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Lens/Equipment Insurance?

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Sami1978

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Not sure if this is the right place to ask but does anyone have any advice about the best way to get insurance for photographic equipment is the US? I've only recently moved here and am unfamiliar with the best route to protect my gear. I'm a beginner so only only have a couple k's worth of gear but would hate to lose it!

Thanks in advance!
 
If you are a hobbyist, your equipment should be covered to some extent under your homeowners or renters policy. Of course, take nothing for granted, call your agent.

If you have neither coverage, call your your auto insurance agent. He'll be able to fix you up or point you in the right direction.

If you are a professional, I'll take a stab at it by saying this may have to be addressed under your business liability coverage.
 
+1 on Rick's advice....

I asked the same question months ago and I got the same answer. I asked State Farm (I got an umbrella policy that covers my house and cars) and basically they said the same thing. If you are not a pro, you are covered by your homeowner's insurance (my deductible is only 500 dollars). If you are a pro, then you have to pay extra. In photography class, there was a pro who had more equipment than I do. He said the insurance rate was not that high. So I guess if you are a pro, you should go with this route.

In the thread that I started I was concerned with my trip to NYC. I was concerned if my 1Ds3 was going to get stolen in the subway or something. Some forum members from NYC assured me that it was pretty safe in NYC....and it was. I was just trying to play safe.

Danny Tuason :)
Rick Knepper said:
If you are a hobbyist, your equipment should be covered to some
extent under your homeowners or renters policy. Of course, take
nothing for granted, call your agent.

If you have neither coverage, call your your auto insurance agent.
He'll be able to fix you up or point you in the right direction.

If you are a professional, I'll take a stab at it by saying this may
have to be addressed under your business liability coverage.
Click to expand...
--
http://www.scandinavius.com/sweden/sesongs.html#anchor1139692
 
Oops! One more....

They said I should print my receipts and/or credit cards statements documenting the price of the equipment.

I guess I wasn't thinking because this was a no brainer....

"Igor......harrrrrr! brain! brain! BRAIN!...." as Igor is trembling....slowly inching away from the Frankenstein monster (me.....hehehe!)

Danny Tuason :)
dtuason said:
I asked the same question months ago and I got the same answer. I
asked State Farm (I got an umbrella policy that covers my house and
cars) and basically they said the same thing. If you are not a pro,
you are covered by your homeowner's insurance (my deductible is only
500 dollars). If you are a pro, then you have to pay extra. In
photography class, there was a pro who had more equipment than I do.
He said the insurance rate was not that high. So I guess if you are
a pro, you should go with this route.

In the thread that I started I was concerned with my trip to NYC. I
was concerned if my 1Ds3 was going to get stolen in the subway or
something. Some forum members from NYC assured me that it was pretty
safe in NYC....and it was. I was just trying to play safe.

Danny Tuason :)
Rick Knepper said:
If you are a hobbyist, your equipment should be covered to some
extent under your homeowners or renters policy. Of course, take
nothing for granted, call your agent.

If you have neither coverage, call your your auto insurance agent.
He'll be able to fix you up or point you in the right direction.

If you are a professional, I'll take a stab at it by saying this may
have to be addressed under your business liability coverage.
Click to expand...
--
http://www.scandinavius.com/sweden/sesongs.html#anchor1139692
Click to expand...
--
http://www.scandinavius.com/sweden/sesongs.html#anchor1139692
 
I have State Farm also. I took photos of all my gear and copied the receipts. They gave me $7,000 of coverage on a separate policy just for the gear at a cost of under $100 a year. Total replacement for any reason - loss, theft, damage etc. If a piece of equipment is no longer made, they will replace it with whatever is comparable in today's market.
 
Submit copies of your receipts with your existing insurer. Get a separate "rider" that covers ALL PERILS. Those of you thinking that your home insurance or car insurance will cover your equipment away from home or out of your car will want to take a real close look at your policy terms, especially the limits of coverage (usually $5k max for camera equip), and do not cover things such as "mysterious disappearance" to any satisfactory degree. If you drop your camera are you covered by home insurance? If someone steals your camera from you in a market are you covered by home/car insurance? If your lens gets ruined by rain/fungus are you covered by home/car insurance? You will be covered if you get an all perils plan and schedule your items with the insurer and pay based on the replacement value on those items.

Anyone who is keeping their home insurance deductible at $500 dollars is making the insurance company a fortune!!! Next time you are in with your agent ask what the annual premium on your home insurance be if you went with a $5,000 deductible and compare that with a $500 deductible, then multiply the difference over the life of your home ownership. Not factoring interest on your savings you will all likely be able to buy several L lenses, a few 1D's and 1Ds's and still have money to go on a safari. Really!

A separate rider for scheduled items allows you to have a low deductible for camera equipment while keeping a high deductible for your house, saving you thousands of dollars in the long run AND giving you complete coverage for your gear.

And no, I am not an insurance salesperson, but believe me that they hate it when someone figures out the house insurance deductible scheme they have, but who wouldn't want to pay "only $500" even if it costs you $30k+ extra over the life of your home ownership
 
Sami1978 said:
Not sure if this is the right place to ask but does anyone have any
advice about the best way to get insurance for photographic equipment
is the US?
Click to expand...
I just insured my gear last week with State Farm. They told me that my gear would already be covered under an existing homeowners or renters policy. This policy would cover theft, fire, or anything else already covered by you existing policy. The theft also applies if the gear is stolen from your vehicle (didn't ask about the fire).

Having lost 1 camera after being dropped on the concrete, 1 camera damaged in a car wreck, and one camera lost after being dropped over the side of a boat, I wanted something that would cover any situation.

I got a Personal Articles policy from State Farm. $1.57 per every $1,000 insured gets you replacement value with no deductible. The policy covers theft, loss, damage (car wrecks, smashed onto concrete, dropped in the ocean, etc) and just about any other situation I asked about. I insured a 20D, 17-55 f/2.8, 70-200 f/4, 30/1.4, 50/1.4, 430EX and 580EX for just under $5 per month.

This policy is not available for professional use of your gear, but I imagine they would have some other alternative.

--
Mark-B
http://www.msbphoto.com/
 
Wow! Thanks!

I will go to my insurance agent and straighten out everything.

I will make sure that I get a "rider" that covers all perils.

The last time I checked...Erwin said I got a 500 deductible on my camera equipment. He knows the total value of my equipment...36K. He said I am covered for all of it.

The last time I checked my home insurance...I got a 10,000 dollar deductible or something and my rates are really low. I guess I got the 500 dollar deductible for personal items because of the "umbrella policy". I have my house and 4 cars insured under State Farm.

But with what you said, I better check the different insurance clauses again. I will go to my agent next week.

I will keep this forum posted so the memebers will learn from my mistake.

Thank you very much for the warning!!!

Danny Tuason :)
Symple said:
Submit copies of your receipts with your existing insurer. Get a
separate "rider" that covers ALL PERILS. Those of you thinking that
your home insurance or car insurance will cover your equipment away
from home or out of your car will want to take a real close look at
your policy terms, especially the limits of coverage (usually $5k max
for camera equip), and do not cover things such as "mysterious
disappearance" to any satisfactory degree. If you drop your camera
are you covered by home insurance? If someone steals your camera
from you in a market are you covered by home/car insurance? If your
lens gets ruined by rain/fungus are you covered by home/car
insurance? You will be covered if you get an all perils plan and
schedule your items with the insurer and pay based on the replacement
value on those items.
Anyone who is keeping their home insurance deductible at $500 dollars
is making the insurance company a fortune!!! Next time you are in
with your agent ask what the annual premium on your home insurance be
if you went with a $5,000 deductible and compare that with a $500
deductible, then multiply the difference over the life of your home
ownership. Not factoring interest on your savings you will all
likely be able to buy several L lenses, a few 1D's and 1Ds's and
still have money to go on a safari. Really!
A separate rider for scheduled items allows you to have a low
deductible for camera equipment while keeping a high deductible for
your house, saving you thousands of dollars in the long run AND
giving you complete coverage for your gear.
And no, I am not an insurance salesperson, but believe me that they
hate it when someone figures out the house insurance deductible
scheme they have, but who wouldn't want to pay "only $500" even if it
costs you $30k+ extra over the life of your home ownership
Click to expand...
--
http://www.scandinavius.com/sweden/sesongs.html#anchor1139692
 
Mark-B said:
Sami1978 said:
Not sure if this is the right place to ask but does anyone have any
advice about the best way to get insurance for photographic equipment
is the US?
Click to expand...
I just insured my gear last week with State Farm. They told me that
my gear would already be covered under an existing homeowners or
renters policy. This policy would cover theft, fire, or anything
else already covered by you existing policy. The theft also applies
if the gear is stolen from your vehicle (didn't ask about the fire).

Having lost 1 camera after being dropped on the concrete, 1 camera
damaged in a car wreck, and one camera lost after being dropped over
the side of a boat, I wanted something that would cover any situation.

I got a Personal Articles policy from State Farm. $1.57 per every
$1,000 insured gets you replacement value with no deductible. The
policy covers theft, loss, damage (car wrecks, smashed onto concrete,
dropped in the ocean, etc) and just about any other situation I asked
about. I insured a 20D, 17-55 f/2.8, 70-200 f/4, 30/1.4, 50/1.4,
430EX and 580EX for just under $5 per month.
Click to expand...
That's great!

Is that $1.57 for one month or for one year?

Thanks Mark!
Mark-B said:
This policy is not available for professional use of your gear, but I
imagine they would have some other alternative.
Click to expand...
I guess I am qualified then....I am not a pro.

Thanks again Mark!

Danny Tuason :)
Mark-B said:
--
Mark-B
http://www.msbphoto.com/
Click to expand...
--
http://www.scandinavius.com/sweden/sesongs.html#anchor1139692
 
Davef8 said:
I have State Farm also. I took photos of all my gear and copied the
receipts. They gave me $7,000 of coverage on a separate policy just
for the gear at a cost of under $100 a year. Total replacement for
any reason - loss, theft, damage etc. If a piece of equipment is no
longer made, they will replace it with whatever is comparable in
today's market.
Click to expand...
That will be about 500 dollars a year for me. Not bad!

Thanks Dave for the info!

Danny Tuason :)

--
http://www.scandinavius.com/sweden/sesongs.html#anchor1139692
 
I have my gear covered under USAA's goods-specific coverage.

I pay about $2.50 a month to cover $2600 in gear.

Covers against loss on pretty much everything except:

1) Normal wear and tear
2) Mechanical Defects
3) Nuclear radiation or detonation (lol)
4) Theft fire when I'm the one directing someone to steal it ;-)

5) Loss of the equipment when away from home shooting for business purposes (I think there is business insurance for that)
6) Fungus, mold, or any other biological agent like that
7) Neglect.
8) War, etc.

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jl_smith
 
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