Camera Insurance pitfalls

davet

davet

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I've just had a very interesting conversation with a major photo Insurance company. I explained the majority of photos I would be taking would be of Landscape and Wildlife and on occasions I would be under canvas. Their minimum requirements insist on being in a building with locked doors, etc overnight and as such the photo equipment would not be covered against any theft while you slept. Does anyone have a policy which protects them under these circumstances? According to this company no other company would insure you under these circumstances.
 
keep a locked case handcuffed to your wrist - this should satisfy the insureres.:nuts:
 
with photoguard (*spits whilst typing*) they wont pay up if your equipment was unatended and there was no sign of a break in.. so basically you need to keep your equipment with you at all times.. so there isnt much point in having the insurance because if i'm with my equipment at all times i'm going to punch anyone in the face who tried to nick it.
 
badgerbaiter said:
with photoguard (*spits whilst typing*) they wont pay up if your equipment was unatended and there was no sign of a break in.. so basically you need to keep your equipment with you at all times.. so there isnt much point in having the insurance because if i'm with my equipment at all times i'm going to punch anyone in the face who tried to nick it.
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Spot on. :thumbs:
 
davet said:
That won't help if you drop a lens or camera though.
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then he chalks that down to experience and 'his own' stupid fault for dropping it.


ive let my insurance with photoguard lapse for that reason as well, if my camera is in my car or stolen from my house then my home insurance will cover it, if its in my bag on my back then someone is gonna have to fight pretty hard for it.

i dont insure things against accidental damage because thats my own fault and if i break my camera by dropping it then i should take more care of it!


i think you'd really struggle to find an insurance company that would cover your gear when your in a tent, at the end of the day its quite a noisy task to break into a tent and steal something without waking up the person 2 foot away, leave it in the car if the car is close to hand?
 
i've forgotten who it was, but someone recently posted on here that they left their equipment in a field. when they got back it was gone but their insurance company (i think it was general insurance not photographic) paid up. (i think it was something to do with ING but i might be wrong)

As far as i can tell its best to use a mutual insurance company. They are more interested in customers than shareholders. My mate works for one, and some woman had been with them 30 years and then accidently let the insurance lapse. Her house burned down and they paid up anyway even though she technically had no policy any more.
 
with regards to accidental damage. I fell in a ditch at Le Mans (dont laugh :) ) and my external flash took the brunt of it and snapped off the mount. So i sent it back to canon and said it broke when i tightened it up. No probs at all.
 
i'm with glover and howe

i don't know about camping in tents.... but could you lock it in your car? they cover my stuff in the boot of the car overnight IF i'm on assignment. it's also full accidental, so if i dropped it off a cliff, i'm covered.

their policy seems a lot more bullet proof than photoguards did, which didn't seem worth while to me.....
 
i also used the same company that does the photoguard policy for my bike
i locked it up in the secure car park and it got nicked. I had to pay half the claim myself excess because it was technically in a communal area. had i have locked it up outside the car park in the street i would have been fine.
advice : read all the small print or just dont bother with insurance
 
badgerbaiter said:
with regards to accidental damage. I fell in a ditch at Le Mans (dont laugh :) ) and my external flash took the brunt of it and snapped off the mount. So i sent it back to canon and said it broke when i tightened it up. No probs at all.
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whilst laughing at you falling in the ditch, The last part of your post is fraud, are you sure you want that on a public domain.
 
nowler said:
i'm with glover and howe

i don't know about camping in tents.... but could you lock it in your car? they cover my stuff in the boot of the car overnight IF i'm on assignment. it's also full accidental, so if i dropped it off a cliff, i'm covered.

their policy seems a lot more bullet proof than photoguards did, which didn't seem worth while to me.....
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Thanks Nowler...just had a chat with them and they seem a lot more flexible and they said the gear would be covered in the Masai Mara Bush type tents if it's in a Pacsafe and attached to the structure or in the UK it can be left in the trunk of the car while on assignement...which means shooting for stock or print sales. They aren't as cheap as AUA but the cover is better and they are a lot more flexible than Photoguard.
 
check your home policies guys, I got a letter the other day saying they were taking digital cameras off my policy.

So much for my £2000 expensive items cover!!

Need some other insurance now, any reccomendations for someone never used camera insurance before??
 
I am with Direct Line home insurance & being honest they are top draw , about six years ago I stupidly had left camera bag complete with 90% of my kit in behind my car drove off without putting into car , drove back as soon as i got home and found out what happen all gone ,insurance company paid up saying these things happen , two years later one of the lens took a nose dive in the Apple store New York , lens a complete right off replaced it within two days , took an unplanned swim complete with 20D replaced it within a week, highly recommend company
 
davet said:
I've just had a very interesting conversation with a major photo Insurance company. I explained the majority of photos I would be taking would be of Landscape and Wildlife and on occasions I would be under canvas. Their minimum requirements insist on being in a building with locked doors, etc overnight and as such the photo equipment would not be covered against any theft while you slept. Does anyone have a policy which protects them under these circumstances? According to this company no other company would insure you under these circumstances.
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That sound like the small print on E&L's policy, basically you have to have been killed whilst defending your camera to be eligible to claim. Even then you must get any claim witnessed by at least three fictional characters from 19th century English literature. ;)
 
Gary Wood said:
I am with Direct Line home insurance & being honest they are top draw , about six years ago I stupidly had left camera bag complete with 90% of my kit in behind my car drove off without putting into car , drove back as soon as i got home and found out what happen all gone ,insurance company paid up saying these things happen , two years later one of the lens took a nose dive in the Apple store New York , lens a complete right off replaced it within two days , took an unplanned swim complete with 20D replaced it within a week, highly recommend company
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did you have your stuff seperatly listed with them or just on normal household policy...as im with direct line and wanted to know if i need to give them a list of my items?
tks
 
badgerbaiter said:
i've forgotten who it was, but someone recently posted on here that they left their equipment in a field. when they got back it was gone but their insurance company (i think it was general insurance not photographic) paid up. (i think it was something to do with ING but i might be wrong)

As far as i can tell its best to use a mutual insurance company. They are more interested in customers than shareholders. My mate works for one, and some woman had been with them 30 years and then accidently let the insurance lapse. Her house burned down and they paid up anyway even though she technically had no policy any more.
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Unfortunately that was me :( The claim was with ING Direct and yep, they paid the maximum eligible amount under "personal possessions", £4,000.

I have the comprehensive policy with them; loss, theft and accidental damage in and away from the home (including abroad).

A word of caution though...it really is important not to under insure "personal possessions". People doing this amazing hobby do regularly but forget to get it covered under their insurance.... I did and have had to start again, buying a lot of items out of my own funds, but did upgrade lenses to a Canon 300mm f2.8L IS and Canon 70-200 f2.8L IS and a very nice Gitzo tripod. My choice to do this, but obviously more cost of items equals less items replaced.

My personal possessions have now been increased to £7,500 per claim and someone mentioned below "is it necessary to list each item?". My camera equipment is unspecified under "personal possessions". To get them listed would mean quite a hefty premium increase.

All in all, my premiums are now £23.50 per month..

Not bad at all :thumbs:
 
Gary Wood said:
I am with Direct Line home insurance & being honest they are top draw , about six years ago I stupidly had left camera bag complete with 90% of my kit in behind my car drove off without putting into car , drove back as soon as i got home and found out what happen all gone ,insurance company paid up saying these things happen , two years later one of the lens took a nose dive in the Apple store New York , lens a complete right off replaced it within two days , took an unplanned swim complete with 20D replaced it within a week, highly recommend company
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You're not one of the Three Stooges are you? :thinking: :lol:
 
insurance cover really gives me a headache and with all the small print and hard to find information about claims, its hard to decipher which company to use and rely on if the worst situation arises. I have become lazy as a result and now have a few thousands pounds worth of equipment not insured, im kind of getting scared now as replacing them would take a little while.

Will any pay out for accidental dropping of a camera/lens, water damage, or damage to equipment as a result from myself falling. If none will pay out over these situations, then i dont see the point...
 
blinkerz said:
insurance cover really gives me a headache and with all the small print and hard to find information about claims, its hard to decipher which company to use and rely on if the worst situation arises. I have become lazy as a result and now have a few thousands pounds worth of equipment not insured, im kind of getting scared now as replacing them would take a little while.

Will any pay out for accidental dropping of a camera/lens, water damage, or damage to equipment as a result from myself falling. If none will pay out over these situations, then i dont see the point...
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Well, if you're feeling a little jittery, I'd suggest picking up the phone and asking one of them..once you're covered you'll feel a lot better, trust me....it felt like a ton brick had been taken off my shoulders...

A few years ago, I often wouldn't budget for insurance, but realised one evening that if someone breaks in etc. and took all the stuff, it'd be devastating, unthinkable so got myself fully covered, with all bases taken care of.

This is who I'm with: www.ingdirect.co.uk

Hope this helps! Mark :thumbs:
 
Halifax gave me a great deal, listed gear covered at home and away up to £7500.
 
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