Insurance and Reef Tanks

[talktojvc]

Has anyone had their tank damaged by vandalism? I can home from vacation and neighborhood kids had broke in and dumped 2 containers of food in my 25 gallon reef tank. I'm having a horrible time with my insurance company--they haven't addressed the tank yet. My carpet was also destroyed with eggs, food, and locking my Yorkie upstairs. They are saying any damage by the dog is excluded and after reading my policy it excludes property coverage for animals, fish, and birds. (Not live rock, sand, and is coral considered an animal?). It so far isn't a total loss, but the display is going through a major cycle and the emergency rubber maid is more like a mini cycle. Of course --anemone and sps are toast. 3 fish lived so far and mushrooms, Duncan, and one leather may survive and a maxi carpet. More than $1000 in inverts lost.

 

[GimpyFin]

Geez, that completely sucks. Sorry to hear that. I talked to my insurance company about aquarium coverage not too long ago just out of curiosity. Basically, I'd be covered for water damage if the tank broke/leaked, but for covering/replacing any of the actual aquarium equipment/livestock, it is a separate policy add-on and cost was based on replacement value.

 

[Reef Frog]

It sounds like you know who did it? Demand compensation from parents or guardians. If they are dishonorable people & stiff you, report it to the police & the courts will order restitution. No guarantee you'll collect but it's a start. A good friend of mine had a small barn burnt by some young rocket scientists & the parents ponied up about $25K under court order.

Chances are there may not be enough monetary damages to exceed your insurance deductible from your description. What are the provable damages? Did the fish die?

 

[ricks49reef]

Assume the kids were reported to police,if so I would go after the parents for damages.
Also a dropcam is a great thing to have,Alerts you right away to anything going on in your residence and records the proof.

 

[talktojvc]

The damage will top $8000. Our entire upstairs will need to be re carpeted. We know who did it and we will try and collect, but it won't be fast. We filed a report with the police, but they are young 9-10 so we did not press charges (so far)

 

[ricks49reef]

wow,wish you luck.

 

[breck]

If you don't press charges now, it will be harder later. But, at that age, most States can't pursue charges anyway. Stay on it and the kids parents. Hold them responsible. Good luck

 

[Nina51]

We filed a report with the police, but they are young 9-10 so we did not press charges (so far)

if you don't get anywhere with your insurance, follow up on the police report by contacting your district attorney. there will be someone in his/her office who handles juvenile cases. these kids are not too young to have to go through the juvenile system and trust me, once they do, they will rue the day they even thought about messing with your stuff.

it would really be too bad for them to get away with no consequences. fast forward a few years and these same kids will be doing big time home invasions. i see this sort of thing all the time, working for a defense attorney who is often appointed by the court to represent juveniles. give 'em an inch and they take a mile.

 

[Reef Frog]

That's awful. Press charges man. Unless they're hopeless career criminals they'll get a second chance & restitution will be ordered by a the juvenile court if it operates even close to the one in my state & jurisdiction. Standing tall & facing the man might be a valuable lesson for them, keeping them out of future trouble.

I would also get somebody competent to review your policy & see if the company is being fair as a back up plan. It seems the animals are irrelevant - you were a victim of a property crime and that's what's Germane in my mind. If you feel cheated you may want to contact your state insurance commission. Keep fighting -'don't let hoodlums & maggot companies off the hook.

You seem to be one mellow cat. It sounds like I'm more outraged then you. Good luck.

 

[Mustang67]

Police report required to attempt any kind of collection. Press charges now, it's leverage. If the parents agree to pay the bill, you can then drop the charges at the time of the court appearance. I am sure the Judge/DA would agree due to their age. Seek out a lawyer and run it by them first. If were 1k of damage it may not be worth the hassle, 10K definitely!

 

[xanthurum]

As a former police officer in NC not far from Raleigh I will just say that you can press charges if you wish to. If it were me I would if for no other reason but to get restitution. You can always explain to the judge that you do not want the kids to be punished too harshly but that you simply want the parents to pay for the damage their kids caused. I'm guessing the parents aren't very involved in their lives which is why they felt it ok to do this in the first place.

 

[Mustang67]

as a former police officer in nc not far from raleigh i will just say that you can press charges if you wish to. If it were me i would if for no other reason but to get restitution. You can always explain to the judge that you do not want the kids to be punished too harshly but that you simply want the parents to pay for the damage their kids caused. I'm guessing the parents aren't very involved in their lives which is why they felt it ok to do this in the first place.

+2

 

[E46er]

As a former police officer in NC not far from Raleigh I will just say that you can press charges if you wish to. If it were me I would if for no other reason but to get restitution. You can always explain to the judge that you do not want the kids to be punished too harshly but that you simply want the parents to pay for the damage their kids caused. I'm guessing the parents aren't very involved in their lives which is why they felt it ok to do this in the first place.

Im not a cop but I agree with this 100%

 

[Jeff4777]

You haven't pressed charges yet.. are you kidding me? Who cares how young they are

 

[d-man]

You haven't pressed charges yet.. are you kidding me? Who cares how young they are

Agree 100%

 

[Cammunoz]

F***** ' punks i would of flipped! thats horrible


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CafeReef]

When I was a kid, I had a friend that talked me into doing some not so brilliant things, IE we broke into cars that had doors unlocked and stole things, even broke into a house we knew who were on vacation (didnt vandalize anything though). We ended up getting arrested, I can say without a shadow of doubt I am very happy that the family pressed charges (they later removed them). This was 20 years ago now and the experience I learned from having to do community service and the humilation to myself and family changed me as a person.

I can promise you are not doing the kids any favors by letting it slide. Theres more to it than damage, there is learning as well. A year ago I met with the family again of the house we broke into and explained how they helped change my life and where I am today. College graduate in criminal justice, Masters degree in cyber security and make a very good living and have a loving family. I don't think this would have happened had I kept down that path.

 

[Potatohead]

When I was a kid, I had a friend that talked me into doing some not so brilliant things, IE we broke into cars that had doors unlocked and stole things, even broke into a house we knew who were on vacation (didnt vandalize anything though). We ended up getting arrested, I can say without a shadow of doubt I am very happy that the family pressed charges (they later removed them). This was 20 years ago now and the experience I learned from having to do community service and the humilation to myself and family changed me as a person.

I can promise you are not doing the kids any favors by letting it slide. Theres more to it than damage, there is learning as well. A year ago I met with the family again of the house we broke into and explained how they helped change my life and where I am today. College graduate in criminal justice, Masters degree in cyber security and make a very good living and have a loving family. I don't think this would have happened had I kept down that path.

I tend to agree, if they know they can do this type of thing and get away with it, they'll probably be more inclined to do it again.

 

[borg]

Read your PDS and policy wording before taking out any cover , Mal damage should be covered under the claim unless the policy is extremely terrible. However if all they have done is drop stuff in tank you wont be covered as livestock etc is not covered under all but most policies

 

[PIPSTER]

It's their parent(s) you need to go after, forget the ages of the kids.
The amount of parents failing their children's best interests these days is causing this country to go straight down the tubes.