Insurance Value and "Replacement Cost"

I am looking into some insurance to cover some camera gear not used for business purposes. A "personal articles policy" (through a company like State Farm) seems to be the best option. The rate is like $50 for $3,800 of gear, no deductible, and all perils (including accidental damage).

The one thing I'm confused about though is, I'll be setting up the policy for $3,800, but what will I get back if a loss indeed happens? I've read to make sure that I'm getting the replacement cost, but I've read so many definitions of what that means.

Some seem to think it means you should get back the full value of what you paid (and declared) for the camera. While others seem to think you would get back what the camera is valued at the time of the loss.... even though that really mean depreciated value.

To me, it seems they would reimburse you for the cost to replace the lost camera with one of similar make/value at the time of the loss (example, have your 5D stolen 2 years down the line, they will replace it with another 5d, not the latest model or what you paid for it). For this reason, it might be wise to update the values of the gear listed on the policy on a yearly basis, so you are not paying for more protection than the gear is currently worth.


Any insights or opinions?

At this point with the way insurance companies/policies are, you need to talk to your agent and get clarification on your question. Have them show you in the policy itself how it is covered so you can reference it down the road if an issue comes up. My guess is replacement cost is going to equal what you originally paid but there is no real way for any of us to know what your policy actually covers.

With the state farm policy... You give them the item serial number and copy of reciept for that item.... When you make a claim against that serial number... You get that amount back