpet, drywall, lighting, paint, and such and I was in hole all of 3K to repair myself when my insurer basically told me good luck after I called them. I believe I was with All State at the time.

Same day I called around and finally got to Liberty Mutual (which oddly enough Geico now uses) and they put in a rider to my policy to cover damage from my tanks should it occur again. It would not cover the actual livestock or the tank that blew but anything else ruined by the water is covered. It has been 3-4 years since I got that policy so this thread made me call them up yesterday after I looked over the policy docs and couldn't find the rider. It, thankfully, is still there but moved to another portion of docs. The agent who called got an underwriter on the phone and everything for us to ensure and I have an email noting it as well. These situations stink but they do have the benefit for those of us to ensure we are covered in the case soemthing goes awry.

It is also imperative that we all have an emergency fund that many do not. Crap happens and in some instances is not covered. Having the funds needed to handle it is paramount for life. I wish my fund was larger and working on that but having one is sooo important and often overlooked by many.

[2wheelsonly]

Originally Posted by steallife904

Servpro was who came and told me the sky was falling! said I needed to remove drywall, insulation, have a grand worth of machines running for a week, flooring removed, mold stuff sprayed, etc... thank god a nice person came over and told me all that needed to be done and I could do myself which fixed the issue just fine. From what I was told as long as the water and moister are removed quickly (within a few days) your good.

Also FYI.... running your A/C or heater will pull out moister as well. Forgot to mention before the guy also told me to crank up the A/C which will pull out the moister. I ran A/C 24/7 for the first day or so at like 71 or 72 (im in Jacksonville FL and this was in summer on a 90+ day so 70 or 71 kept A/C running)

Yeah that's correct, AC units make great dehumidifiers.

What Servpro fails to mention, all of the machines they claim costs thousands of dollars can be rented from Home Depot @ $35 per day.

I'm sure it's even cheaper at a smaller scale rental shop. Our insurance is high because of companies like Servpro; I despise them.

[WitsNWrasse]

I also asked my adjuster that when this is all over, if he would help me find a policy that will work for me and my tank. He said he would. I will update EVERYONE on this thread on the wording or addendums you need to look for in your policies to make sure you're covered if something were to happen.

Originally Posted by brianacooper11

Kind of terrible thing to say, but I think your disaster has benefited many in causing us to think about what would happen to OUR tanks, and maybe plan, too (I am). Thanks for the vicarious education, and really sorry for you, fish, everyone.

Oh my goodness yes, i highly recommend EVERYONE takes a look at their policy and adds an addendum or whatever is needed to make this whole claim process easier, because this is a nightmare. The public adjuster I hired is actually feeling really positive about the situation, and believes he can get everything covered and fixed. I have texted ALL of my reef friends telling them to look at their policies.

Originally Posted by 2wheelsonly

I had a situation similar to this a few years ago. I spent over $110k on a remodeled basement. Home theater, in wall tank, dedicated fish room, custom cabinets, computer area, bar. The whole nine yards...

I had internal plumbing burst below my upstairs kitchen above my basement (in between). Enough water came into the basement to cover 1910 square feet with a 3 inch depth. I called ServPro, quick estimate was $45,000 to pump it out and repair the dmgs.

I called State Farm and basically they decided to fight me, even though I was covered for all plumbing in the house they tried to say the weather outside caused it which was not possible. I went the avenue of taking legal action and fought for a bit; I had to tell Servpro to leave. After a few miserable days of reading and learning how to fix it while making trip after trip to home depot I managed to removed all carpet. Took the baseboards off, punctured holes ever 3 inches in the drywall that was submerged.

Used industrial fans to dry out.

Servpro basically told me the sky was falling, that's what they do. They are in a tough business of accountability and when they are involved there are always dealings with insurance. Since this is the good ole US of A you can almost expect insurance companies WILL try to screw you if they can. Corny commercials aside, they don't care about YOU. To make matters worse, our legal system makes it very hard to beat them when they throw money at lawyers and already know all the loopholes.

My suggestion is don't spend a dime fighting those crooks. I was able to repair everything for under 10k. Never had any signs of mold or odors. I disclosed that situation when I sold the house and the new buyers didn't care because it looked so good.

Be very careful of Servpro and hidden charges, they like to play the "hidden overcharge" game and hope you have lost the will to fight.

Oh my god what an insane nightmare............. i can't imagine dealing with that amount of damage. The fans and dehumidifiers are still running. i would totally do all of this myself if i knew how to do all of it, but being 24 i just don't have the experience so I'm going to have to hire a professional (and the adjuster thinks he can get it all covered).




anyway, heres what my tank used to look like. wasn't chock full of corals yet but i knew they would grow into the scape. ugh i really loved my aquascape
I have a ruby headed wrasse named gemma, two madagascar clowns name sonoma and franklin, a sand sifting goby named goober, and 3 chromis. I also propagated anemones in my sump to pay for my hobby lol.


I don't really post on here, i normally just search when i have an issue. thank you so much for all your support, I only have a couple friends in the hobby and unfortunately they live across the country. I work at birch aquarium on the weekends but thats about all the fish talk i get. I shall post on here more often, this is a great community that i'm not fully taking advantage of.

[Mrs. Music]

it was very pretty.