Insurance

johnwartjr

Senior Member
If your gear is insured, how did you go about doing it?

Some sort of rider on a homeowners or renters policy?

Some sort of 'specialized' insurance?

I spoke to the agent who has my auto insurance the other day, and they wanted me to get the information on my homeowners insurance and bring it in, along with a list of serial numbers and replacement costs of my equipment. I'm going to talk to them, but my homeowners is escrowed in with my mortgage and with a different company, and moving it becomes a pain when the potential new insurance company wants to come out and look at my property, etc.

I would like to insure things against theft and destruction, regardless of whether the destruction happens if my house catches on fire, floods, etc or if I fall in a lake taking a picture. The theft coverage would need to cover all aspects of theft - someone breaks into my home and takes it, I get mugged, someone pops the trunk of my car, etc.

I need to get coverage that will cover my gear, whether I am using it for business or personal uses. Most of the time, I'm shooting what interests me - but from time to time, I do sell a print, or do an engagement session, or things like that and I may be taking on more work as time passes, so I don't want to be strictly locked into one or the other. Just need to be 'covered'.

While I *am* going to speak to my agent, I would like to talk to others about this too, so I can be as educated as possible.

Any thoughts or discussion is appreciated.
 

Joseph Bautsch

New member
Probably the least expensive way is to add your equipment to your homeowners policy. A separate policy such as a inland marine or a fine arts policy will be more expensive unless you have ten or fifteen thousand in equipment. Then the underwriter will probably require a separate policy. The rider can be attached to your homeowners even if it's in escrow. Contact the agent for your escrow carrier. Your agent will attach the coverage as a policy rider. You will need to complete an inventory list of the items to be insured. They will need proof of value. Find each item for sale on the internet and print out the for sale document and attach to the inventory. The same rider can be attached to a renters policy as well. If you are just deriving income from your photography on a part time basis and not running a licensed business then attaching to your homeowners policy will do fine. If you decide to go pro and open a licensed photography business then you will need to insure the equipment with a commercial business policy.
 
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Browncoat

Senior Member
(I am a former licensed P&C insurance agent)

Mr. Bautsch did an excellent job of covering the bases.

The best thing you can do is check with your insurance agent. The answer here will depend on how and where you use your equipment. If you are deriving income from your photography, the answer is simple: get a separate commercial policy.

Odds are, your current homeowner's policy has coverage for your gear against named perils. These are things specifically named by your insurance company as acts of God, disaster, etc. and covered under the "contents" portion of your policy, to which a deductible applies. As a general rule, your gear would even be covered away from your home, and in your car...which incidentally, does not cover theft, that would fall under your auto policy. The "contents" portion of your policy likely details how much coverage is offered for photo/video equipment. Usually, most standard policies do not exceed $5000 for gear.

Ask your agent about a policy rider if you feel you do not have enough coverage. With a rider, you can name specific items, their value, and often increase what perils they are covered under. And as Mr. Bautsch said, there are always separate policy options if the rider proves to not provide enough coverage. Inland Marine is another choice, but yes, it can be quite expensive unless you have a substantial investment in your equipment.
 

Joseph Bautsch

New member
Anthony and Bill are right on. Your homeowners deductible could be much more than a lens. My policy has a $1000 deductible but my camera equipment rider has a $100 deductible. Also each insurance insurance company will have their own underwriting requirements and even then the requirements and pricing can change very quickly. Also as Anthony says the homeowners is a named perils policy, not all losses will be covered, and the policy conditions will probably limit the amount of coverage. Different policies will state different amounts. Your camera equipment coverage should be on an all risk rider and even then the rider policy conditions and exclusions will change the coverage. Complicated, yes. The moral of this story is to take this to your insurance agent he will determine your needs and find the best coverage for you.
 
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