Question about insurance and snakes

Good! I'm glad to hear that there are at least a couple of companies who aren't jumping on this dumb bandwagon, though I wonder if Nationwide has different rules for New York. Thanks for making me feel better!

Originally Posted by TripleMoonsExotic

Well, I'm pretty sure Nationwide knows I have them...I believe she had to double check with the company when I presented her with my question. Sue didn't ask how many I had, but I did give her an estimate dollar figure. While she was utterly surprised, she made absolutely no mention of them being the cause of my insurance being dropped. She would have warned me if it had been an issue.



My insurance rep only works with one insurance company, she runs a mid-size insurance business in Shippensburg. My entire family has been using the same insurance company (most of them to her actually) for years. Also, Sue knows if she wanted to make me really happy she'd insure my reptiles. She also has never been asked the question before. In fact, I got an "are you serious?" from her.

Sorry to burst your bubble but we are a Nationwide Agent and they will flat out drop your rear if they know you have them on the premises.

With regards to dogs etc. It is not illegal nor immoral for an insurance company to drop your coverage. You have to understand it from a liability standpoint. Certain types of dogs are more prone to dangerous behaviors. The old adage that it's not the dog it's the owner is a farce. Certain dogs do represent more of a danger then say a pug. If you own a pitbull, rottie, doberman or german shepherd then there is not much any agent can do for you outside of lying.

With regards to exotic pets. Again, it's the liability they pose. Yes, I do understand that a corn snake is not going to each a child. However, because of the dangers of the larger constrictors and venomous, they have simply issued a carte blanche policy regarding snakes. Will having a corn snake get you dropped? Snakes, as a class, represent increased liability not due to actual facts but due to the stereotypes that they have earned over the years. The heating etc is not an issue as it is far safer then burning candles etc. It's simply the fact that some ARE very dangerous.

A good buddy of mine was almost killed a year ago from his burmese. Picked him straight up off the floor almost 8 feet and into her cage. Luckily he is a pretty saavy guy and was able to save himself after being wrapped. Those are the exact reasons why you will get cancelled if the carrier were to find out.

With all of that being said, understand this. If you did not have the animals at the time the policy was written then you have a small loophole generally speaking (please consult your policy/agent). If you end having a loss and it was not due to your animals then you're still covered. But, if a child wonders onto your property and you have a restricted animal then that loss is probably not insured. And, it will be at that time that you will be cancelled. So, if your house burns down, no problem. If a child gets eaten, big problem.

Griz

Originally Posted by Griz

Sorry to burst your bubble but we are a Nationwide Agent and they will flat out drop your rear if they know you have them on the premises.

Well, they obviously know as I had questioned them on getting my breeding stock insured. I had asked 4 months ago, not once in these 4 months have I had any issues. Actually, when I got my home owners insurance a year and a half ago they didn't even ask me if I had any pets.

Originally Posted by Griz

With regards to dogs etc. It is not illegal nor immoral for an insurance company to drop your coverage. You have to understand it from a liability standpoint. Certain types of dogs are more prone to dangerous behaviors. The old adage that it's not the dog it's the owner is a farce. Certain dogs do represent more of a danger then say a pug. If you own a pitbull, rottie, doberman or german shepherd then there is not much any agent can do for you outside of lying.

Yes, it is illegal in some states for an insurance company to drop you because of a dog. Which is why some will threaten to drop you, but can not follow through with it. My mother has kept show Rotts for 15 years (Dobermans before that). NEVER as Nationwide challenged her on her ownership of them. Aggressive dogs are not only from poor owners, but poor breeding as well. A friend of mine has a Lab (supposed to be the people-friendly happy-go-lucky breed, right?), he is the nastiest dog I have ever met. He bites his owners and strangers without hesitation. He acts that way not because of his owners and how they trained him, but because of poor breeding. We can argue all day about what is an aggressive breed and what is not. I was raised with Dobies & Rotts, I would trust a well bred, well trained one of those over most any breed.

Originally Posted by TripleMoonsExotic

Well, they obviously know as I had questioned them on getting my breeding stock insured. I had asked 4 months ago, not once in these 4 months have I had any issues. Actually, when I got my home owners insurance a year and a half ago they didn't even ask me if I had any pets.



Yes, it is illegal in some states for an insurance company to drop you because of a dog. Which is why some will threaten to drop you, but can not follow through with it. My mother has kept show Rotts for 15 years (Dobermans before that). NEVER as Nationwide challenged her on her ownership of them. Aggressive dogs are not only from poor owners, but poor breeding as well. A friend of mine has a Lab (supposed to be the people-friendly happy-go-lucky breed, right?), he is the nastiest dog I have ever met. He bites his owners and strangers without hesitation. He acts that way not because of his owners and how they trained him, but because of poor breeding. We can argue all day about what is an aggressive breed and what is not. I was raised with Dobies & Rotts, I would trust a well bred, well trained one of those over most any breed.

Correct, there are a few states, Maryland for instance, that has preventative measures that prohibit an Insurance carrier from dropping you due to your dog. However, keep in mind 2 things. If the policy is issued and your dog bites a person then they can cancel you. If you are simply shopping for insurance and inform the carrier you have a Rottie, while they can't cancel you they can surcharge you to the point that keeping the Rottie is no longer affordable. There are many ways around the laws unfortunately.

As for Nationwide, just cross your fingers that the right people don't find out about it. Before I insured my property wiht my current carrier, I specifically asked the head of Underwriting in Des Moines and was informed that they will not insure an exotic pet regardless of the riders etc. What I suspect happened is that your Agent simply did not inform Nationwide. That is a typical behavior from agents.

Griz

After this post I contacted my insurance company (State Farm) and asked them what their policy was. My agent told me to have peace of mind and my premiums would not go up, nor would my policy be canceled. If I wanted my snakes insured though, that would be a completely different story .

This has turned out to be quite interesting. I have 2 good buddies who work for State Farm so I called them. Come to find out, you're right. State Farm does not have provisions for Exotic Pets. He stated that you could own a tiger and there is no mark up etc. However, if someone was to get hurt due to one of these pets, they will pay for it, but your policy will be cancelled. So, long story short, if you are really worried about the liability aspect of your collection, I would call State Farm.

Griz

The renter's insurance that I have is with State Farm.

Originally Posted by Schlyne

I'm a little confused. I have a renter's policy and my agent (and it's on the paperwork) knows I have snakes, geckos, spiders, scorpions, roaches and mealworms.

The animals themselves are not insured, but the rest of the place is.

Are we just talking about regular homeowners insurance, or are we talking about insurance for the herps?

Same here, ive got renters insurance and while all my equipment and such in the apartment is covered, the animals themselves are not. But i suppose renters insurance is different? though, youd think youd get more perks for being a homeowner...

Homeowners IS different from renters insurance.

Homeowner insurance covers damage to the structure of the house or residence due to natural issues (except flooding), and covers fire and theft of most household items. Renters I think covers damage to household items for theft and fire, but doesn't cover the structure (since whoever owns the building should have homeowners or other insurance anyway).

The big difference, other than covering the structure, is liability - if you have homeowner's insurance, and a guest of yours trips and falls on your property and has to go to the hospital, and doesn't have health insurance, they could sue you to pay for the cost of their medical care. Homeowners would cover stuff like that. Renters insurance does not cover issues like that - but as a renter, you are not liable if someone gets hurt on the property, since you don't OWN the property. The landlord would be responsible.

That's why renter's insurance really doesn't care about exotic pets - though if your landlord's insurance company found out about your exotic pets, they might threaten to drop your landlord's policy, and your landlord might then threaten to evict you. This is because the landlord's insurance would be held responsible if your snake bit someone or injured you.

Originally Posted by liquidleaf

That's why renter's insurance really doesn't care about exotic pets - though if your landlord's insurance company found out about your exotic pets, they might threaten to drop your landlord's policy, and your landlord might then threaten to evict you. This is because the landlord's insurance would be held responsible if your snake bit someone or injured you.

You know, that's a very interesting point.

As a landlord, I never took into account that I would be responsible for my tenants pets. I don't allow anything that can't be kept in a small cage (current tenants have a BP ), so really I'm not too worried about it. This is simply another very good reason why a landlord might not allow potentially dangerous pets onto a property.