This is something of a spinoff from my NANPA query, as NANPA offers insurance for your equipment. Do you have specific insurance for your photography equipment? I know for some of you your equipment is your livelihood and it's not possible to do without it. It's frightening to me to consider the cost of what is in, and strapped on, my camera backpack any time I go afield. My general homeowner's insurance will cover me to $5000, but that's just one lens. Do I need additional insurance? My wife and I just did a trip to Savannah, GA to shoot the squares, cemeteries and beaches at Tybee Island, and we routinely left $20,000+ worth of equipment locked in the truck. I'm not usually concerned because of where I normally shoot, but that trip made me a little nervous. It was obvious that we were shooting professional equipment and it would have been very easy for a thief to follow us to a restaurant or store, break into the truck and have a field day. Do you worry about such things or am I just being paranoid?
- - Photo insurance will all depend on one thing, and that is if it is for business use.
Most insurance companies consider ANY profit from selling photo work as business use, so they will require a business policy to cover it. If you never sell any photo work then you can cover all of your stuff under a homeowners policy, which will be a lot cheaper. However, make sure you remember this, if you do cover everything with a home owners, or renters policy, and you change to start selling photos, your coverage will end with them that day. If you loose anything after that you will not get any money from a claim. If you try to claim it was not business and they find out differently, they will sue you for their money back, and you could also be charged with fraud.
There is a nice money saving way you can get around some of this. I have done it in the past and it is legal and accepted by insurance companies. - - - If you can, make a set of equipment for all business uses, and insure that by serial number under a business policy, and then any equipment you use ONLY for personal use, list that on your home policy. That reduces your total business coverage cost, and still covers everything you own.
- You first have to get a total value of what you have and then just shop around for the best prices,
BUT DO NOT get coverage for cost only. Get a policy that covers REPLACEMENT cost. Otherwise you will only get back what the item cost you (with a bill of sale required for it) and not what it will cost to replace it.
- - Homeowners ins. will cover a lot more than just a few thousand dollars. They add it on as a supplimental addition and charge you a bit more, but nothing like a business policy does. For the homeowners policy, if you take a lot of things along and leave then in a car or truck, you must make sure that they are secure in it. If you leave it sitting on the seat where anyone can see and steal it, they will not pay a claim for it. YOu must lock it up and make it look like it is not important, and you will also need to be able to prove that your auto was broken into, so that means photos of the broken door, window or trunk, and they will require a police report was made at the time it was stolen. Most of this is common sence, but many people don't use much of that, but the insurance companies will use it against people who don't take the time to think.
So just figure it this way, whatever you plan to make a claim on, you will have to have proof that you owned it, that it was stolen, and that you did not make it easy for them to do it.
Posted by Scott Buckel on May 12, 2006 at 10:50 AM
Kelly - my homeowners insurance company allows me the have a rider for about my equipment (I think it is about $20,000 worth). It is reasonably priced and when I first got it, it was less than the insurance from NANPA (although the NANPA insurance has more features). As long as photography is not may major source of income I can use this policy. Once that changes I will have to look into something different. Insure the equipment for replacement value. I insure the equipment for full MSRP. THis has been of great benefit several times.
If you're a NANPA member, you're eligible for the equipment insurance provided by Rand Insurance. The rates are reasonable and the folks at Rand are great. I had a large claim about 6 years ago and they handled it quickly, professionally, and personably. Plus my premiums were not raised.
If you only need equipment insurance, I can highly recommend this program. It's one good reason to join NANPA.
You may be get an additional rider on your homeowner's insurance to cover all your gear. But keep in mind what Paul said. If you make any money from your camera, even selling a print to a friend, your homeowner's insurance may not cover it. Be sure check your policy and ask your agent.
I have a business policy from State Farm (they also insure me for everything else). For just about $250 a year every related piece of camera gear or equipment that I use to run my business is covered - even if I drop and break it.
It's helpful to have a good relationship with an insurance agent.
Good adivice above! I am an adjuster, and yes you definitely need to cover your equipment, and you need to know whether or not you will have coverage if you use the items for business. Your agent can advise you. I have an endorsement on my homeowners policy. Paul mentioned "if you leave it sitting on the seat where anyone can see and steal it, they will not pay a claim for it." I would advise discussing with your agent. Different companies may handle this differently, but we all need to use common sense and try to progtect our equipment. The good thing about specific coverage is that it covers on an "all risk" basis, meaning it will pay for anything that happens unless specifically excluded. So if your camera and tripod and expensive lens go sailing over the waterfall, you're OK. My worst fear would be losing a full memory card! It's hard to get those images back!!
- - I said "most ins. companies" with what I was refering to about everything, including leaving things sit out in the open,. but I should have said - - "Every ins. company I have dealt with." Every policy I have had has had a statement in it about the items having to be "SECURE" and leaving equipment sit on a seat in the plain view is not secure. In fact I have also seen policies state that they must have been locked up in the trunk or other secure place in order to be covered.
- - They will get you with the fine print!!!! So know what the policy says before you buy it.
It certainly is best to know before you buy, and that can be really confusing to someone not familiar with insurance policies. Make sure you ask your agent to explain coverage to you, and try to develop a good relationship with your agent. I've handled claims when the customer thought they had coverage that they didn't have, and that's not pleasant!
Posted by Larry Puckett on April 29, 2009 at 5:20 PM
I finally called my insurance company today to get myself legal. I've been using my camera equip for about 20 years for what would be considered a business use since I use the photos to illustrate magazine articles I write. Happily I found out I can get a business rider covering $10K in the house and $5K in the filed for only $198/yr. However, when they heard I was writing articles they kicked me back to my household umbrella agent which also covers things like personal libel and slander suits. Now I'm waiting to find out whether they're going to cancel my homeowners policy because of this previously undisclosed risk. When does it all end?
Larry
Posted by Larry Puckett on June 16, 2009 at 10:27 AM
Followup
A week after the previous post I heard back from the Hartford saying they could cover the equipment as a home business. So I faxed them the equipment list and waited for the policy and premium bill to arrive. Finally after a month of waiting I gave up and called them today to see where I stood--basically they had done nothing! After a discussion punctuated by several holds while the agent talked to the underwriter (why doesn't the underwriter talk to the customer?) it came down to a question of how much of a deductable I wanted (they previously told me there would be none) and whether or not the equipment would be covered for water damage (the department handling that would have to make a decision at the time based on whether or not it could be repaired). also "mystery" losses (you have to bring back the dead camera/lens or else even if you drop it in the Marianas Trench) would not be covered. Since I do a lot of water shots this was a big issue so I finally just told them to forget I ever called. So now I guess I'll have to look into either self-insuring or go with one of the professional group policies listed above. Any more recent ideas out there? Thanks--Larry
Discussion
9 repliesMost insurance companies consider ANY profit from selling photo work as business use, so they will require a business policy to cover it. If you never sell any photo work then you can cover all of your stuff under a homeowners policy, which will be a lot cheaper. However, make sure you remember this, if you do cover everything with a home owners, or renters policy, and you change to start selling photos, your coverage will end with them that day. If you loose anything after that you will not get any money from a claim. If you try to claim it was not business and they find out differently, they will sue you for their money back, and you could also be charged with fraud.
There is a nice money saving way you can get around some of this. I have done it in the past and it is legal and accepted by insurance companies. - - - If you can, make a set of equipment for all business uses, and insure that by serial number under a business policy, and then any equipment you use ONLY for personal use, list that on your home policy. That reduces your total business coverage cost, and still covers everything you own.
- You first have to get a total value of what you have and then just shop around for the best prices,
BUT DO NOT get coverage for cost only. Get a policy that covers REPLACEMENT cost. Otherwise you will only get back what the item cost you (with a bill of sale required for it) and not what it will cost to replace it.
- - Homeowners ins. will cover a lot more than just a few thousand dollars. They add it on as a supplimental addition and charge you a bit more, but nothing like a business policy does. For the homeowners policy, if you take a lot of things along and leave then in a car or truck, you must make sure that they are secure in it. If you leave it sitting on the seat where anyone can see and steal it, they will not pay a claim for it. YOu must lock it up and make it look like it is not important, and you will also need to be able to prove that your auto was broken into, so that means photos of the broken door, window or trunk, and they will require a police report was made at the time it was stolen. Most of this is common sence, but many people don't use much of that, but the insurance companies will use it against people who don't take the time to think.
So just figure it this way, whatever you plan to make a claim on, you will have to have proof that you owned it, that it was stolen, and that you did not make it easy for them to do it.
If you only need equipment insurance, I can highly recommend this program. It's one good reason to join NANPA.
You may be get an additional rider on your homeowner's insurance to cover all your gear. But keep in mind what Paul said. If you make any money from your camera, even selling a print to a friend, your homeowner's insurance may not cover it. Be sure check your policy and ask your agent.
It's helpful to have a good relationship with an insurance agent.
- - They will get you with the fine print!!!! So know what the policy says before you buy it.
Larry
A week after the previous post I heard back from the Hartford saying they could cover the equipment as a home business. So I faxed them the equipment list and waited for the policy and premium bill to arrive. Finally after a month of waiting I gave up and called them today to see where I stood--basically they had done nothing! After a discussion punctuated by several holds while the agent talked to the underwriter (why doesn't the underwriter talk to the customer?) it came down to a question of how much of a deductable I wanted (they previously told me there would be none) and whether or not the equipment would be covered for water damage (the department handling that would have to make a decision at the time based on whether or not it could be repaired). also "mystery" losses (you have to bring back the dead camera/lens or else even if you drop it in the Marianas Trench) would not be covered. Since I do a lot of water shots this was a big issue so I finally just told them to forget I ever called. So now I guess I'll have to look into either self-insuring or go with one of the professional group policies listed above. Any more recent ideas out there? Thanks--Larry