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09-13-2015, 07:05 AM - 1 Like   #1
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Get your lenses and cameras added to your home insurance policy!

I was reading another thread about someone who dropped their new Pentax 50-135mm, so I wanted to remind people that you can often have your camera equipment added to your home insurance policy...at least you can if you're an amateur/hobbyist photographer like myself. If you're a professional or doing it as a business, then this probably doesn't apply, and hopefully you already have some kind of coverage that includes liability. But I was able to get my gear added to my policy for about $50/year, and it covers almost any loss or damage, and with no deductible.

Here's the back and forth email conversation I had with my agent, in case anyone is interested in the details:
ME:
I do photography as a hobby, which means I frequently leave the house with some expensive camera equipment, so I have been curious about getting insurance coverage for my gear, and wanted to see if you had anything to offer that is not too expensive. Perhaps something that could be added onto the home insurance policy I already have through your agency?

My photography kit includes the following items with approximated replacement values:

$400, Pentax K-30 DSLR
$700, Sigma 8-16mm ultra wide angle lens
$300, Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 high-speed standard zoom lens
$400, Sigma 30mm 1.4 high-speed standard lens
$700, Sigma 50-150mm f2.8 high-speed telephoto zoom lens
$800, Sigma 85mm 1.4 high-speed portrait/telephoto lens
$1200, Sigma 100-300mm f4 professional telephoto zoom lens
$500, Sony RX100-II compact camera
$200, Olympus XZ-1 compact camera

I also have various memory cards, batteries, camera bags, filters, tripods, flashes, etc, but the most expensive items are the cameras and lenses.

When I go out, I typically take my Pentax K-30 with my 8-16mm, 30mm 1.4, and 85mm 1.4 lenses, as well as one of my compact cameras. So I probably have $2500+ in my camera bag most of the time. I'm very careful with my equipment, and never leave it in a car or out of sight, but it would still be nice to have the peace of mind of an insurance policy.

Please let me know if you have anything that fits my situation, or if you need any further information.

Thanks,

HER:
I will get a quote for you scheduling the camera equipment to your homeowner policy and get back with you as soon as possible.

Thanks,

HER:
The cost to schedule the equipment would be $53.00 per year. Let me know if you want to proceed with scheduling the camera equipment.

Thanks for your insurance business.

ME
Can you tell me what kind of coverage I get when I have my equipment outside the house? What types of situations are, or are not, covered?

Thanks,

HER:
When you schedule the camera equipment it is covered for more perils than the homeowner policy and would be covered for almost anything that would happen.

Let me know if you have additional questions.

Thanks,

ME:
Also, what is the deductible in the instance that something happens to some of my camera equipment?

HER:
The deductible is 0 and I should have all the information I need to add the camera equipment. If the company needs anything else I will contact you.

Thanks,
I haven't had to make a claim yet, thankfully, so I don't know how smoothly that would go, but in general I've had good experience with home insurance over the years. I hope this information helps, and if anybody else has experience to share in this regard, as far as premium costs and experiences making claims, please feel free to post them here. And just FYI, my home insurance policy is through "Western Reserve Group".


Last edited by Edgar_in_Indy; 09-14-2015 at 08:15 AM.
09-13-2015, 07:20 AM   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by Edgar_in_Indy Quote
I wanted to remind people that you can often have your camera equipment added to your home insurance policy...at least you can if you're an amateur/hobbyist photographers like myself.
This is good advice for anyone with several thousand dollars invested in their equipment.
QuoteOriginally posted by Edgar_in_Indy Quote
If you're a professional or doing it as a business, then this probably doesn't apply.
In that case, you will probably have to arrange a separate policy.
09-13-2015, 08:37 AM   #3
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I would be very interested in hearing from amateurs who have tried to file claims under policies like this.
09-13-2015, 09:32 AM   #4
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You're right about business being different. Switched my business liability policy this year to State Farm. Received a discount (they write my home & auto policies) added 10k of Business Personal Property and Inland Marine Computer Property Expense (25K) for the same amount I was paying for just liability. Liability is the thing I really care about. That coverage is the standard 1million liability/ 2 million aggregate. The standard deductible is 1K. I'm going to get a little more specific because my favorite local camera shop just put a 654Z into rental inventory, partly because I told the owner I expect to rent it a few times a year. I could cover an 8K loss but it would be painful, 1K is a lot more palatable.

09-13-2015, 11:07 AM   #5
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I have had this rider for a couple of years now and fortunately have not had a claim. I send the agent an updated inventory yearly and whenever I make a major purchase like a new lens or camera. If you have good insurance company you shouldn't have problem with a claim.
09-13-2015, 12:26 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by ramseybuckeye Quote
I have had this rider for a couple of years now and fortunately have not had a claim. I send the agent an updated inventory yearly and whenever I make a major purchase like a new lens or camera. If you have good insurance company you shouldn't have problem with a claim.
Do you mind sharing the approximate value of your collection, and/or the premium increase for the rider?
09-13-2015, 12:44 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by Edgar_in_Indy Quote
Do you mind sharing the approximate value of your collection, and/or the premium increase for the rider?
$96 yearly with no deductible for $6200 replacement cost = peace of mind

09-13-2015, 01:01 PM   #8
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Thanks a ton Edgar. If you don't mind could you please share what company holds your insurance? My home insurance is with AAA. Wonder whether they would do this?
09-13-2015, 02:12 PM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by danny09 Quote
Thanks a ton Edgar. If you don't mind could you please share what company holds your insurance? My home insurance is with AAA. Wonder whether they would do this?
I already said that it's from Western Reserve Group!
09-13-2015, 07:13 PM   #10
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If you have a business, it's a lot cheaper to add it to a business plan than a homeowners plan, but you may not need to unless you have a lot of very expensive gear and expect to lose it all at once.

Bonus points for business plan - "inland marine coverage" -- it sounds like utter nonsense and is confusing (why am I buying boat coverage?), but it's great. Basically it covers any of your gear when it's *not* in your place of business... your laptop, camera, whatever, while you travel. IIRC (it's been 3 or 4 years since I set the plan up), it's even covered for more during travel, or the deductible is less... something like that.
09-13-2015, 09:05 PM   #11
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Exercize Caution

Exercise caution here. I have heard of insurers (2nd hand info) who've refused home insurance for camera equipment because money was made from google ad-words on a blog. Although the amounts I heard were small (under $100) it changed the camera use from hobby to "business." I don't mean to imply this might happen to you, but it's a very easy question to ask your insurer prior to buying a policy you can't cash use because you break the terms.......
09-13-2015, 10:06 PM   #12
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I recently changed providers for my homeowners and asked about this specifically. They said I could have $8-10K worth of gear without having to schedule it or pay extra. Just told me to inventory everything and photos would be a big plus. The items would just fall under my "home contents." I didn't think about whether the items would be covered when in use outside the home, so maybe they're not if they're not scheduled. I'll need to look into that I guess. Interestingly, this did not apply to all types of items that I asked about, just camera gear. Some other types of items would need to be specifically scheduled and would cost extra. Rather not say what those items may be. This is Farmer's Insurance company.
09-13-2015, 11:57 PM   #13
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Good to know, Edgar! I must make enquiries with my house and contents provider.
09-14-2015, 01:02 PM   #14
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I don't know if it is the same everywhere but typicall the home insurence would apply some coefficiant depending on how old the gear is. Most electronic equipement is considered quite old after 3-5 years and is worth like 10-15% the price of new. Actually that also the same for furniture...

In the end if you loose 5000$ on gear and you didn't take care to have of what rate apply exactly, you may get back 500-750$ instead of 5000$. For the camera itself, that's actually not far from the truth, but for lenses...

So my advice would be to check what is written in the contract to be sure and if you don't like what is written to ask how much it would cost for more protection.
09-14-2015, 01:07 PM   #15
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It would be nice to hear from someone who has experience filling a claim on lenses...whether they were damaged inside the house, or out.
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