What is the best equipment insurence available...For:
$30,000 Camera, lens... ect...
Office Equipment.. 2 MacPros $2400+ each
Errors and Omisions
Re-shooting costs..
Data Loss and or restoring cast?
Rented Eqipment
Liability..
I would really like to hear from all you guys what my options are and what exacally to look for and ask about... What do you guys use.. pros and cons...
We use State Farm, with a business/personal articles rider. For all the stuff you list, it'll probably run you $300/yr in addition to your homeowner's/renters insurance. If you are a business, make sure you purchase business insurance.
Don't use a rider, unless you have a very good reason to be using a rider. It could potentially impact your other insurance (home/renter). But I'm not an insurance agent, so that's just a personal opinion.
I've used TCP&Co for the last few years-- and they've been great to work with, including during an unfortunate situation in which one of my cameras was killed by saltwater in a foreign country.
Their plans include over a million dollars of liability, on top of home office and worldwide gear coverage. They replace gear at new retail price (lose a 1Ds2, and they'll give you the purchase price back or replace it with a 1Ds3-- latest current model-- instead of depreciating the value for replacement). You can get a human on the phone in under a minute. They make it VERY easy to register gear as you change your gear.
I don't have anything bad to say. Plans are generally around $500/year (depending on state) including the liability insurance and something around $30K in gear coverage.
I've using Tom Pickard off and on for the last twenty-five years, starting out when they were the APA carrier. I've been back with them for several years primarily because they KNOW this business better than any other agent I've seen. This means knowing what your equipment is and not just seeing model numbers. It means having all the relevant contact numbers for issuing permit certificates on file. It means being able to send an email to a real person to add or drop equipment from your coverage list. After going through the incompetence of the outfit in Georgia that APA did contract with and maybe still does, it's a pleasure and a relief to be back with PIckard. You may find agents with slightly cheaper prices, but you'll be hard pressed to find a better value.
As for State Farm - they're the last insurance company on earth I'd do business with - both from personal experience and from what was reported in the L.A. Weekly in the mid 1990's regarding their southern Ca. homeowners policies.
PPA's insurance is great but the organization is quite lacking. I'm with APA now and the insurance is also great but the deductible is a bit higher. Tom Pickard is a $500 deductible iirc.
The Hartford through Hill and Usher, I had a BIG loss and it was paid and over with within a week. I believe it was close to a 40K loss and they were great to deal with, very fast and very professional. A friend of mine in LA uses them and he lost a 35mm cinema camera with a 100K lens on it and he had a replacement within a week. It doesn't get any better than them.
Keep in mind that insurance is governed at the state level ... What works well and is "normal" in one locale ... Could be really bad advice and/or not available in another ...
For example ... I recently read a thread on another forum where two part-time wedding photographers who worked out of their homes had their equipment and liability insurance coverage dropped as the company in question was no longer issuing or renewing policies for photographers who did not have an actual physical store front or studio ... Yet the same company was still offering the rider policies in other states ... Not mention that not all insurance companies do business in all 50 states as well ...
We use The Hartford through USAA . Equipment replacement insurance is just part of the package along with liability, e & o, valuable papers, etc.
Make sure you list the equipment at current MSRP replacement value and that if you bought a D2x when it was new and the state of the art for Nikon top of the line pro cameras that you know that a D3X is currently in that position in Nikon's line up and insure for that kind of replacement value.
butchM wrote:
Keep in mind that insurance is governed at the state level ... What works well and is "normal" in one locale ... Could be really bad advice and/or not available in another ...
For example ... I recently read a thread on another forum where two part-time wedding photographers who worked out of their homes had their equipment and liability insurance coverage dropped as the company in question was no longer issuing or renewing policies for photographers who did not have an actual physical store front or studio ... Yet the same company was still offering the rider policies in other states ... Not mention that not all insurance companies do business in all 50 states as well ......Show more →
Exactly!! Hill and Usher and TCP won't insure in my state so as often as they're recommended, they're just not an option for me.
Do you have any kind of insurance? Home, auto, life? Have you contacted your insurance agent and ask them? Seems like the logical place to start, IMO, and I would be surprised if that person won't at least offer you some options.
When was the last time you contacted TCP? I looked at them a few months ago and they didn't cover in my state back then either. Some reason they do now.
Here is a typical scenario for a good business policy which will not include E/O since that is a different kettle of fish covered in the professional specialty market.
Obtain a general liability policy for whatever amount is appropriate, usually 1mil per claim x2.
Then add to this policy:
Add commercial rider for your auto. This will usually cost only about $100 more per year than a typical auto policy.
Add rider for contents coverage for you equipment that doesn't move; CPU, printers, studio based photo gear.
Add rider for inland-marine coverage for you equipment that does move; Cameras, lights, road kit, etc.
Use a commercially oriented business agent. Forget home owners type policies. If your agent can't put a policy like this together, move on, because this is a very typical way to do this. I have had multiple policies like this for the last 20+ years. Presently, I do this with Liberty NW (used to be Ohio Casualty) for about $2100/yr Including G/L, 20k contents, 20k inland marine, and a newer expensive vehicle.
