Getting traveler's insurance for international coverage?

[producerism]

You'd be proud of me - I even searched for forums for this, as to avoid the mandatory "try the search feature" comments. Unfortunately, the only results were not helpful. One was about using guns as insurance - which was amusing, but not helpful. All other references to insurance did not seem to be what I needed.


State Farm does not cover out of the country.
Hoffberger seems to only cover a studio / business.
NANPA's website was made in 1991 and hasn't been updated - so I can't find any information on that site about insurance.
All other posts mention adding it to home owners / business insuranceHere's the deal - I don't need to insure my business, or my home (I don't have a home!) The only insurance I have is car insurance (mandatory) and it doesn't look like Allstate does travel / personal insurance.

Can anyone recommend me an insurance company that can cover under $5000 worth of equipment? (really, under $3000). I'm going a few places this year, between South America and Europe - there will be plenty of chances to drop, lose and have my gear stolen, and I would like to be protected. Are there any options for a wandering techie nomad such as myself? Are there options to just cover gear for a single trip, or on a monthly basis? I just want to cover my camera, and two lens, and perhaps a laptop.

oh, and p.s. I realize google has results for this, but before I start surfing all the sites, I was hoping someone here could suggest one they have experience with, so I don't pick some fly-by-night company.

[Shadowplay]

State Farm has a "personal articles policy" that does cover out of the country. Mine is covered anywhere in the world for 1.3% of the value of your gear.

They should write you a plan for any amount of gear.

Just PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL THEM. Thats what I did after not being insured (for $21,368) for a few years because I thought I couldn't find someone to give me the plan I want.

[producerism]

ah, thanks - I'll see what kind of plan they offer. The only other company I've considered was AIG Travel Guard.

[Tapeman]

I just insured my gear before 3 weeks in Europe through my home owner's insurance.
I don't even have to keep it effective now that I am back.

[chinch]

i can't answer you directly but as stated above you need to PHONE AROUND.

allstate does have "motor home insurance" and you would probably be able to tack on a personal polity to your auto.
http://www.allstate.com/other-products.aspx

i phoned my homeowners (allstate) today as my policy was renewing. they quoted me an extra $86/year for $5k camera coverage (anywhere for anything) with zero deductible for others reading if interested.

[Cathpah]

be careful because a lot of travel insurance companies only cover up to a certain (and small) amount of cameras/electronics.

check out renter's insurance...should be your cheapest/best bet. I just called geico and told them what I need...they then sent me in the direction of a company that could help me.

[turbo212003]

I have renter's insurance thru State Farm, $12.00 for my apt and $2,000 in gear. The personal articles policy is used for coverage outside of the country.

[jlg84]

One key thing I have learned from traveling and living overseas is that if something goes missing while out of the US you need to have a police report to verify that the item was lost/stolen. I had a bag stolen from me in Johannesburg (at the airport, no less) and since I had no time to register it with the police before my onward flight to Zimbabwe I was pretty much screwed as far as making a claim on my insurance was concerned. (This also meant that I was at Victoria Falls with only a rotten P&S camera instead of a relatively-decent SLR. Guess I'll have to go back.)

[Tapeman]

The coverage I bought included loss on the itens scheduled, meaning I could just say I lost it and they would pay. I listed about $13,000. worth of gear.

[Tom Digital]

What Insurance Companies besides State Farm have this coverage???? My wife and I are planning a cruise next May to Hawaii and then on up to Vancover for 12 days.

[Jon]

I have mine through Erie Insurance Group. Most any insurance company will offer it; ask your agent about a Personal Articles Floater or an Inland Marine policy.

[producerism]

im so glad i posted this, and for the response from jlg84 - I wasn't considering that. I will certainly look for a policy that does not require a police report, since I have already booked almost all my travel arrangements, and filing a police report would certainly mess up all my plans.

[Cathpah]

im so glad i posted this, and for the response from jlg84 - I wasn't considering that. I will certainly look for a policy that does not require a police report, since I have already booked almost all my travel arrangements, and filing a police report would certainly mess up all my plans.


you might have some serious trouble finding one that doesn't require a police report...

[turbo212003]

im so glad i posted this, and for the response from jlg84 - I wasn't considering that. I will certainly look for a policy that does not require a police report, since I have already booked almost all my travel arrangements, and filing a police report would certainly mess up all my plans.


You aren't going to find that. If a police report wasn't required, people would just "lose" their gear out of the blue and ask for replacement.

[producerism]

The coverage I bought included loss on the itens scheduled, meaning I could just say I lost it and they would pay. I listed about $13,000. worth of gear.

perhaps the fine print said otherwise? I'd love to know the name of the insurance company, if this is valid.

[Ruffio]

You'd be proud of me - I even searched for forums for this, as to avoid the mandatory "try the search feature" comments. Unfortunately, the only results were not helpful. One was about using guns as insurance - which was amusing, but not helpful. All other references to insurance did not seem to be what I needed.

NANPA's website was made in 1991 and hasn't been updated - so I can't find any information on that site about insurance.

In case you are still interested, here is where you can find more info regarding the NANPA insurance plan.

http://www.nanpa.org/equipment_insurance.html

[producerism]

as an update - since i hope this thread can be useful to someone else in the future:

I contacted all of the suggestions here, along with a few others from friends and other websites. I also contacted a few insurance companies locally, just to compare prices and plans.

turns out, Rand is way more than I need, plus the most expensive of any option. Same went for other specialized photography insurance companies, which was pretty much what I was expecting anyways, although I have to say, none of their plans were even close to appealing anyways.

I finally called Allstate, and Statefarm for renter's insurance, which as everyone said here - can cover your possessions even when you bring them with you outside of the country. The biggest problem is that even though my intention is to insure gear for an international trip, the fact it goes through my rental insurance, which is in FL, which has cost all the insurance companies a fortune due to hurricanes... the rate is high.

Anyways, that being said, even with the high(?) rate, it was way less than any other option. Basically, $22 per month (cancel / renew whenever) to cover $25,000 worth of items, no aggregate limitations - $500 deductible per occurrence. Compared to the other policies, this one sounds too good to be true, so I am following up tomorrow morning to verify. I'm guessing there is an aggregate of some sort on equipment, but if not - I think I found what I was looking for.

It's a bit odd I would have to go through renter's insurance to insure something for the sole purpose of leaving the country, therefore having nothing to do with where I rent... oh well.

Does that amount sound about right?