Camera insurance

Hi,

I am currently insured with photoguard, but I find the conditions a little bit too strict. Do you know better companies that can insure my gear?

I see pentaxuser endorses Glover and Howe, am I right?

Are you using this purely for non-profit use and how much is your equipment worth?

You may find that it can be cheaper using your household insurance so that's worth checking. And since I switched I actually get fewer conditions than I did with a specialist policy.

When I was an Olympus user my car was broken into and my camera bag stolen. It wasn't in sight - it was in fact under the parcel shelf in the boot but they broke a side window and released the drop down rear seat back. There was about £1000 worth of equipment in the bag. I didn't have specialist photography equipment insurance. Turns out my Tesco car insurance only insures contents for £200 and as I have a £100 excess on the policy there was no point in claiming. I was at the time in the throes of moving house insurance - a matter of days to the switch - and guess what - the old insurance didn't cover the kit out of the house but the new one does. So it was an expensive lesson to learn. Now the kit comes with me come rain or shine.

Cars also get very hot, so I wouldn't leave any kit in the car in any event. Just at the moment seals would probably become sticky or deformed and the expansion of glass against metal or plastic could also cause problems.

It's very hot out there!

home insurance is tricky, moreover I do not think it covers items when they are actually outside my flat (unless I pay more and at that point is like having another insurance).

Problem is the cost of the insurance itself, currently I have insured 2 lens, one flash and one body and I already pay 50 pounds with 50 pounds excess.

Last weekend I broke my 50mm 1.7 after my camera fell from the stupid place I put it on. A sad weekend for me, also because the lens was not covered.

Anyway, I do not feel enough covered with Photoguard...to many restrictions and clauses. What do you think?

I would assess the risks and costs.

What is the value of the equipment? How likely is it that it would be damaged or stolen? If it's always with me, not very likely it would be stolen? What would the excess be compared to the annual cost totting up and compared to the individual items? Not much point insuring a £50 lens if the excess is £100? What exclusions are there?

Photo insurance can be quite expensive IMHO, so an extension on the house contents policy ("All Risks")could be a much lower cost alternative.

Similar thing happened to me when I had about £6k of kit stolen last December although I had a specific business policy. Cliik the Insurance Broker very unsympathetic and not understanding of my needs for the policy in the first place to be honest, but that's my fault for not reading the 92 pages of small print. I fought their decision to not pay out and in the end the underwriter did the right thing and paid out when they finally realised that although I was careless their definitions in the policy wording was also very poor and needed to be amended.

Please read all policy wording before you commit and make sure it covers all the scenarios you put yourself in.

I can tell you that I am with LV which with the personal possessions (add-on) covers all my gear in the UK and for 60 days a year worldwide (up to £10,000). The cost is about a tenth of what specialist insurance was costing and the only stipulation is that if it is left in a car the car must be locked and the quipment out of sight.

My (previous) specialist insurance policy said it was not covered in the car overnight nor in a locked hotel room - bit of a catch-22.

(As an aside, a point to note is that a lot of car break-ins happen because people see things being left in boots and the owners walking away. I am always careful never to do this. People may see me taking my gear out of the boot, but I never put it back in until I am ready to leave.)

In my case I went to the main gate of a local nature park - one that I had visited many times. Mine was one of about ten cars parked there. I had my dog with me and my camera bag in the boot. It started pouring with rain as I arrived so I decided to leave the camera bag and take the dog for a 'toilet trot'. I was away 15 minutes. The police didn't even turn up and didn't turn up the day after even though they had booked a specific time to do so. They turned up on the 3rd day and suggested that if I'd left the car unrepaired with the other contents in it they could have got some fingerprints. One thing they did say which was worthwhile is that the thieves had probably monitored the entrance for some time and maybe recollected that I'd previously left the car carrying a camera bag.
I'm now with Nationwide insurance and they cover my camera and lenses both within and outwith the house.

greynolds, how much do you pay for your insurance, if I can ask?

I think household plus the extra is about £400 a year. It's high because we live near a river. Which has never flooded since the Romans were here!

Compared to the £300 I paid just for camera insurance it is extremely good!

if you used to pay 300 it is good indeed...however I pay 50 pounds only and my home insurance was 77 pounds if I remember correctly...so I do not have perks, but still I am paying less.

Coming back to the photography insurance, what can you tell me about the one endorsed by PU? Glover and Howe

I'm with Hiscox, paid £106 taken up through "policybee", very comprehensive and reasonable costs for my requirements

Simon

I stopped my insurance. It had superb coverage, including things taken while you are on a shoot and concentrating on things other than your camera bag, and checking your gear on a plane. It is the same policy as offered to the Dutch TV companies, with exactly the same T&C.

I concluded it was too expensive given our greatly reduced income now. If I travel now I take less stuff with me and carry it at all times.
Mind you if we do go to California next year, for our final fling trip, taking less stuff might prove difficult, unless I flog some of it first.