Insurance for Camera gear

[canon816]

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!).

+1 I use state farm as well with a personal articles policy. No deductable. no questions asked. Full replacement value coverage. (i.e. I have a 300mm f2.8 IS lens that I bought for $4500 several years ago. The replacement for this is now the Version II so I was able to increase my coverage to $7200 on this lens so that if anything happens to it I would get new replacement lens)

 

[onedelorean]

I know you guys probably already know of this company, but I just just bought some new lenses and wanted to get proper insurance. I found Film Emporium online and they where most helpful. Might be worth looking into. They have lots of good information on their website.

www.FilmEmporium.com

 

[johninsanantonio]

Different Insurance companies may call it different names but it's a valuable personal property insurance. BTW State Farm sucks. If your a vet or a government employee or a military dependent then your best option is USAA. My wive is an insurance agent at USAA and no other company can come close to the services or prices they offer. If your going overseas then you will need a international policy which I hate to break it to you but State Farm doesn't offer that. USAA does. If you can't get a USAA membership then you will have to go to progressive, liberty mutual, or American colectors. They are alliance companies of USAA that do international policies. When it comes to Insurance questions my wife is one of the best in her field. Not to sound Biased.

 

[sagittariansrock]

I've been wondering about this myself, is it possible to insure my gear if I'm not a homeowner?

I'm not a home-owner either, no problems getting the insurance. As another user mentioned, it might be why my rate was a little higher, but, it could also be that I'm in a big city and my gear is a higher risk of being stolen

Would you mind sharing what insurance company you use?
I don't mind paying a bit higher, but I am not a home-owner and I have no reason to get renter's either.
However, neither State Farm not Geico offers personal items (or photography gear) insurance without either home-owner's or renter's insurance.
I know there is stand-alone insurance for photography gear in the UK, is there something similar in the US (for non-pros, that is)?

 

[nonac]

Within the last 2 months I insured my gear here in the US through Hill and Usher. They can develop a policy specific to your needs. I basically started off with equipment coverage (no liability) as I do no work for hire so I don't have the need at this time for liability. I am covered worldwide for loss, damage, breakage. I scheduled approximately $15,000 in equipment including post processing equipment. I have a $500 deductible and my annual premium is $287. I am also covered for up to $10,000 in rented or borrowed(CPS) equipment.

 

[scottkinfw]

Talk to your agent and add it on to your homeowner's and car insurance for best discount. They will have you list everything, including prices and serial numbers. Be sure to get a rider that provides for replacement not pro rata payout for loss/theft/damage, etc.

sek

 

[nonac]

Talk to your agent and add it on to your homeowner's and car insurance for best discount. They will have you list everything, including prices and serial numbers. Be sure to get a rider that provides for replacement not pro rata payout for loss/theft/damage, etc.

sek

I checked with my agent for my car/housing insurance first. The cost of the policy was about the same; however, it did not cover accidental breakage which is important to me. Make sure you review the details of the policy carefully.

 

[Northstar]

fyi....just paid State Farm bill for gear insurance two days ago...$187 annually, no deduct, $15k of gear.

covers lost, stolen, damaged..etc.

 

[miah]

You should be able to buy a State Farm Personal Articles Policy as a stand-alone, with no connection to homeowner's or renter's policies. Mine covers 17K with no deductible for $176 annually.

 

[sagittariansrock]

You should be able to buy a State Farm Personal Articles Policy as a stand-alone, with no connection to homeowner's or renter's policies. Mine covers 17K with no deductible for $176 annually.

Unfortunately, none of the State farm agents in Houston agreed to a stand-alone policy. I think it differs by location and the agent involved.

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Folks.
State Farm seem a bit random with pricing, 15k cover for $187 vs 17k for $176.
I know that kind of difference could be down to risk, recent claims, local taxes? and perhaps other factors but it seems a large difference taking in to account 2k extra cover, and I now know insurance companies are thieves.
Based on an online quote for the same cover with the same company as I was already using without any new customer discount the quote reduced by 40% or thereabouts on car insurance, just to clarify I was insured with company x, did an online quote for the same car with company x, using all the info from current policy, I could have saved 40%!
Asked them why got a load of nonsense reply and MOVED insurer, saved 50% in all.
Keep on top of insurers people, they will fleece you!

Cheers Graham.

 

[Loswr]

Unfortunately, none of the State farm agents in Houston agreed to a stand-alone policy. I think it differs by location and the agent involved.

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. It's the same policy that covers jewelry, fine art, etc., above the basic limits on the primary policy, so if you have home/rental coverage with them, and the agent still won't write a PA policy, I'd get a new agent or call State Farm directly.

 

[Northstar]

Unfortunately, none of the State farm agents in Houston agreed to a stand-alone policy. I think it differs by location and the agent involved.

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. It's the same policy that covers jewelry, fine art, etc., above the basic limits on the primary policy, so if you have home/rental coverage with them, and the agent still won't write a PA policy, I'd get a new agent or call State Farm directly.

+1

Also....I would add that a $180 annual policy for personal articles insurance isn't the type of business that a ST Farm rep would want to take. Too much risk, too little reward for the agent. IMO

 

[sagittariansrock]

Unfortunately, none of the State farm agents in Houston agreed to a stand-alone policy. I think it differs by location and the agent involved.

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. It's the same policy that covers jewelry, fine art, etc., above the basic limits on the primary policy, so if you have home/rental coverage with them, and the agent still won't write a PA policy, I'd get a new agent or call State Farm directly.

You are right, they will write a personal articles policy WITH a renter's/homeowners policy. However, they didn't agree to a stand-alone PA policy as miah mentioned in his post. I have heard State Farm agents do so elsewhere, but not in Houston.
I don't need a renter's since I live in a high-security apartment for doctors and scientists with police surveillance and close-circuit cameras, so I am trying to get an insurance just for the photography equipment against accidental damage and security away from home, as is available in the UK (for non-professionals). I guess I might end up getting a renter's after all, but I would like to see if there are any options.

 

[sagittariansrock]

Unfortunately, none of the State farm agents in Houston agreed to a stand-alone policy. I think it differs by location and the agent involved.

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. It's the same policy that covers jewelry, fine art, etc., above the basic limits on the primary policy, so if you have home/rental coverage with them, and the agent still won't write a PA policy, I'd get a new agent or call State Farm directly.

+1

Also....I would add that a $180 annual policy for personal articles insurance isn't the type of business that a ST Farm rep would want to take. Too much risk, too little reward for the agent. IMO

+1. I agree, especially in a high-crime city like Houston.

 

[Loswr]

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.

 

[Northstar]

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.

An agent might give a nice camera gear discount because he's also insuring a mansion and two Mercedes for the client :

 

[Loswr]

An agent might give a nice camera gear discount because he's also insuring a mansion and two Mercedes for the client :

Actually, I don't have an agent (nor a mansion or even one Mercedes). We have State Farm only because we 'brought it with us' when we moved from California. Because of the insurance regulations in MA, State Farm does not write policies for new customers in the state. So, there are no agents here, only a Policy Service Office (one for the whole state).

Perhaps I'm getting the official rate, and some agents elsewhere are sticking it to their customers?

 

[Northstar]

An agent might give a nice camera gear discount because he's also insuring a mansion and two Mercedes for the client :

Actually, I don't have an agent (nor a mansion or even one Mercedes). We have State Farm only because we 'brought it with us' when we moved from California. Because of the insurance regulations in MA, State Farm does not write policies for new customers in the state. So, there are no agents here, only a Policy Service Office (one for the whole state).

Perhaps I'm getting the official rate, and some agents elsewhere are sticking it to their customers?

I wonder if the difference between ours is partly attributed to the fact that no agent is receiving a commission?

Either way, it's a bargain.

 

[nonac]

Unfortunately, none of the State farm agents in Houston agreed to a stand-alone policy. I think it differs by location and the agent involved.

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. It's the same policy that covers jewelry, fine art, etc., above the basic limits on the primary policy, so if you have home/rental coverage with them, and the agent still won't write a PA policy, I'd get a new agent or call State Farm directly.

You are right, they will write a personal articles policy WITH a renter's/homeowners policy. However, they didn't agree to a stand-alone PA policy as miah mentioned in his post. I have heard State Farm agents do so elsewhere, but not in Houston.
I don't need a renter's since I live in a high-security apartment for doctors and scientists with police surveillance and close-circuit cameras, so I am trying to get an insurance just for the photography equipment against accidental damage and security away from home, as is available in the UK (for non-professionals). I guess I might end up getting a renter's after all, but I would like to see if there are any options.

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.