Aquarium insurance is different for every buyer. If you run an aquarium where you feature animals like sea turtles and starfish, then you need a very different policy than you would need insuring an aquarium used in, say, a restaurant or a hotel lobby. Likewise, exotic fish collectors need a different policy in place than either of the above-listed examples. Here’s what you need to know based on what you’re insuring:
Basic Aquarium Insurance
With a basic aquarium, whether it’s a ten-gallon tank to show off your goldfish or a fifty gallon tank to really set a room apart, you’re looking at a policy that will cover basic liability issues. It’s not just the aquarium you’re covering and the fish contained within, you also need to think about the liability involved should the aquarium break, leading to somebody cutting themselves on the glass, not to mention the water damage done to the facilities should the tank spill on antique floorboards or an expensive rug.
Marine Life Aquarium Insurance
Marine life aquariums tend to be the most expensive to insure. A basic liability plan simply won’t cover it. You’re looking at a zoo policy, covering the facility, liability for your visitors, and the animals themselves. These policies tend to cover your basic business risks, such as crime, company vehicles and workers’ compensation, but they also tend to provide extensive coverage for crisis response, emergency vacating and event cancelation and no-shows.
Exotic Fish Insurance
Your basic aquarium insurance typically does not cover exotic fish. In fact, the provider covering your tank and any liability issues attached to it might not even offer coverage for exotic fish. Many collectors of exotic fish take out specialty policies designed specifically for their collection, sort of like an actress having her legs insured. A single fish can cost thousands of dollars and be very expensive to keep healthy, so you’re looking for an insurer that offers high-risk, high-value policies for niche clients. You’re probably not going to get an exotic fish policy through the same people who cover your Honda Civic.
Showing off a bit of sea life in your building can be just the thing to set you apart. Who doesn’t love walking into a Chinese restaurant and seeing foot-long goldfish swimming around in a tank the size of a closet? But, of course, with the spectacle of an aquarium comes the additional liability involved with keeping marine life on dry land.
