Camera Insurance

I'm sure this has come up before, but as my equipment increases in value I worry more and more about it. So who is your preferred insurer? What is the most easy and best deal for the buck? Thanks.

In my case my homeowners.... as a rider... very inexpensive...

There have been a few discussions here and there is a lengthy thread on the topic over at Bird Photographers Network.

I did my research and ended up joining NANPA to be eligible for the insurance offered through Rand/Chubb. I'll let others chime in with their thoughts.

My homeowners would NOT cover all perils and if I made even one dime with my photography, they would not cover my equipment on my homeowners as a rider. Also read about many others who did go with homeowners and found out after a claim they were dropped, or the rates increased so much that they dropped the insurance.

I also found that homeowners would not cover due to my selling prints and having a website with a "purchase" page. I joined NANPA and have been very happy with the coverage provided by Chub.

I have an Inland Marine Policy thru State Farm.

You might want to checkout the deal available to photo.net members. For those of you that are interested they offer both equipment and liability insurance.

http://photo.net/info/photo_insurance_specs.pdf

I've been using NANPA for the past two years but I'm seriously thinking about switching to the photo.net program.

I carry a Personal Articles Policy through State Farm and I've been pleased. It is said to cover my gear under all circumstances. I made a claim in 06 and State Farm handled it as advertised.

I have very reasonable rates with an Inland Marine policy through my Auto Owners renters
insurance....there was no raise in rate after a claim last summer.

I also have a personal articles policy with State Farm that covers my equipment even if I make money...however, I was told that this is reviewed each year to see if this policy will cover photographers who make money. Before 2006 it didn't. It also helps if your other insurance is with the same company...nothing like multiple line discounts.

Allstate also has a personal articles policy. It cost me 45.00 a year and covers up to 5,000 in claims.

Whichever source you select, first read the fine print on gear values and claims. Also look into exclusions- the kinds of incidents they won't pay for. Some companies will break your heart, the way they chisel away at claim values.

We get ours through PPA, and you assign the value. Rather than figuring out used values, we go ahead and list new replacement values for our major gear, updated annually. Since we pay as a percentage of values claimed (on a gear list), there's absolutely no dickering and heartache over claims paid at used rates for virtually new gear. Yeah it costs us extra, but it's worth every cent in our case.

On the exclusions, a friend was loading her big pack into a float plane at the dock in Kodiak harbor. Yeah, saltwater. The pack slipped and fell, dunking her 600 f/4 a 300 f/2.8 and several EOS bodies along with other lenses. Her (now former) homeowner insurance company denied the claim because the gear wasn't in a waterproof case when it fell in the water. Slap my DUH button twice, Sammy!

Thanks for starting this topic, Ryan; I'm reading with great interest.

Hank - that's a cautionary tale to take note of alright. And boy, do I feel for your friend.

A good rule of thumb would be to consider past history with your homeowner policy. If prior claims have been problematic, why in the world would you trust them with your camera gear? I'd sit down with your agent and really clarify exclusions and coverage, while getting anything questionable in writing.

I'd also spell it out: "This camera policy is small compared to my other policies. If your company screws me over, there's a lot more at stake than camera gear."

I'm a member of NANPA and they offer a great insurance package. My homeowners wouldn't cover my camera equipment.

David M. Cobb

For those of you using NANPA for insurance coverage would you be willing to give a ball park range of what premiums run for say $5000 coverage? I'm trying to decide which way to go and unfortunately you can't get a quote unless you are a NANPA member and I'm not sure I want to lay out $100 just to find that out--sort of a Catch22. Thanks--Larry

Thanks Adam, I'm going to check out photo.net, the minimum there is half the minimum at NANPA, I'm a member but have been putting off getting insurance there because of what I consider a very high minimum.

I checked out the photo.net insurance package and you can't get gear insurance without getting liability insurance along with it. I am already an NANPA member so I sent in the application for there package last night.