Camera insurance - talk to me

[Jag-D]

For a while now, I've been thinking about taking out some camera insurance.

I can be a bit clumsey from time to time and I'm sick of becoming nervous at various events when I see some kappa sporting, spotty little fkwit eyeballing my togging kit.

So I guess I'm looking for a bit of cover for peace of mind and in the event of an accident that I know I'm not going to be shelling out neigh on a grand should something happen.

Thing is, I've never really looked into it and I'm naturally suspicious of insurance companies so I'm hoping someone can shed some light on the situation.

Can any of you tell me about them? What kind of cover and how good they are? Any recommended companies?
I'm a noob to the whole world of insurance loop holes so I wanna be in the know before I take the plunge

[crmcatee]

Why not get it listed as an item on your home insurance. If it's valuable (above their item limit) get it detailed (e.g. serials etc) as an item that's going to be taken out of the house.

Probably works out more cost efficient this way.

[Podie]

We had a camera specific policy for a while, but some shopping around made it cheaper to be on the home insurance, as suggested.

[Nick M]

crmcatee said:

Why not get it listed as an item on your home insurance. If it's valuable (above their item limit) get it detailed (e.g. serials etc) as an item that's going to be taken out of the house.

Probably works out more cost efficient this way.

+1

I have my D3 and the two 'big ticket' lenses (total value about £5.5k) covered on my home insurance (with Halifax), at an additional cost of about £40.

Really easy to sort out and it's covered for loss, accidental damage, theft, etc., whenever and wherever I am (not just the UK).

[Ed_P]

It's not just the kit. If you're at an event or doing work in a "professional" capacity, you might want to consider Public Liability cover too.

If considering adding photography items to home insurance, there could also be issues if using the kit for anything other than purely "amateur" use ...

[Gemm]

I use Glover & Howe and I would recommend them.

[_dobbo_]

Have all my gear covered under home insurance. Individual items up to £1500 each. Covers me for all world travel, total claim value in the UK unlimited and abroad up to £6000

Costs about £6 a month if I recall correctly.

[Jag-D]

Ed_P said:

It's not just the kit. If you're at an event or doing work in a "professional" capacity, you might want to consider Public Liability cover too.

If considering adding photography items to home insurance, there could also be issues if using the kit for anything other than purely "amateur" use ...

I'm fairly confident the quote I received had PL cover thrown in too, but I wanted to do some research before I went ahead with it.

My concern is that I have a Canon EOS10D which is naturally a few years old...if it goes missing or gets damaged, are the insurance company likely to try and cram it up me due to the age of the camera?

I don't wanna pay for something if it's not going to cover the cost of a replacement, even if the replacement is pre-owned

Gemm said:

I use Glover & Howe and I would recommend them.

Thanks for that, just having a look now

[Ed_P]

I use Aaduki. There were recommended by several magazines and some photographic societies when I signed up. Never had to make a claim though, so cannot comment on that.

[tog]

I use Glover and Howe too, have done for fifteen years I guess. I have PL with them too. Kit is insured on a new for old basis, not market value. Never had to claim for more than few hundred quid for repairing dropped lenses and suchlike, but they've always been quick and efficient at dealing with claims.

[Jag-D]

tog said:

I use Glover and Howe too, have done for fifteen years I guess. I have PL with them too. Kit is insured on a new for old basis, not market value. Never had to claim for more than few hundred quid for repairing dropped lenses and suchlike, but they've always been quick and efficient at dealing with claims.

Sounds fairly good, just waiting for a quote from them

[havoc]

Gemm said:

I use Glover & Howe and I would recommend them.

Thirded. Probably not the cheapest, but they've a good reputation in case I do need them, and their cust'r service has been very good so far.

[Jag-D]

We'll see what their quotes are like and take it from there

[size13]

Just another for the list, mine's with http://www.eandl.co.uk/leisure-and-lifestyle

[Jag-D]

Glover & Howe just came in at neigh on £300 which isn't bad considering it came with PL cover of £2m and a couple of other things...but it's beyond what I can be paying at the moment so it's on hold.

E&L are quoting at £6.80 per month so I need to ring them and see what the craic is

[tog]

I get a small Canon Pro Network discount, but £300 seems quite a lot for an EOS10D - how much other gear do you have? My cover is under £400 for £19k worth of kit, professional use and £2m PL.

[_dobbo_]

Christ £300 would probably buy you two second hand 10D bodies.

[tim-b]

Yeah that sounds a lot - I'm with G&H and pay something like £80 for £2.5k+ equipment...although that is on the amateur policy I think.

Maybe OP has some very nice lenses...

[Jag-D]

tim-b said:

Yeah that sounds a lot - I'm with G&H and pay something like £80 for £2.5k+ equipment...although that is on the amateur policy I think.

Maybe OP has some very nice lenses...

I wish

Maybe I should drop the price of kit covered?

Currently rocking a 10D, 70-200F4L, Sigma 50mm macro EX, Nifty fifty and a sigma 1.4x TC

I thought it was quite a lot...gonna ring E&L later

[Jag-D]

E&L say it's market value only for cameras over 2 years old