Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I heard from a friend that if your insurance company somehow finds out that you own snakes, they can (and usually will) drop your homeowner's insurance coverage, regardless of the species of snake.

Has this happened to anyone? I've heard of companies cancelling due to pit bulls or other so-called 'aggressive' dogs, but ANY snake? That sucks.

Also - all you breeders and reptile business people who work out of their homes - how do you insure your snakes in case of theft or fire, or is that even possible? I'm sure separate business insurance is probably available, but anything I find on the net about livestock insurance only covers typical livestock (ie cows, sheep etc) and not exotics.

Thanks!
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Lauren Madar
www.ophidiagems.com
1.1 Hog Island Boas
1.1 Hypo BCI
0.1 Sorong-type GTP
1.0 Normal Ball Python
1.1 Surinam BCC

you can't. If your homeowner's find out that you are keeping exotic pets they will cancel your policy. While I agree the premise behind this is poor it is still the reality.

Along those same lines, you will not be able to obtain a commercial policy while keeping these animals at your home. If you were to keep them in a seperate location then we could write a policy similiar to a pet store. Location is the key thing there.

Griz

Thanks Griz for all the info.

Guess my 'snake room' will at some point soon just be a 'storage room' for all my extra junk. I was honestly shocked when I found this out (let's face it, snakes are becoming more and more common pets).

I wonder if lizards and frogs are considered "exotic".

Must be a State Regulated thing ?
State Farm tells me different and our snakes,cages etc are covered here in Texas.

M/

>>you can't. If your homeowner's find out that you are keeping exotic pets they will cancel your policy. While I agree the premise behind this is poor it is still the reality.
>>
>>Along those same lines, you will not be able to obtain a commercial policy while keeping these animals at your home. If you were to keep them in a seperate location then we could write a policy similiar to a pet store. Location is the key thing there.
>>
>>Griz

Are you sure the snakes are actually covered or just the equipment? Do you have a seperate rider on the policy??

A while back I had to make a claim on my homeowners policy, on the advice of my insurance broker I hid the snake room but did not think the rat room would be a problem. Well it was they threatened to drop me if I didnt get rid of them, and I don't have that many maybe 50. Maybe they were afraid a rat would escape and eat the neighbors kid I don't know but I imagine they would look at snakes as even worse.

Our snakes are on our policy !!
Current Market value too !

M/

That gives me hope! I really do hope that not all the companies do this. If you talk to your agent any time soon, can you ask if these policies vary between states (within the same company)? It would be terrific if State Farm would do what they do for you in other states. I'm scared to even inquire about it for fear of getting labelled as a snake owner.
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Lauren Madar
www.ophidiagems.com
1.1 Hog Island Boas
1.1 Hypo BCI
0.1 Sorong-type GTP
1.0 Normal Ball Python
1.1 Surinam BCC

http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww65eii.htm ... from this article, dated 2002, it seems the problem is primarily in New York state. The article details how bird owners can be dropped, and how as of 2002, insurance companies started instating new questions and terms for opening new policies. Sometimes I really REALLY dislike where I live.
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Lauren Madar
www.ophidiagems.com
1.1 Hog Island Boas
1.1 Hypo BCI
0.1 Sorong-type GTP
1.0 Normal Ball Python
1.1 Surinam BCC