Insuring camera gear?

firststring74

Do you insure your gear? Right now I have a floater policy through my homeowners and I need to read the fine print to see if it will cover my camera gear. If it doesn't, who do you insure your camera gear through?

Thanks,

Christina

Andy

If you join PPA, there are some neat options through Marsh.

jsmiley

insurance

firststring74 wrote:

Do you insure your gear? Right now I have a floater policy through my homeowners and I need to read the fine print to see if it will cover my camera gear. If it doesn't, who do you insure your camera gear through?

Thanks,

Christina

Christina

I have a rider with my homeowners policy for my camera equipment. I currently pay about $150 a year for approximately 15,000 in replacement cost.

Each time I buy a new piece of equipment, I take the invoice to the insurance company and added to the list.

John

www.smileysphotography.com

~Jan~

If you have a business, your photography gear is no longer covered by homeowners. For $225 I have a business policy through State Farm. I'm also looking into adding accidental damage insurance to that policy.

firststring74

Good to know everyone. I would hate to have something broken/stolen and not be able to replace it. I'll look into PPA Andy, thanks for the link.

Foochar

I recently joined NANPA largely so that I could participate in the insurance program that they have setup. I sent my application in today. It is supposed to cover all perils except for "Mysterious Disappearance."

While it is pricier than many homeowner's policies that I have seen people mention, I felt better about a policy that was at least in theory designed around photographers. They have a blanket coverage for items with individual values under $500, so you don't have to itemize every filter, memory card, battery, etc. They also have rental coverage for anything that you rent or borrow. For me the shooting I do seems to line up more with the mission of NANPA than with the mission of the PPA, so that also played a part in my decision.

firststring74

Thanks Travis, I'll look into them as well.

rdlugosz

Foochar wrote:

For me the shooting I do seems to line up more with the mission of NANPA than with the mission of the PPA, so that also played a part in my decision.

You mean the North American Numbering Plan Administration?!?

Foochar

rdlugosz wrote:

You mean the North American Numbering Plan Administration?!?

No, I mean the North American Nature Photography Association

Alkhemist

Insurancespeak
"Mysterious Disappearance." : Any claim made against your policy that is not backed up by a police report.

Icebear

~Jan~ wrote:

If you have a business, your photography gear is no longer covered by homeowners. For $225 I have a business policy through State Farm. I'm also looking into adding accidental damage insurance to that policy.

Actually, most insurers in the homeowner business offer a "Home Based Business" endorsement to a homeowner policy that extends personal property coverage to the property used in the business, and also extends general business liability coverage to the same business. It's way less expensive than any separate policy.

~Jan~

Icebear wrote:

Actually, most insurers in the homeowner business offer a "Home Based Business" endorsement to a homeowner policy that extends personal property coverage to the property used in the business, and also extends general business liability coverage to the same business. It's way less expensive than any separate policy.

I looked into that, and Allstate (our homeowner's policy) does not. Neither does State Farm, which is where I bought the biz insurance. Maybe more independant companies do.

liflander

I know this is an old thread, but I want to mention that I got renters insurance with a business endorsement coverage through Geico (have 2 cars insured with them). It cost me $199/yr for $10,000 equipment coverage. Covers me out of the home too, and also has 100k personal liability coverage.
Geico uses third party insurers for their renters insurance, and in my case its Travelers, but all my dealings are through Geico.
-Mark

r9jackson

I have a very good business policy through Hill and Usher (via my National Association of Photoshop Professional membership). Before I purchased the policy I talked to the people and checked out their reputation. They understand the photography business very well. I have supplied them with a detailed inventory of my photography equipment. They cover "errors and omissions" coverage that is essential for wedding or event photographers. One mistake could cost your whole business.

They also have great customer service. I needed an endorsement to shoot at a local drag strip and had it emailed to me with the details of the location and its ownership in less than 30 minutes on the phone with a pdf emailed to me. I'm sure there are other good providers of photography business insurance, but make sure you check them out and they know about the high cost and small size of some of our equipment.