I recently decided to insure all of my equipment, as my home owners insurance only covers up to 1000 bucks in camera gear.
I called State Farm ( I already have policies there) to insure all of my gear. They want an appraisal for the 600 IS and 500 IS since they are so expensive. I sure as heck dont' want to mail them out to get an appraisal .
Any idea who can give an appraisal on camera equipment ? There is a Wolfe camera in town, guess I could ask them.......... Was hoping for some advice.............
Is it possible to take pics and mail them somewhere for an appraisal??
Send them screenshots of web ads. For off-the-shelf commodities, retail price is all that counts. The problem the agent is facing, most likely, is that those items don't show up on their replacement charts--insurance companies normally have their own sources to replace off-the-shelf commodities.
You may want to consider someone like Tom C. Pickard who is a film/photography/video specialist http://www.tcpinsurance.com/ He's in SoCal. There are others like him around the country. My policy from TCP is by Fireman's Fund.
I went through the same pita. If you can furnish receipts for those two lenses from state farm, then they shouldn't need an appraisal. I finally dug up all my receipts, and for the items that you don't have receipts for, it should total less than 5k, then you should be ok.
If you aren't using the gear professionally, state farm is the way to go. Its much cheaper than the rest. (Ie firemans, et al)
I purchased the 500 and 600 used so no receipt was received. I did pay cash bank to bank money transfer for both lenses. So that isn't going to help at all...................
Still not sure how the heck I"m going to do this....................
Guess I'll call State Farm Monday morning and see what else I can do unless someone else has a better idea..........
C.D. thanks for the link to Tom Pickard I will try that Monday. Maybe if I send photos he would consider giving me an appraisal ?
RDKirk - Not a bad idea I will ask them if this is an option
When I got my gear insured through State Farm I didn't have receipts for a couple of my lenses and my 30D as I bought them used. I just printed the amazon.com page for these items and they accepted that as proof of value.
THe agents office is in Frenso
But we have since moved North of San Fran
The agent in Fresno states to take all the gear to a local office to be inspected and to bring appraisals for the 500 and 600 ............
I am guessing they may be thinking ...... FRAUD ALERT ............
No biggee I guess they are just being careful to protect themselves too
I just got back from my insurance agent, i told her that i don't have receipts for most of the stuff as i have bought it used on craigslist etc. and gave approx value of lens/camera bodies...she said its not a problem, just write down lens model, sn and comparable price list from other camera stores and that is all she needs. for FULL replacement coverage of everything...less than $300/yr
Go to a photographer specific company like Hill and Usher . You will not have to deal with this crap . Insure them for replacement cost and if you have a loss you can get new glass or buy used again . Stop dicking around with state farm .
I agree with getting a professional photographer's policy from a company like Hill & Usher.
The blanket policy will cover replacement cost for your equipment and also cover personal liability as well as your studio/office space, assistant etc.
well, my partner and i have renter's insurance through state farm and we added the gear insurance on as a rider. It added approximately $5 a month to our insurance premiums. Not bad really considering the peace of mind.
Going through State Farm via your home owners policy only covers non professional, non paid use. Personal use only, you must get a real business policy to cover your stuff otherwise.
Just a FYI, not sure if you use your gear as a hobby only.
My state farm agents said if I received ANY money for photo related product my premium would be more than 30% more than strictly personal use. As I sell the occasional print, my insurance is $1.73 per $100 of equipment per year. And they use the stated values I supply. As example $10,000 of equipt is $173.00 per year.
I was hoping some members here might have some names that might be more competitive. Pro bodies and long glass add up pretty fast and I don't make enough off it to really be put in the same category as a full time sports shooter, for example.
Stuart
