Insurance for Camera gear

[miah]

Neuro's getting a bit better rate, I'm paying $10.35/1000, but I'm amazed that they write these policies at all. My gear is outside, in the weather and susceptible to spill, hanging on my motorcycle in unlocked panniers, in third-world nations, at night, often unattended. It's like a checklist of risk. Yet in many years of traveling I've only had to lodge one claim for a theft that occurred in Bolivia--so maybe the insurance companies are smarter than I think? State Farm replaced everything, Fed Ex'ed it to my home in the U.S., no deductible, no questions asked--in spite of not having what anyone might consider a serious police report. Amazing. And well worth $10.35/1000.

 

[sagittariansrock]

Theft is not the only reason to have renter's insurance. What if the place burns down, gas line explosion, water pipe breaks and floods your living area.......... All the security won't stop things like that from destroying your property. Renter's insurance is cheap, you need to get a policy.

That's sound advice. I am sitting on a quote, I guess I need to get off my ass and approve it.

 

[dlleno]

State Farm seem a bit random with pricing, 15k cover for $187 vs 17k for $176

Clearly, because I'm paying $7.60 per $1K coverage, a much lower rate than either of the above.

yea this is fantastic. state farm locally will schedule equipment for about $9/1000 per year with full replacement. And that includes mysterious disappearance. I'm paying about the same as you are through "auto owners" but they are ticking me off with their pro-rated (not full replacement) policy. They cover 75% of the current replacement value, which means you are always chasing a moving target in terms of how much insurance to buy.

For business purpose the local state farm dude would write a standalone policy for $35/1000 per year, which includes $1M liability.

for those of us who are semi-pro, and use equipment for both personal and business purposes, the only gotcha for the homeowners schedule route might depend on the policy -- if the loss occurred while conducting business there would be no coverage, to be sure, and some policies may not even allow mixed usage.

 

[preppyak]

Do you have a homeowners/renters policy with them? I'm pretty sure that's the only way they'll write a Personal Articles policy.

Nope, I have a personal articles policy with State Farm as a standalone thing in DC. My auto and renters insurance are through progressive.

Because Im in northern VA, the rate is like $12-13/$1k with a min premium of $25. But, it doesnt require me to attach it to other policies. Even nicer, I didnt have to have my items appraised, I sent them the retail value of them and they'll replace them at that price (with inflation calculated in each year).

 

[7enderbender]

As a Massachusetts resident I envy everyone here who has access to State Farm. I have not been able to find ANY reasonably priced camera insurance here. Insurance companies simply refuse to do business in this over-regulated state.
And adding stuff to my home owners insurance is not really an option. I have very very few options for that as well here (close to the ocean on top of everything else) so risking my policy with a camera claim is not an option.

What's weird is that at least I'm able to insure my musical instruments against pretty much anything you can imagine for dirt cheap. Company from New York does that. But haven't been able to find any camera gear insurance.

 

[BenKing]

I have mine through USAA. I don't recall exactly how much I pay for it, but I know it's not a ton (actually it's cheap enough that I don't think about it). I also have our renter's & auto insurance through them as well, and we've been pleased with the service/pricing.

 

[Richard8971]

I live in Arizona and I have had SF insurance on my camera equipment for the past 3 years. I have had to use it a couple of times and they have always taken care of me. I think I pay about $130-140ish a year for me and my wife's equipment. (Approx 12-13K) I would recommend it to anyone.

D

 

[WPJ]

I have State Farm personal articles policy, $7.60 per year per $1000 coverage (apparently less than half the cost of 'save money in 15 minutes or less with Geico' ), no deductible, full replacement, worldwide coverage for loss/damage/theft/etc.

With any of these 'personal' options (which explicitly state that the gear is not used to make money, and the policies are much cheaper than business policies), you have to be careful submitting claims. Generally, these policies are linked to your homeowner's/renter's policy, and claims are reported to the CLUE database which tracks such things. That database is used to determine rates and eligibility for homeowner's coverage, i.e. too many claims and your home insurance rates go up or your policy may be dropped (yes, they can do that!).

yes my sister lim law had there insurance company drop them because they had two claims in 5 years. Now for the next 5 years they are considered a high risk client and have to pay about 3-4 times in insurance so in the end after the two claims and now habit to go to a high risk insurance company they will not be coming out ahead it would have been cheaper to paid for the minor damage to there house which was in total under 6000$ now they will be be going from 800/year to 3000 a year so that's 15000 in 5 years instead of 4000 they normally paid add the damage 6000 and you can do the math they will be 5k in the whole. Additionally once the contractor knew it was insurance quote in sure the prices went up as well.

 

[Greatland]

Since this thread was posted I have taken the time to look into some insurance, and some from the providers that some of you have mentioned on this thread, and have found that it is a major challenge to find something affordable that can cover more than, say, $10K in equipment. My homeowners policy rider, in the amount to cover my equipment, would be nearly $2,000 per year but would not cover more than $10K in losses or damage outside of my home, which is where I would need the insurance coverage the most....I checked with Hiscox and their insurance would only cover up to $10K...anyone out there got anything that would cover, say $50K worth of equipment at a cost say $1,000 per year instead of $2,000...???

 

[mackguyver]

Since this thread was posted I have taken the time to look into some insurance, and some from the providers that some of you have mentioned on this thread, and have found that it is a major challenge to find something affordable that can cover more than, say, $10K in equipment. My homeowners policy rider, in the amount to cover my equipment, would be nearly $2,000 per year but would not cover more than $10K in losses or damage outside of my home, which is where I would need the insurance coverage the most....I checked with Hiscox and their insurance would only cover up to $10K...anyone out there got anything that would cover, say $50K worth of equipment at a cost say $1,000 per year instead of $2,000...???

I you join the North American Nature Photographers Association (NANPA), you can sign up for insurance through Rand/Chubb. My one claim experience was very positive and it is true commercial photography insurance so there's no need to worry about affecting your homeowner's policy or having a claim rejected due to "commercial use" or anything like that. It's $0.0245 per dollar of insurance (you determine the full replacement value) so $10k of insurance would be $245 a year + $100 annual NANPA membership fee - $345. I have well over $10k worth of gear insured and I'm sure George Lepp and others (who use their insurance) do as well. NANPA's pretty cool, too, so the $100 isn't a waste at all.

 

[nonac]

Since this thread was posted I have taken the time to look into some insurance, and some from the providers that some of you have mentioned on this thread, and have found that it is a major challenge to find something affordable that can cover more than, say, $10K in equipment. My homeowners policy rider, in the amount to cover my equipment, would be nearly $2,000 per year but would not cover more than $10K in losses or damage outside of my home, which is where I would need the insurance coverage the most....I checked with Hiscox and their insurance would only cover up to $10K...anyone out there got anything that would cover, say $50K worth of equipment at a cost say $1,000 per year instead of $2,000...???

I you join the North American Nature Photographers Association (NANPA), you can sign up for insurance through Rand/Chubb. My one claim experience was very positive and it is true commercial photography insurance so there's no need to worry about affecting your homeowner's policy or having a claim rejected due to "commercial use" or anything like that. It's $0.0245 per dollar of insurance (you determine the full replacement value) so $10k of insurance would be $245 a year + $100 annual NANPA membership fee - $345. I have well over $10k worth of gear insured and I'm sure George Lepp and others (who use their insurance) do as well. NANPA's pretty cool, too, so the $100 isn't a waste at all.

Get a quote from Hill and Usher.

 

[mackguyver]

Since this thread was posted I have taken the time to look into some insurance, and some from the providers that some of you have mentioned on this thread, and have found that it is a major challenge to find something affordable that can cover more than, say, $10K in equipment. My homeowners policy rider, in the amount to cover my equipment, would be nearly $2,000 per year but would not cover more than $10K in losses or damage outside of my home, which is where I would need the insurance coverage the most....I checked with Hiscox and their insurance would only cover up to $10K...anyone out there got anything that would cover, say $50K worth of equipment at a cost say $1,000 per year instead of $2,000...???

I you join the North American Nature Photographers Association (NANPA), you can sign up for insurance through Rand/Chubb. My one claim experience was very positive and it is true commercial photography insurance so there's no need to worry about affecting your homeowner's policy or having a claim rejected due to "commercial use" or anything like that. It's $0.0245 per dollar of insurance (you determine the full replacement value) so $10k of insurance would be $245 a year + $100 annual NANPA membership fee - $345. I have well over $10k worth of gear insured and I'm sure George Lepp and others (who use their insurance) do as well. NANPA's pretty cool, too, so the $100 isn't a waste at all.

Get a quote from Hill and Usher.

I did many years ago, but Rand has recently raised there rates a little. Are you saying H&U is cheaper?

 

[Surfwooder]

I would look at Worth Ave Group, for insuring electronic, and camera gear. You don't buy the insurance by the gear, but by a value. I took out a policy for $20,000 worth of gear, and equipment. It not also includes all my cameras, lenses but also laptops, smart TV, cell phones. To make a claim you must prove ownership by receipt from where you purchased the equipment. The policy includes all types of losses, from dropping, water, thieft, (police report required) Keep in mind any insurance connected to your homeowners policy will count as a claim against your homeowners, and could raise your over all rate.

 

[nonac]

[/quote]
I did many years ago, but Rand has recently raised there rates a little. Are you saying H&U is cheaper?
[/quote]

It may be cheaper. I just scheduled about $14k with them and also added $10k for rental/loaner gear and my premium is $287. Replacement value and worldwide coverage. It sure doesn't hurt to shop around every couple of years because some companies will try to sneak the rates up on you hoping you won't notice.

 

[Vivid Color]

Thank you for providing such helpful information. Currently my gear is insured through my homeowners policy, but I want to get a separate policy and one that will still cover me if I wish to sell any of my photos. Your information has saved me a lot of research time.

 

[RGF]

Helpful to get link

Thanks

 

[mackguyver]

It may be cheaper. I just scheduled about $14k with them and also added $10k for rental/loaner gear and my premium is $287. Replacement value and worldwide coverage. It sure doesn't hurt to shop around every couple of years because some companies will try to sneak the rates up on you hoping you won't notice.

That does sound a little cheaper assuming they charge the same rate for rental gear coverage as they do for owned gear. The NANPA/Rand rates were the same for something like 10+ years and they just raised them slightly a year or two ago via a nice, formal letter explaining the increase. I wish my auto/homeowners would have that courtesy. As a Floridian, the insurance here (despite no hurricanes in a decade) goes up 10-50% every year, but that's another subject entirely

 

[johninsanantonio]

I see a lot of discussion about different options. Something to consider is if your insurance company charges any type of deductible. USAA doesn't charge a deductible. The reason why State Farm insurance is not consistent is because their agents work on commission where as USAA does not. Any agency that works on commission is likely to throw in additional charges based on the individual who is writing that policy. The same VPP that I have for my camera equipment and camcorder also covers my firearms and my grandmother's fine china.

 

[tpatana]

Strange, just contacted a State Farm agent here (WA), and she said I'm not eligible for their insurance unless 80% of my photo work is at a (my) studio.

She gave me info for another insurance company which might be able to help.

 

[ScubaX]

Strange, just contacted a State Farm agent here (WA), and she said I'm not eligible for their insurance unless 80% of my photo work is at a (my) studio.

She gave me info for another insurance company which might be able to help.

Maybe try a new agent? I use to have a personal articles policy with State Farm for my underwater housing and video camera. Only eligible if 80% of my use was underwater ;D