Insurance?

[MrX]

Ever since all of my gear was stolen, Ive been doing some reading on insurance. I was just curious if any of you have insurance on your photography equipment or not. Granted, my homeowners covered the loss just fine, it was just the deductible that killed me in the end. I spoke with my insurance agent (State Farm) and they quoted some decent rates IMO.

For a non-porfessional the coverage is $1.20 per $100 of coverage, annually.
For a professional, it goes up to $2.05 per $100 annually.

This is for zero deductible, any peril, Personal Article Policy.

I know I never really thought about needing to insure any of it until this event, and many of you may not have as well. Just looking to maybe have a discussion about this.

 

[jbr13]

Get the State Farm Person Article insurance. I have had it for a year and a half. Never had to make a claim, but am glad I got it. My policy cost me around $45 dollars a year, and it covers anything that might happen.(their example was if I dropped my camera overboard and it sunk to the bottom of the bay, its covered) No deductable as you mentioned.
There are problems with using your homeowners. One is the deductable, and the second from what I hear, most places will drop you after two claims on your home owners, and those claims count against you getting insurance somewhere else. Car insurance may have covered you in your case as well. Again there are issues with that. Deductable, and if your car is unlocked they sometimes won't pay, plus if your gear isn't in the car they won't cover. These are all things I have ready from other photographers that have had to make claims different times.

 

[MrX]

Thanks, J; I appreciate the feedback.

Thats what I was planning on going with, i actually just finished up a comprehensive list of all the gear I have, model numbers, serial numbers, prices, etc. to send to State Farm.

I didnt want to use my homeowners for that very reason, but I didnt have much choice as the vehicle owners insurance does not cover theft of personal belongings from within the vehicle.

I dont want to have to worry about it again, especially since I stepped up some of the gear this go round. It sounded like the Personal Article Policy was the way to go, but I wanted to see what others were doing about this.

 

[Dead Eye]

I use StageMax , does not cover theft though. Covers damage.

 

[crf291]

I can confirm what jbr said about homeowners insurance from personal experience. Two claims in one year and Allstate dropped me. After many years of NO claims on homeowners and vehicle. Doesn't matter how much the claims are for. Of course my agent didn't warn me about this so my insurance paid out around $1000 and i immediatly got the cancellation notice. That puts you in a "High Risk" when you get insurance somewhere else which means higher rates and minimum $1000 decuctable. Oh yeah, this isn't just an Allstate thing, they all do it.

After talking with JBR and reading lots of threads on other forums the Personal Article Policy at State Farm is the way to go for non-professional. When it comes to professional policy the other formum members had mixed feelings. Some agents told them it covers everything and some agents said it doesn't. Might want to get into the fine print on that one.

I made my list up after the addition of my 70-200L and it's still sitting on my desk.....i really need to call State Farm.

 

[Loper]

I never even thought about it till I saw the thread about your stuff being stolen! When you purchase bits and pieces over time you don't think about what the value of your gear really is, at least I didn't. I just upgraded and bought the Canon 5D Mark II in January. I still have my XTI and 5 different lenses and accessories.

So anyway, I kept everything together in one bag and after seeing your post, I stopped leaving it in my car at work and only take the bag out of the house when shooting.

I am now looking into it with my insurance company that I have everything else with.

 

[jbr13]

I never even thought about it till I saw the thread about your stuff being stolen! When you purchase bits and pieces over time you don't think about what the value of your gear really is, at least I didn't. I just upgraded and bought the Canon 5D Mark II in January. I still have my XTI and 5 different lenses and accessories.

So anyway, I kept everything together in one bag and after seeing your post, I stopped leaving it in my car at work and only take the bag out of the house when shooting.

I am now looking into it with my insurance company that I have everything else with.

Loper, As you can read above, be careful. You normal insureance doesn't cover your camera gear near as well as a personal property policy will.

 

[MrX]

I never even thought about it till I saw the thread about your stuff being stolen! When you purchase bits and pieces over time you don't think about what the value of your gear really is, at least I didn't. I just upgraded and bought the Canon 5D Mark II in January. I still have my XTI and 5 different lenses and accessories.

So anyway, I kept everything together in one bag and after seeing your post, I stopped leaving it in my car at work and only take the bag out of the house when shooting.

I am now looking into it with my insurance company that I have everything else with.

I know what you mean, I didnt really think about the combined value of what I was actually carrying in my bag. I Knew it was a lot of gear, some of it pretty pricey, but never really thought about the cost of replacement. I am glad to hear that my thread was able to help though. Like jbr said, go with the Personal Article Policy, as the coverage will be better and the minimal cost is certainly worth it.

..and congrats on your 5D!!