i have state farm.i dropped my sigma 70-200 f2.8 on some rocks and picked up what i could for the insurance.i have been with them for 10 months and was told it was not worth filing a claim,have a 500 deductible.woman that works there and good friends with told me that if i did they would end up dropping me because i have not been with them a year.i do lots of sports and outdoors and just dont know what to do.
Join Professional photographers of America www.ppa.com . For 300+ a year your gear is insured for free if you opt in to the insurance coverage they offer.
Bruce Sawle wrote:
Join Professional photographers of America www.ppa.com . For 300+ a year your gear is insured for free if you opt in to the insurance coverage they offer.
Your gear is "insured" for free by the basic PPA coverage. If you want worthwhile/standard insurance, you still have to pay for the upgrade to full coverage.
File the claim. Do you have replacement cost insurance? If SF says it is within the $500 deductible, make SF justify it because you get actual replacement cost. Then move to a different insurer as others have suggested.
Surely whatever happens you'll be out of pocket if you file a claim, up to $500 (the deductible). So then it comes down to simple math based on the cost of repair vs a new lens minus the deductible.
File a claim, let them drop you, switch insurance companies. Last time I checked, insurance is there for a reason and lenses don't say "hey! wait a year before you break me!"
Bruce Sawle wrote:
Join Professional photographers of America www.ppa.com . For 300+ a year your gear is insured for free if you opt in to the insurance coverage they offer.
Dont be so quick to believe that. I know many people that have this as their only insurance and went to file a claim and ran in to issues.
BenV wrote:
File a claim, let them drop you, switch insurance companies. Last time I checked, insurance is there for a reason and lenses don't say "hey! wait a year before you break me!"
If you file to many claims or switch too many times you will be labeling un-insurable and will never get insurance again.
Did PPA change? When I was a member you had the option to buy Hartford insurance, not free insurance with a membership. I had to make a claim with PPA's Hartford and it was fantastic. I've since changed to APA and also have Hartford, but all insurance rates have gone up. The deductible went from $100 to $500.
The purpose of insurance is to cover catastrophes--"business extinction events." Insurance companies base policies on the odds of a business suffering not more than a couple of extinction events in a lifetime. When you file a claim, it adversely affects the statistics against you...lightning always strikes the same place twice.
That's why it's best not to file a claim for anything that you can cover out of your bank account. Save it for a true business extinction event.
cineski wrote:
Did PPA change? When I was a member you had the option to buy Hartford insurance, not free insurance with a membership. I had to make a claim with PPA's Hartford and it was fantastic. I've since changed to APA and also have Hartford, but all insurance rates have gone up. The deductible went from $100 to $500.
You can buy whatever you want. The insurance included with PPA membership is not something I would rely on as my primary equipment insurance, but it serves as a supplementary policy (it's not automatic--you have to be sure to register for it on the PPA website). You can make it a better policy by paying for better coverage through the same company.
But I find it better for myself to deal with an agent who can bundle all my business insurance needs, and someone local who can print me out a venue indemnity certificate whenever I need it.
