Specialty Insurance for their Collections??

Originally Posted by SethsExotics

He offered me a life insurance policy...for when I was killed by my python.

This guy was not joking. He was serious. He told me that if I kept boas and pythons, it was inevitable.

That is soooo up

Do these people not realize that dogs and horses do far more damage each year than snakes do in like 10 years. ??? totally outrageous.

Originally Posted by Wraith

Do these people not realize that dogs and horses do far more damage each year than snakes do in like 10 years. ??? totally outrageous.

No, just like the breed specific bias with dogs, they have never looked at the stats, APBT's are nowhere near the top of the list for bite stats nor are they any different than any other dog in reality, it is all in the training. With snakes they just buy into the media just like with the dogs.

My insurance company doesn't care if I have snakes, they won't cover them but they won't drop me either. They will however cover enclosures and racks.....I guess canada has some upsides

Originally Posted by Wraith

Do these people not realize that dogs and horses do far more damage each year than snakes do in like 10 years. ??? totally outrageous.

Yes, but there are far fewer defenses to snake bites due to their classification.

My State Farm agent told my to file a claim on my HO policy if I lost any snakes during Hurricane Ike. I didn't lose any, so no problem. I looked at my policy and live animals are excluded, but my agent said that since I have a dba for selling my snakes, they would be covered. He is fully aware of my snakes.

My state farm agent came to check out my house when we first bought it.
I had several reptiles in the basement. He asked me if he could hold some of them. He thought they were nice. But I never asked if they could get insured.
Most people don't insure dogs or cats and they can be pretty costly.
But if you are making a small business out of your hobby there is no reason why you cant get insurance.

We came home from running errands a couple years ago to find that our house was on fire. It was an electrical fire that gutted our house in the less than 45 minutes total that they think it burned. At the time, I had over 40 snakes plus assorted lizards and amphibians, 2 cats and 3 dogs. One of the cats died of smoke inhalation before the firemen could get to her; the other animals were all brought out alive.

We were in a hotel for 3 weeks, and then in a rental apartment for over 8 months. Needless to say, I could not keep the surviving reptiles in a hotel nor apartment. I wound up giving them to a local reptile rescue to in order to ensure continued, quality care for them. Our homeowners insurance would not cover any charges related to the emergency vet care for the animals (over $8k). It did cover the loss of the glass tanks that were broken by the firemen but nothing else. We have new insurance now but it also doesn't cover live animals.

I am interested to hear more about the possibility of homeowner's insurance covering snakes if they are part of a registered business. I'm thinking of becoming an LLC sooner or later; I am a small hobbyist who breeds for enjoyment and the (very) occasional payoff, not because it's my livelihood, but it would be nice to be able to account for losses financially if, God forbid, anything like that were to happen again. I am now trying to rebuild my collection and it is a slow and very expensive process.

Sorry to hear about the fire! That's a shame.

Originally Posted by timebider

I am interested to hear more about the possibility of homeowner's insurance covering snakes if they are part of a registered business.

Homeowners insurance in general does not cover business items. Of course each company is different and always read the policy in full. The tanks, supplies, etc would be covered under a home or renters policy because it is just 'stuff' like your DVD player and TV; if being used for a business, those losses would go under your business insurance.

Basically what you need is livestock insurance. Back when I was researching this, the only company I could find that offered good coverage for reptiles which included theft and mortality was through Lloyds of London (see my post earlier in this thread).
Good luck!

I am hoping to continue this thread. Has anyone in the last six years purchased insurance for their collection, and what was the threshold at which it's worth it?