Camera & lenses insurance - renewal time again!

I've got various cameras and lenses covered by a separate specialist insurance policy (and I'd rather keep them separate from my house insurance cover - because that one is "complicated").

So far I've used Photoguard and currently Glover & Howe, and the renewal quote from the latter is £153 for about £4.5k cover - although I can probably reduce that a bit by reducing the replacement values for some of the older kit.

However, before I renew with G&H, has anyone any recent comments about their claims performance (I seem to remember some adverse comments a few months ago, but a forum Search did not throw up any recent relevant results) and/or any suggestions for other companies that charge reasonable premiums AND have a good reputation for settling claims (not that I have ever made one for the photo-kit!)?

Thanks in advance.

John

There are some good reports about Glover and Howe on http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/5895317 if that is any use

MHOL190246 wrote:
There are some good reports about Glover and Howe on http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/5895317 if that is any use

Thanks - but there has to be a big reservation = last report was in 2003, which is 12 years ago, and a lot can change over time!

So, anyone had any recent experience with G&H claims?

PS: just had a look at the AP Insurance service - this turns out to be run by the JLT Group (who pay some of my "several" pensions!) which runs Photoguard via another subsidiary! Got a quick quote for roughly the same value as the G&H one - and it came out just over £200! So not them then!

Mine is covered by my contents insurance, with AVIVA,
I have had the misfortune to have to claim twice in 3 years, both times the claim was dealt with very quickly and much to my liking......
I would highly recommend them if they can support your needs...

Andy

Andy

Thought about doing that sometime ago, but the home insurance is complicated because of my wife's insulin pump, which we have to cover for 2x the value (i.e. 2x £2800!) because she carries a loaned spare when we go abroad on holiday. That sort of cover is difficult to obtain (many insurance companies appear to have no idea what an insulin pump even is, nor how they can cover it), although we finally managed to do that with the Co-op a couple of years ago, albeit paying a higher basic premium than elsewhere and then paying a top-up to cover the pumps. Therefore I wanted to try and avoid complicating or jeopardising that cover in the event of a photo-kit related claim.

In the end, did some "dickering" with G&H and managed to get the premium down to £110 (from £153) by reviewing what I have insured and for what values. Decided that it is not worth paying for a new-for-old policy because I don't actually do that much travelling with the more expensive items and have never needed to make a claim (as I am pretty damned carefully with kit when I'm out of the house, and the Pentax & Sigma stuff is pretty robust!), and so revised the list on that basis.

Thus a number of identified/specified value items moved to the "Misc Items under £300 " category, but I then upped the number of items which are effectively covered in that category by upping the limit from £900 to £1750 - therefore, realistically, I have more kit covered for a substantially lower premium.

I'm surprised that its been so hard,
I have a couple of VERY expensive Roach poles (fishing rods) on my listed items at about £4K each, it didn't seem to be a problem to get those insured...anything under £1500 they don't bother with...
Perhaps you should look at it the other way, and try to cover the insulin pumps separately with a medical cover?
BTW I think I get some change from £400 for buildings & contents insurance.

Regards

Andy

Same here, my gear is covered under my contents insurance; all items are non-specified since the individual values are below the minimum level. However, it's important to keep a comprehensive list of item details and serial numbers (I even have photos of the items) to smooth a process that you hope you'll never have to use! I've done this for the vintage film gear too; my minty 1957 AP for example.

Ref what Andy & microlight said above, the premiums are paid for this year, but I will definitely look more deeply into the pros and cons of that approach for next year!

Thanks.

I hope you manage to get it sorted out, as it seems like you are getting the crappy end of the stick at the moment, there is still nothing stopping you investigating what deals are available out there, if you do get a better one most insurance companies will refund you....if they wont then I'm afraid that speaks volumes about the insurer!

Regards

Andy