D90: should I purchase Best Buy's 4 year insurance (which includes accidents)?

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...Or do you suggest some other insurance that I can buy elsewhere (that also protects against accidents)? I saw some paperwork that came with the camera about a 5-year plan with Nikon but I didn't get the impression it would cover accidents - and I saw nothing about a cost (maybe it's just Nikon's warrantee - not sure yet).

Much to my surprise, my thrifty husband suggested we get some sort of protection - since we have small, mischievous children and now a pretty expensive camera by our standards!

Do you already have other insurance that covers the camera in certain circumstances? How much is that plan?
--
Don't wait for the Nikon D-whatever, have fun now!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_wijnands/

wijnands said:

Do you already have other insurance that covers the camera in certain
circumstances? How much is that plan?
--
Don't wait for the Nikon D-whatever, have fun now!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_wijnands/

Click to expand...

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I'm sure our home insurance doesn't cover accidents, which is primarily what I'm interested in getting coverage for.

Theresse said:

I'm sure our home insurance doesn't cover accidents, which is
primarily what I'm interested in getting coverage for.

Click to expand...

I contacted my insurance company about this issue and they offered me an all-risk replacement cost zero deductible policy for everything for which I had serial numbers and receipts. It costs me less than $70 a year. YMMV, because I insure through a restricted company which insures only US military and dependants (USAA). It still would be worth a call, and it also makes you get your house in order just in case "stuff" happens. The same goes for my computers. They're "coffee proofed" now.....

If its through your insurance company, more than likely it will cover only theft related loss, or maybe even fire damage. But then, you would have to have police report to show the loss (by theft or fire) to claim insurance on the camera. My understanding is you are looking for coverage due to mis-handling / fall, etc things which happen when small children are around. Your insurance company will most likely not cover damages from those incidents. Please confirm before you buy such insurance.

On an unrelated note, I wonder how insurance companies determine if an accidental damage is genuinely accidental, or coincides with the release of the next model.

Even I would want accidental damage protection when I buy an expensive camera, but how do I pick an insurance protection that will actually be honored in the event of genuine accidental damage.

James Sherman said:

Theresse said:

I'm sure our home insurance doesn't cover accidents, which is
primarily what I'm interested in getting coverage for.

Click to expand...

I contacted my insurance company about this issue and they offered me
an all-risk replacement cost zero deductible policy for everything
for which I had serial numbers and receipts. It costs me less than
$70 a year. YMMV, because I insure through a restricted company
which insures only US military and dependants (USAA). It still would
be worth a call, and it also makes you get your house in order just
in case "stuff" happens. The same goes for my computers. They're
"coffee proofed" now.....

Click to expand...

I work for an insurance company and handle property claims.

An Inland Marine policy will cover just about anything other than wear and tear.

Replacement Cost is based on the current camera that is most comparable to the damaged camera's specs in the current market. A few months ago, we had a claim with a Canon 30D and we replaced it with a Canon 40D...today it proabbly would have been a 50D, as the 40D has been officially discontinued.

I would suspect a D50 would be replaced with a D80 rather than a D60 because of the built in focus motor...If the D80 were discontinued, it would be a D90.

Other companies may have different policies...

--
D90
Nikon 70-300VR

sansin said:

If its through your insurance company, more than likely it will cover
only theft related loss, or maybe even fire damage. But then, you
would have to have police report to show the loss (by theft or fire)
to claim insurance on the camera. My understanding is you are looking
for coverage due to mis-handling / fall, etc things which happen
when small children are around. Your insurance company will most
likely not cover damages from those incidents. Please confirm before
you buy such insurance.

Click to expand...

Good advice, but my policy specifically says "all risk, zero deductible, replacement cost". I would expect to have to turn over the dead item for damage related claims and a police report for the other.

As for a new model coming out, I expect that there might be a few questions asked, or replacement being limited to a new copy of the older model (or the cash equivalent). It does NOT cover non-visible cause malfunctions. If it just dies, sorry about that. If it's dripping Pepsi, then that's different. And, yes, I realize that some would wait until it died and then pour on the Pepsi, but with a long experience of zero claims I guess they trust me somewhat.

Jim

sansin said:

On an unrelated note, I wonder how insurance companies determine if
an accidental damage is genuinely accidental, or coincides with the
release of the next model.
Even I would want accidental damage protection when I buy an
expensive camera, but how do I pick an insurance protection that will
actually be honored in the event of genuine accidental damage.

Click to expand...

I have the accident insurance policy through Circuit City on my Xti and asked the rep your exact question last week. Basically, he said the level damage most often indicates whether something was accidental. He spoke of a story where a man said he dropped his laptop and sent it in for replacement. The laptop was sent to the warranty company in literally hundreds of pieces. When asked why the laptop was in so badly damaged, the man stated he had thrown the laptop at his wife! Needless to say, that person was denied coverage as this was considered abuse, not accidental. The rep than told of a contrasting story where a college student ruined his laptop by accidentally spilling liquid on his laptop. The student was covered and the unit was replaced..

It seems the level of damage is an indicator for whether something was damaged by abuse or accident. Badly damaged items, indicative of some sort of abuse, will get their attention and they will be asking clarifying questions regarding the damage. I'm sure there are exceptions, but this was how the rep explained it to me..

Mike

I believe that you insure things that would be financially hard or impossible to replace and that have to be replaced. Autos, house, health, maybe life.

I think insurance or extended warranties on everything else is a waste of money.

Every time you feel the need to insure something or to buy an extended warranty, take the premium and put it into a savings account. If you ever need to replace or repair something, take the money out of the savings account.

I am confident your savings account will never be empty.

bdaniel said:

I believe that you insure things that would be financially hard or
impossible to replace and that have to be replaced. Autos, house,
health, maybe life.

I think insurance or extended warranties on everything else is a
waste of money.

Every time you feel the need to insure something or to buy an
extended warranty, take the premium and put it into a savings
account. If you ever need to replace or repair something, take the
money out of the savings account.

I am confident your savings account will never be empty.

Click to expand...

Interesting responses...

I think when you have an item that is at greater risk than other items (e.g. a camera that is on the go as well as attracts children who are constantly present, versus a guest room TV), there's a stronger case for accident coverage. With twin toddlers as well as an older curious child - even if putting every effort into taking good care of your belongings the best you can - things still happen. I agree that replacing a camera were it to break isn't a life and death "must," but when the camera happens to be one that is VERY expensive by your standards as well as very well-liked and relied on for regular use...or more importantly in the case of self-employed professional photographers who rely on it for their livelihood, having some sort of protection in case of accidental damage is only a waste of money if the camera costs close to the insurance cost or not much more. This is of course a bit of a luxury and assumes the person can even afford that extra bit of assurance.

I like your logic. I have only bought one extended warranty, and that was on a large LCD hi def tv. I have spent a ton of bucks at Best Buy and elsewhere.

The only problem with your argument is that most people would not sock the extended warranty money away. And then, when something breaks, "I should have bought the extended warranty" bleating starts.

I would buy the Best Buy plan, after working there for 4 years and seeing how far they go to fix the camera id never buy another camera without one.

We got one for my Father in law for his D50. When we were riding a ferry he decided to put the lens on the camera to take some landscape shots and shear the plastic tabs off the mount.

Even though it was his fault, they repaired it, and it wasnt even an accidental coverage plan, just the regular.

Ive had them on my D70, my D200, and now on my D90. Thankfully I havent had to get a repair, but you also get free cleanings, and when I upgrade my camera every other year it tends to add to the value I end up getting for it.

--
http://tonyf.smugmug.com

Bye - D70
Hello - D200 w/18-70 f3.5 MB-D200
Wife - D90

Coming soon: Ultra Wide Angle, GP-1 & MB-D80

I would ask them specifically for a written policy where it states the coverage for accidental damages. See what they cover. If they said "This warranty covers all accidental damages" then it probably worths it. My experience is that most warranty policies will not cover any item damaged as a result of misuse, abuse (does a child dump the camera to the floor constitute "abuse"?), negnect, or intentional breakage (your kids hit it with a baseball bat constitute "intentional"?) ...

If it ain't written down on paper, the salesman's spoken words ain't worth your hard earned pennies.

Paul

Sometimes the cost of the plan is way too high relative to the value of the item. No sale.

Sometimes the technology is new and the item is expensive. Probable sale.

Sometimes, the price isn't too bad, the plan is fairly cheap and the item is something electromechanical that might well suffer an early death (DVD burner comes to mind). Sale.

Sometimes, I simply can't afford to replace the thing (D90 comes to mind) - insurance. That less than $70 I quoted covers the D90, 18-105VR, 70-300VR, Tokina 12-24, a decent carbon fiber tripod with an Acratech GV2 ball head, and an old Minolta and some lenses. And, I can sell lenses, buy lenses, whatever, and as long as I keep it updated it's covered. If Nikon comes out with a killer lens in the 18-80 (do-all) range with VRII, I'm not stuck with what I have.

Jim

D70 User said:

Ive had them on my D70, my D200, and now on my D90. Thankfully I
havent had to get a repair, but you also get free cleanings, and when
I upgrade my camera every other year it tends to add to the value I
end up getting for it.

Click to expand...

So the Best Buy coverage is transferrable when you sell your camera?

sansin said:

sansin said:

Ive had them on my D70, my D200, and now on my D90. Thankfully I
havent had to get a repair, but you also get free cleanings, and when
I upgrade my camera every other year it tends to add to the value I
end up getting for it.

Click to expand...

So the Best Buy coverage is transferrable when you sell your camera?

Click to expand...

Yep. There is a spot on the warranty paperwork where you can fill out the info of the new owner. Ive transferred many BBY warranties, not just camera ones, without a problem.

--
http://tonyf.smugmug.com

Bye - D70
Hello - D200 w/18-70 f3.5 MB-D200
Wife - D90

Coming soon: Ultra Wide Angle, GP-1, MB-D80

Paul Cheang said:

I would ask them specifically for a written policy where it states
the coverage for accidental damages. See what they cover. If they
said "This warranty covers all accidental damages" then it probably
worths it. My experience is that most warranty policies will not
cover any item damaged as a result of misuse, abuse (does a child
dump the camera to the floor constitute "abuse"?), negnect, or
intentional breakage (your kids hit it with a baseball bat constitute
"intentional"?) ...

If it ain't written down on paper, the salesman's spoken words ain't
worth your hard earned pennies.

Paul

Click to expand...

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Even though it's not yet written (I'm going to get it and carefully read over the paperwork today) and just spoken, two Best Buy guys from two separate stores both mentioned that if I drive over it with my car, it's still covered. I think if that's the case, most other accidents probably would be covered...but I'll know more tonight.

Almost never worth it.

You've presumably got a general household policy, but probably the deductible is a bit high, and you might not want to use that sort of thing for a camera claim, anyway.

These third party things are just never worth it. Usually they're pricey. And experience with third party warranties is not good-have a look around. If it matters, various consumers' organizations almost always recommend against.

Technology changes. May you'd want to put the money toward something the same or more expensive if the worst happens-but it would be your choice.

Also remember if the worst happens, you'll be without your camera for quite some time.

That is why a lot of computers (laptop or otherwise) never get fixed-unless they are totally disabled- that ARE under warranty-not even an additional warranty. Because the user can't be without.

I say go for the odds. But when looking at the odds-consider everything-computers, cameras, "TVs", everything. I think the odds favor going without.

Again, if the worst happens, you'll be in a better position without the third party insurance. Somebody drives over your camera and you're leaving in five days for a meaningful event or trip. Do you want a repaired camera in 6-9 weeks or have the cash with interest in your pocket or bank?

The odds favor the house. Not you!

JEGG said:

Almost never worth it.

You've presumably got a general household policy, but probably the
deductible is a bit high, and you might not want to use that sort of
thing for a camera claim, anyway.

These third party things are just never worth it. Usually they're
pricey. And experience with third party warranties is not good-have a
look around. If it matters, various consumers' organizations almost
always recommend against.

Technology changes. May you'd want to put the money toward something
the same or more expensive if the worst happens-but it would be
your choice.

Also remember if the worst happens, you'll be without your camera for
quite some time.

That is why a lot of computers (laptop or otherwise) never get
fixed-unless they are totally disabled- that ARE under warranty-not
even an additional warranty. Because the user can't be without.

I say go for the odds. But when looking at the odds-consider
everything-computers, cameras, "TVs", everything. I think the odds
favor going without.

Again, if the worst happens, you'll be in a better position without
the third party insurance. Somebody drives over your camera and
you're leaving in five days for a meaningful event or trip. Do you
want a repaired camera in 6-9 weeks or have the cash with interest in
your pocket or bank?

The odds favor the house. Not you!

Click to expand...

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I disagree in this case but in most cases I agree with you. Best Buy's coverage supposedly (have only talked on phone but will read fine print tonight) covers everything that could possibly go wrong EXCEPT submersion under liquid. If you drop it it's covered. If liquid falls onto the camera it's still covered. If you drive over the camera with your car, it's covered. It's third-party and yet is where I bought the camera so that makes it less removed/distant (Best Buy is generally going to stand behind their products more than say a smaller mall store). If technology changes and they have a better camera out by the time Best Buy replaces my camera let's say 3 years from now -- and if they're only willing to replace it with the same model or similar model as opposed to something I really want instead at that time, I can still resell whatever they give me in its place in "brand new" condition which will bring in more money than a used camera. And if they only fix the camera, I'll still be able to say that it's been regularly cleaned every however often because the plan comes with regular cleaning.

If I couldn't live without the camera while it's being fixed, I wouldn't go for such a plan. But I"ll have a back-up camera and I'm not a professional photographer who relies on the camera for my livelihood. I'd rather go without than have to buy a whole new camera. And Best Buy has a local location (at least here) that fixes the cameras so it's not going to be shipped away somewhere.

Regarding going for odds, I've said it before and I"ll say it again: I have not one but 2 - I repeat 2 - two-year-old twin BOYS...and they have an older brother in 1st grade. Odds? Ummm, yeah, I know what I'm doing - just as I know those boys. At least, until I read in the fine print that it's not so great of a plan. And I dind't think my husband would go for something like this so I said no without giving it a second thought but then I got home and oddly enough my husband brought it up - asking if there was any sort of protection plan against accidents. So hey - if it's affordable for us (he's the one that counts the pennies more than I do and it was his idea ;-) and if we at are higher risk (and we are), why not go for it.

Now again - I agree that in most circumstances, it wouldn't be the best choice. But add all these factors up and add on top of that the major stress-relief of knowing it will be covered should something bad happen... it's worth it for us! ;-)

I too have my equipment insured with USAA and can confirm everything Jim says about what the USAA policy covers. Now that my D80 has > 20,000 shots on it, I'm thinking of dropping it off my policy and only insuring the lenses I would replace.

What I wonder is, what would happen to my HO rates if I filed a $3000 claim for my wife dropping my camera in the lake. She refuses to use the neck strap, even when I remind her how many pairs of shoes that will cost her if she drops it.

I've seen plenty of people getting their money's worth out of the Best Buy plan. I know that I wouldn't, and therefore won't buy one again. If you are accident prone and will definitely not upgrade for 4 years, it is likely worth it. If not, it likely isn't. The good thing about it is you know exactly what it will cost. Do they still claim it covers the battery too and free cleanings? My only warning here is that it will be replaced with a 3rd party battery that is junk compared to Nikons and your Nikon battery likely won't wear out. Mine both still shows level 0 wear level after almost 2 years and more than 10,000 shots each.

James Sherman said:

sansin said:

If its through your insurance company, more than likely it will cover
only theft related loss, or maybe even fire damage. But then, you
would have to have police report to show the loss (by theft or fire)
to claim insurance on the camera. My understanding is you are looking
for coverage due to mis-handling / fall, etc things which happen
when small children are around. Your insurance company will most
likely not cover damages from those incidents. Please confirm before
you buy such insurance.

Click to expand...

Good advice, but my policy specifically says "all risk, zero
deductible, replacement cost". I would expect to have to turn over
the dead item for damage related claims and a police report for the
other.

As for a new model coming out, I expect that there might be a few
questions asked, or replacement being limited to a new copy of the
older model (or the cash equivalent). It does NOT cover non-visible
cause malfunctions. If it just dies, sorry about that. If it's
dripping Pepsi, then that's different. And, yes, I realize that some
would wait until it died and then pour on the Pepsi, but with a long
experience of zero claims I guess they trust me somewhat.

Jim

Click to expand...