On Mar 6, 2013, at 9:27 PM, Stan Halpin wrote: > > On Mar 6, 2013, at 9:06 PM, Darren Addy wrote: > >> I've never bothered with doing anything special to insure my photo >> gear in the past but I'm not reaching the point where I think I'd >> better consider doing so. I don't know a lot about the subject >> however. I was hoping for some pointers. >> >> I'd like to be insured against theft and also equipment damage in the >> case of an accident. (I take a camera bag back and forth with me to >> work almost every day). Is there something special that I must do to >> get this covered under my homeowner's policy and my auto policy > > yes > >> (or is >> there separate coverage that one purchases). I really should know >> about such things at my age, but I don't. >> > > In the U.S., your homeowner's policy includes coverage for personal items > (including cameras, jewels, barbecue grills, whatever) anywhere in the world. > So you have coverage of your stuff inside the house if the house burns down. > But your stuff is covered in your car, in a storage locker, in the trunk of a > rental car in Mexico, wherever. You are subject to your policy deductible for > theft/loss (often set at $500 per incident), you are subject to a max-value > limit (often $2000 per incident), and you are subject to a total value limit > (some percentage of the replacement value of your home as defined in the > policy). > > If the limits are too limiting, then you take an inventory of your special > goods (cameras, gold coins, jewels, collection of PDML Annuals, etc., and > purchase a separate policy rider for those items. I've considered that route > but so far have stuck with basic homeowner's coverage. State Farm gave me > good service and fair replacement value when I had a camera + lens stolen in > Mexico. > > stan > --
Follow-up thought: whether you rely on Homeowner's coverage or get a separate rider, documentation is going to make a huge difference. Keep your receipts, record your serial numbers, get a copy of the police report in case of theft. In the event you need to make a claim, anything you can do to forestall suspicion of fraud will smooth and speed the process. And as David Parsons noted, items used in business are totally something else and need to be covered by a policy related to your business. stan -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
