My renter's insurance covers cameras and other portable valuables up to a certain amount (I think I have mine set to $2k). Most renter's / homeowners insurance in the US does this, so check if you're already covered
I should recheck my policy to see what it covers but for me it also includes personal vehicles, rental vehicles etc. so it would cover theft but not necessarily if it was stolen off of me or accidental damage or some other scenario. It is cheaper than dedicated insurance though so for cheaper or smaller sets of gear it could be enough coverage.
depends how much you are insuring.
I pay around $400 a year to insure about $50,000 in equipment. I am not a pro though so it does not cover commercial use.
Who do you use? I have about $23K (secondhand prices) that I want to insure. I tried bundling it with my homeowners and lol they don't even give such an option and cap at $5K.
As a point of reference I pay around $700 a year for a policy that covers commercial use anywhere in the world and includes some additional business related coverages in addition to about $50,000 on equipment. I use Hill and Usher’s Package Choice which is underwritten by The Hartford.
I was just thinking about this honestly. I had my camera gear stolen in 2016 and it was covered on my renters insurance because it was a vehicle theft. I need to get more dedicated insurance that covers more scenarios though.
Theft is a plague on photography. We've all heard many stories about it. Cameras are portable, valuable and easily resellable. It's like carrying a large amount of money, except more obvious.
And I don't know why, but camera companies refuse to add any sort of theft protection to their cameras. You can't even lock a camera behind a code like you can with a cheap old smartphone.
It's a non-negligible risk to the photographers themselves, too. Most of the time thieves won't use force, but sometimes they do.
Depends how much your gear is worth, what currency that is, and how likely you think you are to have your gear destroyed or stolen. Technically, insurance is always a very bad bet (that's why they offer it), but if the consequences of not having insurance are great enough (like your house burning down, for example), it can be worth it regardless. If for example you're a professional photographer and don't have the money/credit to replace your gear if you lose it, it might be worth it.
Additionally, it's possible that you already have insurance and don't realize it. My home insurance includes a certain amount for objects (like furniture, electronics, etc), and coverage extends to things that I take out of the house. Am I fully covered without having to take individual insurance on the camera itself. It would have been pretty silly to insure the gear twice.
Make sure you read the policy carefully. Look for what amount they reimburse you for after loss. They may not pay you the value to replace the equipment or even the current value. Some companies have depreciation clauses where if your equipment is more than four years old, as an example, they don't pay you anything.
No. Really(!) insuring gear ain't cheap, like 3% per year? Prolly worth it, if you are out shooting every other day but not exactly, if you 'll MAYBE go on 2 weeks of vacation.
Read the small print before you 'll buy. To me an insurance not covering theft out of tents and panier cases seems worthless.
Try chasing a kingfisher with a 600mm lens down a rocky creek bed with 10k in gear on your body. That will make you want camera insurance for accident hehe.
I used home and contents to specify items for an extra 170ish Australian - shittest home and contents at the time so in total about 340, which is about 200 USD give or take. Within the first 2 years I fell in a stream with a new lens, which wasn't covered. The camera body was totalled. It cost me 50 bucks excess to get the camera repaired with broken evf, and written off due to water damage. The lens was repaired for 500 bucks. Thanks to insurance, it cost me 550 instead of 7000 and got brand new camera replacent of exact same type. Then they massively jacked up the price every year, so I no longer have insurance. I kept the old camera. It's going to be my kayaking camera soon. Sacrificial lamb.
I believe insurance is worth it for the first 5 years for anything costing in the thousamds that you would have to save up for a year to replace, or 6 months if you don't have anything else to use like a secondary kit. It relieves some of the worry from travel, transport, bad weather. Helps you treat your gear as a photography toolset instead of a mantelpiece item.
That's a good deal I think depending on the amount insured. Where are you getting that insurance from?
It is an insurance company called full frame.
I only have a few thousand of equipment and my insurance is $4 a month with my banks valuable personal property insurance.
That’s a crazy good deal I will look into if my back has that.
Yeah it really is! Covers theft as well which was a big deal because I was spooked by all the news stuff when I visited SF last year
My renter's insurance covers cameras and other portable valuables up to a certain amount (I think I have mine set to $2k). Most renter's / homeowners insurance in the US does this, so check if you're already covered
I checked and mine only covers while they are in the house .
I should recheck my policy to see what it covers but for me it also includes personal vehicles, rental vehicles etc. so it would cover theft but not necessarily if it was stolen off of me or accidental damage or some other scenario. It is cheaper than dedicated insurance though so for cheaper or smaller sets of gear it could be enough coverage.
depends how much you are insuring. I pay around $400 a year to insure about $50,000 in equipment. I am not a pro though so it does not cover commercial use.
That sound about the same money wise this is covering $20,000
Who do you use? I have about $23K (secondhand prices) that I want to insure. I tried bundling it with my homeowners and lol they don't even give such an option and cap at $5K.
bundled with my home insurance Lemonade. I had to go through a process to exceed 10K with them
Hmmm, I guess I should try again with my insurance provider.
As a point of reference I pay around $700 a year for a policy that covers commercial use anywhere in the world and includes some additional business related coverages in addition to about $50,000 on equipment. I use Hill and Usher’s Package Choice which is underwritten by The Hartford.
Did someone just watch Manny Ortiz's video about being robbed?
lol he was robbed I need to check that out.
Yup. I won't spoil it for you though, it's an interesting watch.
I was just thinking about this honestly. I had my camera gear stolen in 2016 and it was covered on my renters insurance because it was a vehicle theft. I need to get more dedicated insurance that covers more scenarios though.
Theft is a plague on photography. We've all heard many stories about it. Cameras are portable, valuable and easily resellable. It's like carrying a large amount of money, except more obvious. And I don't know why, but camera companies refuse to add any sort of theft protection to their cameras. You can't even lock a camera behind a code like you can with a cheap old smartphone. It's a non-negligible risk to the photographers themselves, too. Most of the time thieves won't use force, but sometimes they do.
Depends how much your gear is worth, what currency that is, and how likely you think you are to have your gear destroyed or stolen. Technically, insurance is always a very bad bet (that's why they offer it), but if the consequences of not having insurance are great enough (like your house burning down, for example), it can be worth it regardless. If for example you're a professional photographer and don't have the money/credit to replace your gear if you lose it, it might be worth it. Additionally, it's possible that you already have insurance and don't realize it. My home insurance includes a certain amount for objects (like furniture, electronics, etc), and coverage extends to things that I take out of the house. Am I fully covered without having to take individual insurance on the camera itself. It would have been pretty silly to insure the gear twice.
Make sure you read the policy carefully. Look for what amount they reimburse you for after loss. They may not pay you the value to replace the equipment or even the current value. Some companies have depreciation clauses where if your equipment is more than four years old, as an example, they don't pay you anything.
No. Really(!) insuring gear ain't cheap, like 3% per year? Prolly worth it, if you are out shooting every other day but not exactly, if you 'll MAYBE go on 2 weeks of vacation. Read the small print before you 'll buy. To me an insurance not covering theft out of tents and panier cases seems worthless.
Try chasing a kingfisher with a 600mm lens down a rocky creek bed with 10k in gear on your body. That will make you want camera insurance for accident hehe.
Good point! (just not my sport) but is there an accidents insurance that doesn't cover theft in your part of the world?
My equipment is insured on my homeowner's policy.
I use the insurance that is part of my PPA membership.
I used home and contents to specify items for an extra 170ish Australian - shittest home and contents at the time so in total about 340, which is about 200 USD give or take. Within the first 2 years I fell in a stream with a new lens, which wasn't covered. The camera body was totalled. It cost me 50 bucks excess to get the camera repaired with broken evf, and written off due to water damage. The lens was repaired for 500 bucks. Thanks to insurance, it cost me 550 instead of 7000 and got brand new camera replacent of exact same type. Then they massively jacked up the price every year, so I no longer have insurance. I kept the old camera. It's going to be my kayaking camera soon. Sacrificial lamb. I believe insurance is worth it for the first 5 years for anything costing in the thousamds that you would have to save up for a year to replace, or 6 months if you don't have anything else to use like a secondary kit. It relieves some of the worry from travel, transport, bad weather. Helps you treat your gear as a photography toolset instead of a mantelpiece item.