After reading about Alex getting some of his equipment stolen from his car it reminded that I was wanting to check on my insurance coverage. So giving my agent a call and found that I have $5000 coverage in photography and electronics coverage. Since my wife and I both enjoy photography figure pretty much everything is double from cameras to computers. Then add on large format printers and such doesn't take long for $5000. I added some coverage but still little confused would only insure items over $1000 each which we have items over so made the list and insured them at $1.50 per $100.00. This is supposed to leave the lesser value items covered under the other $5000. How do you insure your equipment and is there a better way than through home owners policy?
Dennis,
It may vary from one company to the next but I have all of my equipment insured through the homeowners policy but under a special rider. I update the equipment list and S/N's annually or more often if I buy something that's pricey. This insurance covers everything I own and for everything from theft, damage and even walking away from a shoot and leaving something behind( not likely but good piece of mind). This all costs me around $250.00 a year and covers about $25,000.00 in gear.
I've also heard NANPA's insurance program is good, so maybe if you can't get what you need through the home insurance this would be an option
State Farm's umbrella policy - an add-on to a basic homeowners policy - covers computers and camera gear, but not data (ii.e., your photos). Of course, it's State Farm so they'll non-renew you if you ever make a claim... The policy also increases your third party liability and insures jewelry and other stuff.
About ten years ago I stopped paying any insurance! Instead I started put away the premium that I was paying each month into a separate bank account. To keep up with inflation I asked for several quotes each year and took the highest amount to pay into my own bank account!
I am at present fortunate not to have suffered any serious loss. This account never gets touched as you can never guarantee it won’t happen! All I can say is now that if something awful happened that I’d be able to keep shooting. Not necessarily replace all my gear but I’ll keep shooting!
Insurance companies have a terrible habit of not replacing items for varying reasons such as age (check your policy for old for new – as it changes every year! For the worse too!).
Call me cynical but if I don’t get robbed I’ve saved a bucket load and if I do at least I know I can replace enough to keep shooting!
If I was insured I’d would grieve for the loss to that huge premium every year and if I did get robbed it’ll be twice; once by the thief itself, and then secondly by the insurance company!
I have equipment insurance through Seabury & Smith, the carrier Professional Photographers of America works with. It costs me about $300 per year for all my camera, computer and printing equipment, with a $100 deductible per claim.
If you are a professional, most homeowners insurance policies won't include your camera gear (even if they specifiy they cover it they'll usually deny a claim if they find out you are a pro), and you either need a special rider as already mentioned or you need insurance specifically for photography type gear.
We've been using Seabury and Smith (also through PPA) for a few months shy of 20 years now. Nothing but good things to say about them. We've had a few claims over the years and always came away feeling well cared for. Have you heard that about ANY insurance companies these days? They just really seem to know the photo business and work hard to have policies and practices that reflect reality.
Steve's right about exclusions on most homeowners policies for pro gear, BTW. They'll burn you if they find out you've sold a few pictures.
Not many folks feel the need for it, but we pack a load of liability insurance for our business through Seabury and Smith, too.
Here's a demo of a good insurance company (and test of your own):
Does your policy cover repairs as well as loss?
My wife had a minor disaster today. She was shooting a wedding with two D2X's, one mounted with a 24-120VR and the other with a 12-24, and both wearing SB-800 strobes. The dual camera setup is dandy for solo wedding shoots and other quickly changing situations, and beats the heck out of lens changes when time is critical.
But the action moved a little ways off and she lay the one wearing the 12-24 (my D2X, of course!) on it's back on a table beside her.
And moments later a passerby accidently snagged the carry strap and bonked the whole setup onto the cement floor.
It landed on the strobe, destroying that. But more seriously, it also ripped the hot shoe off the top of the camera.
Strobe replacement and camera repair are both covered, and if the camera turns out to be unrepairable, that's covered, too. With nearly 20 years experience behind us, reimbursement checks from the insurance company are always as promt as the USPS can deliver them.
I'm a dyed-in-the-wool two camera wedding guy myself, Hank. It's completely irresponsible to shoot a wedding with only one body along anyway. If a bad thing happens, the clients are out a lifetime of memories with only the photos from Uncle Ernie's P&S to commemorate the most important day of their lives together. And the photographer is out the camera and the money from the gig (and with a reputation that just went in the tank).
For me it's the 17-40 on one body and the 70-200 on the other. With any luck I won't ever have to test the Seabury & Smith equipment policy, but it's nice to know they are pros in the business of insuring pros. I nearly dumped one of the setups into a fountain at a private golf club where I was shooting a wedding today (Uh, I guess that actually was yesterday now). Yikes!
Kind of a heart-stopper when you have a close call, isn't it Steve!
I was shooting with two cameras on the tarmac of an airport a few years back-- right out among the planes. I dropped the camera I was using to hang at my side while I reached for the other. Even over the noise of a plane revving and idling its portside engine at my signals to the pilot, I heard the crash...... Prop wash had evidently lifted the camera strap over my head and it was dangling below the camera when I dropped it from eye level onto the cement. EEEEEEEEEEK!
And the darned thing just bounced! I picked it up and went right on shooting. All I could find later was a scuff on the battery compartment cover. There's a whole lot in how they land, I guess, cuzz the D2X didn't fall all that far, but it looks like someone ran over it with a truck. Probably wouldn't have been hurt at all if it hadn't landed on the strobe first.
No doubt. Heart went pitter patter, face stayed stoical (I was a Midwesterner among Midwesterners, after all).
I included every darn thing I own photographically on my insurance list, all the way down to the rechargeable batteries for my flashes and my lens cleaning pens. I recommend doing this for anyone who is getting insurance, even though it is a pain and takes quite awhile to do. If someone steals the whole kit, forgetting to list the nickel and dime stuff would add up to far more money than nickels and dimes in out-of-pocket replacement costs.
It's also really worthwhile to update the list annually, not only in what's on it but in declared value. Prices drop, you quit using some things and acquire new. We declare new replacement value on new gear for a couple of years, then decrease it to use prices as our gear gets worn and time for new replacements approaches.
Hank, that's interesting. When I tallied replacement value on bodies a couple years old, I calculated it based on the new price for the most recent upgrade within the series, since that's all that is available new. So my Canon 30D replacement value would be that of a new 40D.
Ha! I'm taking that as a sign that until recently anyway, Nikon has been a lot slower on releasing new models. With their decreasing or similar cost on each new generation, we've always felt we were covered, though things are starting to happen faster under the black and yellow N flag. I think your response is a good reminder that we should watch closer! Thanks.
Posted by Lisa Cuchara on August 11, 2008 at 10:54 AM
Very true -- If you are a professional, most homeowners insurance policies won't include your camera gear (even if you just sell a few photos they call you a "pro").
We use Farmer's (TCP) http://www.tcpinsurance.com/ 1-800-726-3701
We joined PPA last year and we looked into Seabury and Smith -- their prices were almost the same except a little less liability coverage (1 million instead of two).
Complete Package for your Photography Business starts at $500-$700 per year depending upon your location.
Your Custom Package Includes
Camera Equipment Protected Worldwide (Theft included)
Rented Camera Equipment
$2,000,000 Comprehensive General Liability Coverage
Portfolio Coverage ($3,000 included)
Computer Equipment Coverage ($15,000 included on premises)
Office Furniture and Equipment (Theft Included)
Property of Others on and off premises ($15,000 at your business location - $5,000 off premises)
Third Party Property Damage ($5,000 included, can be increased to 1,000,000) @ $200 per year
Business Income Protection Including Extra Expense Coverage
Optional Insurance Coverages
$2,000,000 Professional Errors and Omissions Coverage
Additional $150 per Year (Protects you against losses from copyright infringement, trademark, trade name, title, slogan, false advertising, idea misappropriation, invasion of privacy or publicity right, or defamation arising out of any photographic or digital visual imagery services)
Entertainment Package Coverage: Adds “reshoot coverage" for $15,000 any one production
Non Owned and Hired Automobile Liability and Physical Damage Coverage on a one time basis available
Employee Dishonesty Coverage
Building Coverage
Worker's Compensation
Umbrella Liability in addition to the $2,000,000 Coverage included with the package
Discussion
13 repliesIt may vary from one company to the next but I have all of my equipment insured through the homeowners policy but under a special rider. I update the equipment list and S/N's annually or more often if I buy something that's pricey. This insurance covers everything I own and for everything from theft, damage and even walking away from a shoot and leaving something behind( not likely but good piece of mind). This all costs me around $250.00 a year and covers about $25,000.00 in gear.
I've also heard NANPA's insurance program is good, so maybe if you can't get what you need through the home insurance this would be an option
Rob
I am at present fortunate not to have suffered any serious loss. This account never gets touched as you can never guarantee it won’t happen! All I can say is now that if something awful happened that I’d be able to keep shooting. Not necessarily replace all my gear but I’ll keep shooting!
Insurance companies have a terrible habit of not replacing items for varying reasons such as age (check your policy for old for new – as it changes every year! For the worse too!).
Call me cynical but if I don’t get robbed I’ve saved a bucket load and if I do at least I know I can replace enough to keep shooting!
If I was insured I’d would grieve for the loss to that huge premium every year and if I did get robbed it’ll be twice; once by the thief itself, and then secondly by the insurance company!
Just my two cents worth!
If you are a professional, most homeowners insurance policies won't include your camera gear (even if they specifiy they cover it they'll usually deny a claim if they find out you are a pro), and you either need a special rider as already mentioned or you need insurance specifically for photography type gear.
Steve's right about exclusions on most homeowners policies for pro gear, BTW. They'll burn you if they find out you've sold a few pictures.
Not many folks feel the need for it, but we pack a load of liability insurance for our business through Seabury and Smith, too.
Does your policy cover repairs as well as loss?
My wife had a minor disaster today. She was shooting a wedding with two D2X's, one mounted with a 24-120VR and the other with a 12-24, and both wearing SB-800 strobes. The dual camera setup is dandy for solo wedding shoots and other quickly changing situations, and beats the heck out of lens changes when time is critical.
But the action moved a little ways off and she lay the one wearing the 12-24 (my D2X, of course!) on it's back on a table beside her.
And moments later a passerby accidently snagged the carry strap and bonked the whole setup onto the cement floor.
It landed on the strobe, destroying that. But more seriously, it also ripped the hot shoe off the top of the camera.
Strobe replacement and camera repair are both covered, and if the camera turns out to be unrepairable, that's covered, too. With nearly 20 years experience behind us, reimbursement checks from the insurance company are always as promt as the USPS can deliver them.
Aint that nice!!!!!
For me it's the 17-40 on one body and the 70-200 on the other. With any luck I won't ever have to test the Seabury & Smith equipment policy, but it's nice to know they are pros in the business of insuring pros. I nearly dumped one of the setups into a fountain at a private golf club where I was shooting a wedding today (Uh, I guess that actually was yesterday now). Yikes!
I was shooting with two cameras on the tarmac of an airport a few years back-- right out among the planes. I dropped the camera I was using to hang at my side while I reached for the other. Even over the noise of a plane revving and idling its portside engine at my signals to the pilot, I heard the crash...... Prop wash had evidently lifted the camera strap over my head and it was dangling below the camera when I dropped it from eye level onto the cement. EEEEEEEEEEK!
And the darned thing just bounced! I picked it up and went right on shooting. All I could find later was a scuff on the battery compartment cover. There's a whole lot in how they land, I guess, cuzz the D2X didn't fall all that far, but it looks like someone ran over it with a truck. Probably wouldn't have been hurt at all if it hadn't landed on the strobe first.
I included every darn thing I own photographically on my insurance list, all the way down to the rechargeable batteries for my flashes and my lens cleaning pens. I recommend doing this for anyone who is getting insurance, even though it is a pain and takes quite awhile to do. If someone steals the whole kit, forgetting to list the nickel and dime stuff would add up to far more money than nickels and dimes in out-of-pocket replacement costs.
It's also really worthwhile to update the list annually, not only in what's on it but in declared value. Prices drop, you quit using some things and acquire new. We declare new replacement value on new gear for a couple of years, then decrease it to use prices as our gear gets worn and time for new replacements approaches.
We use Farmer's (TCP) http://www.tcpinsurance.com/ 1-800-726-3701
We joined PPA last year and we looked into Seabury and Smith -- their prices were almost the same except a little less liability coverage (1 million instead of two).
Complete Package for your Photography Business starts at $500-$700 per year depending upon your location.
Your Custom Package Includes
Camera Equipment Protected Worldwide (Theft included)
Rented Camera Equipment
$2,000,000 Comprehensive General Liability Coverage
Portfolio Coverage ($3,000 included)
Computer Equipment Coverage ($15,000 included on premises)
Office Furniture and Equipment (Theft Included)
Property of Others on and off premises ($15,000 at your business location - $5,000 off premises)
Third Party Property Damage ($5,000 included, can be increased to 1,000,000) @ $200 per year
Business Income Protection Including Extra Expense Coverage
Optional Insurance Coverages
$2,000,000 Professional Errors and Omissions Coverage
Additional $150 per Year (Protects you against losses from copyright infringement, trademark, trade name, title, slogan, false advertising, idea misappropriation, invasion of privacy or publicity right, or defamation arising out of any photographic or digital visual imagery services)
Entertainment Package Coverage: Adds “reshoot coverage" for $15,000 any one production
Non Owned and Hired Automobile Liability and Physical Damage Coverage on a one time basis available
Employee Dishonesty Coverage
Building Coverage
Worker's Compensation
Umbrella Liability in addition to the $2,000,000 Coverage included with the package