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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Photo Gear Insurance for a student/semi-pro? | |
Loren E wrote:
Hi all, I have spent hours searching threads around the internet and reading and doing research, but haven't found a good answer so thought I would make my own thread.
In the research I did, I found that photo gear insurance seems to fall into two main categories: 1) full professional business coverage, and 2) purely recreational coverage. Plans for pros are very expensive and include coverage for on-site liability (like if a wedding photog got sued by a bride who broke an ankle tripping on a light stand) as well as sometimes staff coverage. Plans for hobbyists, like inland marine policies, seem perfect for me with the big catch that if you make a claim and your provider can find record that you have ever used your gear to make money, even if you only sold a single photo one time, you can be completely denied coverage.
I am a student, not a full-time pro, so the cost of photo business coverage makes no sense for me - I would be paying too much to be covered for things that aren't even applicable to me. Paying for a personal inland marine policy on the other hand, though very reasonable in price, also seems like a poor investment since it could all be for nothing if a provider just googles my name and sees the "published" section on my website which clearly shows that I regularly sell images to various magazines.
So are there any in-between options I'm missing? I just want to be covered for gear theft and damage, both at home and while on assignment, at a reasonable price. I have a 5DmkIII and 7 L lenses that were all bought used from $700-$950. Factoring in tripods, expensive filters, hard drives, laptop, etc, I'm up around ten grand invested in gear. I want the piece of mind that if I am robbed while on assignment or my apartment is broken into, I'm not going to be financially devastated. It would also be nice to have incidental gear damage covered as well.
An inland marine policy really would be ideal if it weren't for the catch that I use my gear to make money. In no way can I justify paying $800 per year for a business policy, as my level of risk is not high enough to be paying close to 10% the value of all my gear each year in insurance. $300-$400 per year is what I would call a smart/justifiable investment in insurance for myself. Anyone have any leads on plans I hadn't looked into?
Thanks so much -Loren
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The whole pro vs non-pro thing doesn't really make sense in my mind. It seems to me like gear should be covered nomatter what, but stuff like a bride tripping or someone running into you or whatnot kidna stuff only if you got the pro policy. I'm not saying that is how it goes, but that is how it seems like it should go, especially if it is just the odd sale here and there and it's not like a PJ in the war (real or figurative).
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