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.