House was robbed... All my gear is gone.

Don't know where you are or what your situation is, but I find a home alarm to be at least some level of peace of mind. Won't stop anyone, but it will scare most off and if I'm not there, the police will be on their way. I feel safer having it on at night, as well, as it will wake me up should someone come in.

So sorry to hear of your loss. People who steal stuff SUCK!

My home owners insurance is for replacement value through State Farm. Hope yours covers the same.

dave

I'm really sorry this happened to you and your family. Glad everybody is safe and I hope that you will be able to buy some new stuff with the money from your insurance.

Isn't there a web site, Stolen Camera Finder, or something like that? I've heard people here mention that site, especially before buying used gear. Monitor that site, as well as CL. Maybe your gear will surface...

Exactly what I was thinking.

http://www.stolencamer​afinder.com/

Maybe that will help. Also, remember to check Craigslist from other nearby metropolitan areas... Tampa/St. Pete, Space Coast, Daytona, etc.

I'll keep an eye on the Space Coast one, since I live there.


Man, I'd be furious if I lost all my gear. Not overlooking the value of family safety or anything, but that would be right behind them in importance and impact. Maybe I should get a gun safe and use it for gear...

Scumbags!! Thoughts are with you and family.

At least you get to go shopping for some new gear.

Ian.

Sorry to hear that... I have got my gear stolen while in Barcelona. Fortunately, I was there for work and we have a very good work insurance that covered everything without any question. It was a good opportunity to upgrade, but it is still a pain to have to file the claim, wait, etc.

Sorry for your loss...

You ought to hear my Goldendoodle burglar alarm go off!

IMAGE LINK: http://rpcrowe.smugmug​.com …59042476&k=Lz4e​s&lb=1&s=A

I tried to get a state farm business policy 2-3 times from different agents and they shot me down because I didn't have enough business. It was understandable, but naturally if I got the personal one they'd end up denying the claim for too much business.

I probably do have enough business to get a state farm business policy, but I have the PPA coverage. It seems pricey compared to what others said in this thread (although it sounds like most people have add-ons to home insurance) at $215 a year for 11K of coverage with a steep $250 deductible.

Sorry to the OP. Hopefully you'll end up with better gear out of it.

But if you're replacing thousands of dollars in gear, depending on the loss, I would think $250 wouldn't matter.

Luckily I was able to add it to my renter's policy. But to be honest, I have no clue if I have a deductible. I've had the policy for so long, I forgot (over 20 years).

Obviously, the $250 + $215 premium is worth for it replacing 11K of gear. But $250 exceeds or is near the cost of most repairs and add-in the premium, you're really just paying for catastrophic coverage. If a 580 EX II were stolen, it would probably be better to just buy a new one than risk getting the policy canceled for too many claims when a used one is only a little more than the deductible. Even if I did make a claim, the deductible+premium is more than the cost of the 580 EX II. I think I will look around for a better deal at some point. I mostly just gravitied to the easy PPA coverage because of the bad experience with State Farm.

I am partially just whining a bit, I was in a hurry when I got the insurance and didn't include my Tamron 17-35, 50 f/1.4 and 5D on it mostly due to an oversight and because I wasn't sure how much longer I'd have the 5D. That's fine with me, although I should add them at some point, because I don't really need that stuff to stay in business if everything is stolen. Also, the stuff is insured closer to new value than what shrewd used purchasing would be, so I should be okay. Ironically, I didn't have insurance until the 50 f/1.4 rolled out of the bag and broke the AF. I'll get it fixed eventually and my annoyance that the deductible is high enough not having the insurance wouldn't have even mattered is balanced out by solace in knowing the $200 I saved in not having insurance for a year is more than what it'll cost (probably) to get the 50 f/1.4 fixed.

TheBrick3 wrote in post #14443214
Obviously, the $250 + $215 premium is worth for it replacing 11K of gear. But $250 exceeds or is near the cost of most repairs and add-in the premium, you're really just paying for catastrophic coverage. If a 580 EX II were stolen, it would probably be better to just by a new one than risk getting the policy canceled for too many claims when a used one is only a little more than the deductible. I think I will look around for a better deal at some point. I mostly just gravitied to the easy PPA coverage because of the bad experience with State Farm.

This is true, I agree. In my situation, all of my gear fits in one (heavy) backpack. So if one goes, it all goes. Even at home all of my gear is in that one bag. Makes me sick thinking about if my gear was stolen. But I do see your point.

Wow...nothing makes me angrier than thieves! Good to hear your family is okay, that is most important, bar none. Best of luck with the insurance company.

This thread has provided the inspiration to finally get insurance on my gear. I'll be stopping by State Farm tomorrow.