Insurance for camera and lenses?

My homeowner's policy has a rider that covers it specifically.

tvphotog wrote in post #8859566
My homeowner's policy has a rider that covers it specifically.

That's cool. I could get renter's insurance, but I saw there will always be a 500 deductible. I don't like...

nighthunter310 wrote in post #8860275
That's cool. I could get renter's insurance, but I saw there will always be a 500 deductible. I don't like...

$500 deductible or $5000 in loss gear to replace... I'll pay $500 any day. The math just makes sense.

I'm sure they have plans where you pay extra but don't have to pay a deductible.

shimmishim wrote in post #8860326
$500 deductible or $5000 in loss gear to replace... I'll pay $500 any day. The math just makes sense.

I'm sure they have plans where you pay extra but don't have to pay a deductible.

Yeah, but I don't own that much. I have what is listed below, and am thinking of getting a 50mm 1.4 and a 24-70mm 2.8. So let's say the latter breaks, I would only get about 500 dollars maybe. In that case the insurance isn't really worth it for me.

Same as when my bike got stolen and I had a 1000 deductible. I got nothing. Not worth it for me.

In the US, a rider on your homeowners/renters policy is totally different than a Valuable Personal Property policy.

You WANT a Valuable Personal Property policy. You do NOT want a rider on your home owners/renters insurance.

Homeowners/renters insurance includes personal property values that you specify. So they will ask you how much all of your stuff, including TVs, stereos, clothing, etc costs. Then they give you a rate based on this. There are MANY limitations to how things are covered. Depending on the policy, you usually are NOt covered if you drop your camera, drop it in a lake, leave it on a train, etc. It also carries a deductible. Also, any time you make a claim you will get dinged on your homeowners/renters insurance. If you get your homeowners dropped because of a claim or 2, good luck getting homeowners again and let me know what price you are getting.

Valuable Personal Property is a policy specifically for certain valuable items in your household and goes well beyond the scope of homeowners when it comes to coverage.

If you are married or engaged and bought your SO a ring from somewhere other than Zales, you should have the ring covered under a valuable personal property policy. My wife's diamond fell out of her setting in a Home Depot parking lot and the insurance company was cutting us a check for $12k with one phone call. We found it (in the lot) 2 hours later and canceled the claim (stupid us). If we only had homeowners/renters insurance it never would have been covered for that.

This same type of policy is used for most hobbiests - people who collect autographs, memorabilia, guitars, etc. - and for this conversation, camera equipment. This type of policy carries no deductible and covers you for any loss of property under almost any circumstance (usually excludes war zones). So if you drop it in the toilet, if your cat gets caught on the strap and drop it to a tile floor, you dump it in a lake, you EX smashes it trying to recover pictures you took of her, almost anything...it is covered with NO deductible.

Professional insurance - not liability - is usually required when 50% of someone's income is from photography.

Liability is a totally different ballgame and should be purchased by anyone doing anything with people involved in their photography - weddings, senior portraits, models, etc. But it has nothing to do with the actual equipment replacement.

Again, this is in the US and covers the majority of insurances/issues with exceptions.

CosmoKid wrote in post #8860607
In the US, a rider on your homeowners/renters policy is totally different than a Valuable Personal Property policy.

You WANT a Valuable Personal Property policy. You do NOT want a rider on your home owners/renters insurance.

Homeowners/renters insurance includes personal property values that you specify. So they will ask you how much all of your stuff, including TVs, stereos, clothing, etc costs. Then they give you a rate based on this. There are MANY limitations to how things are covered. Depending on the policy, you usually are NOt covered if you drop your camera, drop it in a lake, leave it on a train, etc. It also carries a deductible. Also, any time you make a claim you will get dinged on your homeowners/renters insurance. If you get your homeowners dropped because of a claim or 2, good luck getting homeowners again and let me know what price you are getting.

Valuable Personal Property is a policy specifically for certain valuable items in your household and goes well beyond the scope of homeowners when it comes to coverage.

If you are married or engaged and bought your SO a ring from somewhere other than Zales, you should have the ring covered under a valuable personal property policy. My wife's diamond fell out of her setting in a Home Depot parking lot and the insurance company was cutting us a check for $12k with one phone call. We found it (in the lot) 2 hours later and canceled the claim (stupid us). If we only had homeowners/renters insurance it never would have been covered for that.

This same type of policy is used for most hobbiests - people who collect autographs, memorabilia, guitars, etc. - and for this conversation, camera equipment. This type of policy carries no deductible and covers you for any loss of property under almost any circumstance (usually excludes war zones). So if you drop it in the toilet, if your cat gets caught on the strap and drop it to a tile floor, you dump it in a lake, you EX smashes it trying to recover pictures you took of her, almost anything...it is covered with NO deductible.

Professional insurance - not liability - is usually required when 50% of someone's income is from photography.

Liability is a totally different ballgame and should be purchased by anyone doing anything with people involved in their photography - weddings, senior portraits, models, etc. But it has nothing to do with the actual equipment replacement.

Again, this is in the US and covers the majority of insurances/issues with exceptions.

Wow, thanks for the detailed explanation. I will be looking into that valuable personal property insurance. If it's not too expensive, it would be totally worth the peace of mind.

And now of course the hunt for all the receipts starts... lol.

I certainly agree that it makes good sense to insure your camera gear.
But, be very, very cautious in making claims.

And sorry to say, even with State Farm though the claim "may not" go against your homeowners policy... it still will show under a CLUE report.

Just a hunch, I would think most... have no idea what a CLUE report is

Also, the underwriters for State Farm will check said (CLUE) to see if you have had any previous claims for such items (cameras, jewelry, coins ) and likely deny coverage.

As I was informed, that would be two or more claims in a five year/ seven year period... So don't make any claims (under your personal threshold) because you can't be sure when you will take the " big hit "

It is far more complicated than the average homeowner would realize, but in a nutshell, more than (two) claims in a 5/7 year period... could and likely WILL be detrimental to maintaining your home owners coverage.

This subject was discussed at length, about two months ago on this forum.
Also, the thread has been referred to on other photography forums.

Good luck,
Ram

SuzyView wrote in post #8858174
I am shooting pro at events now and have to have a small business policy. It's expensive, but I have it through Zurich. If you decide to do a renters or homeowners rider, that may be easier and cheaper. I didn't know I had to go this route until I actually started working at places that required a copy of my insurance coverage.

Expensive? Mind telling how much your premium is and how much coverage?

I've got about $15k in gear and $1mil in liability for less than $350/year.

I have always wondered about getting insurance for the gear. Thanks for the posts.

nighthunter310 wrote in post #8861197
And now of course the hunt for all the receipts starts... lol.

you don't need receipts. just write down your serial numbers.

CosmoKid wrote in post #8864775
you don't need receipts. just write down your serial numbers.

Nope, no reciepts.

I just typed up a document stating what I had, including model numbers and serial numbers, including how much I wanted it insured for. Just that easy.
You might have to take the equipment to the office for them to take a picture for their file.

Yep, I just send my company a spreadsheet with the items and serial numbers, etcthat I keep up to date and they come up with the billing.

ram1958@sbcglobal.net wrote in post #8862010
I certainly agree that it makes good sense to insure your camera gear.
But, be very, very cautious in making claims.

And sorry to say, even with State Farm though the claim "may not" go against your homeowners policy... it still will show under a CLUE report.

Just a hunch, I would think most... have no idea what a CLUE report is

Also, the underwriters for State Farm will check said (CLUE) to see if you have had any previous claims for such items (cameras, jewelry, coins ) and likely deny coverage.

As I was informed, that would be two or more claims in a five year/ seven year period... So don't make any claims (under your personal threshold) because you can't be sure when you will take the " big hit "

It is far more complicated than the average homeowner would realize, but in a nutshell, more than (two) claims in a 5/7 year period... could and likely WILL be detrimental to maintaining your home owners coverage.

This subject was discussed at length, about two months ago on this forum.
Also, the thread has been referred to on other photography forums.

Good luck,
Ram

Ram - So you're saying if I make a claim next month because my flash breaks and then in 2 years something (heaven forbid) happens to one of my bodies or lenses I am at risk of losing my homeowner's insurance, even though it is written through a totally separate company than State Farm? I find it hard to believe that I could lose my policy for making 2 claims that would total roughly 1% of my homeowners insurance coverage! Could you link the post on this site that covers this topic? Thanks.

nighthunter310 wrote in post #8861197
And now of course the hunt for all the receipts starts... lol.

Nighthunter - I needed to provide State Farm with copies of receipts or invoices for all the equipment I wanted covered. Perhaps you should ask the insurance company what they require when you call to start the policy.