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Archive 2014 · Camera insurance?

  
 
BobbyP
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Camera insurance?


I have recently purchased a new camera and several expensive Zeiss lens and am looking for an insurance company.

Any recommendations?

Would like to hear from those who were happy with claims filed.

Thanks.



May 01, 2014 at 06:18 PM
skibum5
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Camera insurance?


BobbyP wrote:
I have recently purchased a new camera and several expensive Zeiss lens and am looking for an insurance company.

Any recommendations?

Would like to hear from those who were happy with claims filed.

Thanks.


State Farm Personal Articles Policy is a good place to start (some agents, in some regions, are pushy now and try to insist you need to attach to home owners or car or what not and pretend this policy doesn't exist, most are not though, if you hit a bad apple, try a different branch office, it's only happened to me once, hopefully just a very rare bad apple and it's not a more generally hit or miss thing). This policy has no deductible, you don't get rates on critical stuff like home or car jacked or dropped if you need to file a big camera claim. It covers equipment for any reason and it doesn't matter where in the world the any reason occurs and, unless it has changed over the last number of months, a good price (especially if you are not a pro). Anyway don't let one talk you into sticking it onto homeowners (for many reasons)!

Edited on May 01, 2014 at 06:27 PM · View previous versions



May 01, 2014 at 06:25 PM
amacal1
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Camera insurance?


Are you a professional or hobbyist?

I think a lot if pros get coverage through some kind if business insurance. I think many hobbyists get coverage through a homeowners/renters insurance policy. Check with an agent that sells either one if those (if you don't have either one already).



May 01, 2014 at 06:26 PM
Herb
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Camera insurance?


Contact your home owners insurance if this is not business.....you can get a rider policy for jewelry or cameras or.......between my wife and I we have $70k coverage and it costs about $1k per year........there is no deductible. I don't worry about my gear with this policy.....covers everything including accidental dropping and damage.......


May 01, 2014 at 06:31 PM
cambyses
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Camera insurance?


I had a similar question and started this thread a while back:
https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1272919

Still haven't made my final decision. I think the trouble with State Farm Personal Articles Policy and the like is that they require that you have absolutely no business use for your gear. So if you occasionally shoot for pay, and/or have a business-oriented website, I would be concerned if they would take that as an excuse for denying a claim when one is filed.



May 01, 2014 at 06:35 PM
RobDickinson
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Camera insurance?


I had a quote for $880 on $18000 of gear :-\


May 01, 2014 at 06:40 PM
jcolwell
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Camera insurance?


I pay $895 CA p.a. for $50k gear coverage (all perils), $2M liability, and misc. 'problems', through the Professional Photographers of Canada (PPOC) insurer.


May 01, 2014 at 06:50 PM
dmcphoto
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Camera insurance?


If you want coverage for just equipment (no liability, etc.) you can get an "inland marine" policy from most companies. Mine covers all losses, whether accident, theft, etc. These policies have a deductible of your choosing with higher prices for lower deductibles, and they are usually reasonably priced. If you make money from your photography the policy will still cover you.

The coverage is for specific items. You give the company the item serial number and value. If that item is stolen or destroyed you get the insured value regardless of whether the item has depreciated.

I hope that helps.



May 01, 2014 at 06:58 PM
sivrajbm
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Camera insurance?


dmcphoto wrote:
If you want coverage for just equipment (no liability, etc.) you can get an "inland marine" policy from most companies. Mine covers all losses, whether accident, theft, etc. These policies have a deductible of your choosing with higher prices for lower deductibles, and they are usually reasonably priced. If you make money from your photography the policy will still cover you.

The coverage is for specific items. You give the company the item serial number and value. If that item is stolen or destroyed you get the insured value regardless of whether the item has depreciated.

I hope that helps.


+1

Hill & Usher "The Package" it is under-written by the Hartford. I have about 80k in cameras and equipment for less than $1K. My policy has inland marine & errors and omissions which can save your butt. If you are doing business get business insurance. If you are just shooting birds & landscapes maybe the other will work for you. YMMV...



May 01, 2014 at 07:12 PM
kezeka
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Camera insurance?


Personal article policy through state farm. Or professional article policy (inland marine) if you make money off of the equipment (costs a little more). Covers everything except spontaneous electronic failure (fire, flood, theft, drop or other damage). It is also good for international travel and shipping gear around via any mail service.

Interestingly, I had to read an entire page about how it does not cover terrorist attack or nuclear explosions. Just in case you regularly encounter those instances.

Huge fan.



May 01, 2014 at 07:23 PM
John P Mulgrew
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Camera insurance?


I use Allstate for my home and have a rider with them for all my gear.


May 01, 2014 at 08:36 PM
Herb
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Camera insurance?


RobDickinson wrote:
I had a quote for $880 on $18000 of gear :-\
business or personal? if personal, that is way too much.....I have about $15k worth of gear insured (needs updating) and that is $200.....rest is jewelry....



May 01, 2014 at 09:42 PM
RobDickinson
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Camera insurance?


Herb wrote:
business or personal? if personal, that is way too much.....I have about $15k worth of gear insured (needs updating) and that is $200.....rest is jewelry....



Just gear insurance, welcome to New Zealand..



May 01, 2014 at 09:53 PM
Paul Mo
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Camera insurance?


^ Ain't that the truth.


May 01, 2014 at 09:54 PM
kezeka
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Camera insurance?


Herb wrote:
business or personal? if personal, that is way too much.....I have about $15k worth of gear insured (needs updating) and that is $200.....rest is jewelry....



Even for business that $880 for $15000 is WAAAY more than I am paying.



May 01, 2014 at 10:00 PM
Tapeman
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Camera insurance?


Mine is free. $30K on my homeowner's policy. Sent them pictures & serial numbers etc.


May 01, 2014 at 10:10 PM
pKai
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Camera insurance?


Be aware of State Farm personal articles policy or anything else offered by an insurance company that also does homeowners. With these policies, you can get good coverage at bargain prices and they will pay... that's not the issue... but there IS a catch.

This happened to me....

The issue is that if you file a claim on your State Farm personal articles policy, they enter this fact into a database shared by all homeowner's insurance companies. When your homeowner's comes up for renewal, they will use this information to rate your policy as having prior claims.

I paid about $400 for a $20k policy from State Farm. My homeowner's was from a completely different company 100% unrelated to State Farm and cost me about $1900 a year (FL is expensive as is). I filed a claim for about $800 with State Farm for a flooded underwater housing and camera. They paid promptly and without hassle; I was happy. About 8 months later, my homeowner's came up for renewal. That company sent me a letter stating that due to a prior claim, my policy was being re-rated. The new rate was $3100; almost double. Given that I had never made a claim against this company, I was sure this was a mistake and was not too concerned. When I called them, however, they informed me about the shared database and how the State Farm claim counted. I was in shock and thought they had to be jerking me around. Of course, I shopped around and, much to my surprise, got the same answer from everyone. In the end, I got screwed. After a full year with no further claims, my rate went back to "normal".... Bottom line: I paid $400 for a policy that paid me $800 on a claim and then was penalized almost $1200 by the industry for this privilege.

In the process, I learned a lot about insurance. I learned that the State Farm personal articles insurance was basically a homeowner's rider to any policy you already have.

I now have insurance through PPA (Professional Photographer's Association) which is a bit more expensive although they do cover more. This insurance is of the "inland marine" (Google is your friend) variety and not connected to anything else. Since, I've had one claim with them for a smashed lens and they paid no questions asked and no rate hikes. You have to join PPA which is about $200 a year. This includes $15k of basic but very decent equipment insurance, a very nice photography magazine and a few other bennies. I opted for better coverage and pay an additional $500 for $20k more that includes replacement value, coverage for rental and borrowed equipment, non-camera gear such as laptops, monitors, etc, damage by assistants and models, and something called "mysterious disappearance" -- which is basically when you "lose" something and have no idea what happened to it.... What I have basically covers everything except stealing equipment from yourself.



Best of luck!



May 01, 2014 at 10:24 PM
decoop
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Camera insurance?


My homeowners is $192 for $18,000 worth of equipment. That is for replacement value.


May 01, 2014 at 11:14 PM
kezeka
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Camera insurance?


I'll save everyone a few clicks by linking the wiki article on Inland Marine policies (fun backstory of how they got their name):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inland_marine_insurance



May 01, 2014 at 11:26 PM
rooibos1986
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Camera insurance?


Squaretrade has worked well for me. They offer lots of coupons as well.


May 02, 2014 at 12:22 AM
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