Fish tank seal failed - are we covered?

lisyloo

The OP wasn't trying to make a claim for the fish tank, but for the damage done by the water leak!

Yes I am aware of that.
Please let us know how you get on if you appeal as it might help someone else.

JimmyTheWig

Quentin wrote: »

Appeal this

I'm sure this is going above and beyond, so feel free to tell me to figure it out myself if you've had enough... but how do I go about appealing? Is there anything I particularly need to mention in the appeal?

(according to your OP this happened suddenly - ie there has been no gradual leaking prior to this incident).

Correct. Tuesday evening - no leaking. Wednesday morning - flood.

(The repair to the fish tank may well be your responsibility, though your OP does read that you want to claim for the damage to your contents caused by the water)

At the time of the first post I didn't know what I could claim for. I am now 100% convinced that I can't claim for the tank itself. So am happy to forget about that. Will repair, replace or rehome.
But yes, it's the damage that has been done to the laminate flooring, the rug, kid's beanbags, a few books and toys that I think I should be able to claim for.
[What do you think about the stand the tank was on - is that claimable??]


Many thanks for your help so far.

Quentin

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

how do I go about appealing? Is there anything I particularly need to mention in the appeal?...................[What do you think about the stand the tank was on - is that claimable??]

First get their written denial that you are covered, then follow their written appeal procedure (details will be in the policy).

(You could try speaking to a manager - as you have been given 2 completely different reasons why the claim is denied by different staff - and see if they have a third answer).

If they end up accepting this loss of water is covered, then the stand should be covered (assuming it's independent of the faulty tank).

JimmyTheWig

Thanks Quentin. That's been a great help.
Will speak to a manager and if I get no joy out of them I'll ask for the written confirmation as suggested.

skipsmum

Hiya,
this happened to us a few years ago. We were sitting in the living room and there was a bang and the glass had literally fallen out of the front of the tank. The tank was a Juwel one, and 2 years old. (we had to run around putting fish in containers).
I phoned the insurance company who sent someone out. He saw the state we were in (fish in glasses, tupperware, mop bucket etc) and got us a lovely new expensive tank and stand straight away (delivered that afternoon) and replaced the flooring that week.
We did have accidental damage cover but not for electrical goods, I can't remember how it was worded though. It was with the Post Office.
Its the only time weve claimed, and it was on the advice of the man at the Pet Shop when I phoned and said "we need a tank now".

geri1965_2

This is clearly covered as definined in the perils section (water secaping from an aquarium) - the wear and tear exclusion would only relate to the item causing the damage, (the fish tank itself) not any resultant damage.

I suspect you spoke to someone who doesn't know how to read a policy and apply the exclusions properly - not uncommon these days with inexperienced staff. A manager should be able to confirm that it's covered.

JimmyTheWig

That's for the additional vot of confidence, geri.
Will update once I've phoned them.

lisyloo

I would suggest you keep date, times and names of phone calls.
If called upon this can help find recorded conversation but more likely it will stop someone just forgetting to do something if they know you have their name and they are accountable.

I would suggest sending any complaint letters recorded delivery for an extra 75p.
It reduces the chances of the insurer claiming your letter was lost in the post.

My own personal experience is that a little bit of proactive action on your part will reduce delays because things have "got lost".

JimmyTheWig

Finally spoke to someone who seemed to talk sense.

Apparently they assumed that the seal going was due to lack of care on my part (third reason I'd heard) but now they understand that it wasn't then we should be able to claim.
They'll arrange for a flooring specialist to come out to inspect laminate floor and rug.

Hopefully this will be my last question, but he said that as the laminate flooring was in place when we moved in (4.5 years ago) then this would be counted as part of the building not contents. He wasn't sure what this would mean in terms of the excess.
Does anyone know if that sounds reasonable?
Is he suggesting that we will have to pay the excess on the contents and the excess on the buildings?
Would this count as two claims in terms of getting insurance quotes in the future?
Any ballpark figure of how much our insurance is likely to go up by (and for how long) due to this claim?
I'm wondering if any of it is worth it...


Thanks,
Jim

dogbot

Permenant fitted hard floors are part of buildings - you can't take them with you as you do carpets. This was subject of a FOS ruling a while back and most insurers have updated wordings accordingly.

Whether 1 or 2 excesses will apply will depend on the insurer. Here at my company the policy reads as though it is possible 2 will apply (as most policies i think i have seen do) but in practice we usualy only collect 1.

I would say 1 claim to declare. Costs should not be too significant but the only way to tell is run some test quotes.