dswiger wrote:
Get a separate insurance policy
I have an individual items policy (can't remember the exact naming) from State Farm.
You list the items, the replacement value & they charge you cents/per $100 premium.
For about $5k worth of gear, less than $75/year.
NO DEDUCTIBLE!
I have had two claims in 5 years, one a dropped 5Dc & the other a dropped 70-200/f4 w/water. They picked up the whole thing, including the shipping.
Something to think about for the future.
Dan
Will check that out, thanks. Last time I had a dedicated professional package policy and it was a lot more expensive than that--but it covered my than just equipment. I have about $30k of equipment covered now. I've been spoiled...never had a claim or loss of any kind for many years. Time to shop again it seems!
There is a big part of me that just says thank God no one was seriously hurt. Sometimes I forget that part. It could have been really bad. The big guy was really looking out for us that day.
...and next time, the 1D and an old lens only on the water, ack!
I have the same policy from State Farm and it's called a Personal Articles Policy. However, they don't cover for professional use. You'll have to get a different policy for that.
JWilsonphoto wrote:
...The camera repair tech told me to keep all of it in buckets of water until he could look at it. That was long before digital and I'm assuming he made the request to keep corrosion from setting in.
Yep. I do the same thing with watches that get wet: I have the client send it to me in a Ziploc bag of water, and then I disassemble it and soak all the small parts in alcohol -- which absorbs water -- and then dry them on a warm-air rack. (See photo below.)
That's for mechanical watches. For electronic watches, I tell them to toss it -- it's toast.
bsaber wrote:
I have the same policy from State Farm and it's called a Personal Articles Policy. However, they don't cover for professional use. You'll have to get a different policy for that.
Yep, this is where it's at.... they do cover pros, actually, but not the same as actual professional insurance. What I mean is that for a slightly higher rate ($1.70 per $100 insured) you can do paid work with the gear and they don't care. There's no other insurance associated with it, though.
I trashed a 5Dii and they cut me a check for the full repair bill ($1k). It's a great policy.
Anyway, you'd be shocked at how much broken lenses and bodies go for on ebay.
bsaber wrote:
Hm, I need to check on that. My agent told that it doesn't cover any kind of pro work.
Yea, they have a professional rate, which is like $0.40 more per $100 than the personal rate. I've done a couple small paid jobs, so I just sprung for it, given it's not that much and covers me in the future if another one pops up.
