The Importance of Insurance

Take a look at this image below.  These are the most expensive items in my camera bag.  It obviously doesn't include things like tripods, props & all the little things that go along with this hobby that seems to always have a wish list attached to it. 

Now imagine that you have all these things in your camera bag.  It's sitting on the passenger seat of your vehicle. You get out- walk around- open the door & the bag tips over & all these things dump out on to the parking garage floor.  How do you feel??  I know how I felt when it happened to me. My heart raced & then fell into the pit of my stomach.  I felt physically ill & was then in tears until I could get up to the hotel room & try out all my gear to make sure it was still in working order. By the grace of God it was all good. 

Or think of this.  You are setting up for a photo shoot with some kids.  You have your bag- full of all these things sitting on the grass & you are watching the kids as you are setting up your tripod.  You turn back around- and your bag & all your expensive equipment is gone.  Someone swiped it.  Devastating right???  This happened to my friend Kim & when she told me- it sent a panic though my veins. Then she tells me that she has insurance & all will be okay. 

So of course I inquire about this insurance because when I first started my little collection in my bag I knew that I would have a hard time replacing it if something happened to it.  I was originally told by my insurance that all they could offer me was that it was covered under my renter's policy.  If there was a fire or theft- in the house- it would be covered. It wouldn't cover anything else.  So Kim told me that she bought her policy through Shelter Insurance.  I visited the website & found that the kind I was looking for is called Personal Property Insurance or more often called Inland Marine Insurance.  Basically any personal property that can be transported anywhere in the world fits into this category.  

When I talked to them though they kept trying to get me to buy a renter's policy from them & insisted that it would be covered under that.  I realize that they don't make a whole lot from an Inland Marine policy so it's so much more desirable for them to up-sell me  a renters policy.  Once I let them know that I knew they were trying to sell me something that wouldn't cover anything I wanted they said that they could only sell me the Inland Marine policy in conjunction with another policy.

So I went back to my broker- armed with all this knowledge I had just gained through all these calls & asked for the Inland Marine policy.  I told her what I wanted & what I knew that it should cover.  I am happy to say that ALL my gear is insured for $5000 (through Travelers Ins & double what it would cost me to replace it all) & it will only cost me $83/yr.  Granted Kim was able to pick up her $6500 policy for $65/yr- but I have heard that NV has some of the highest insurance rates in the nation. So I am considering myself lucky.  The best part is that it covers EVERYTHING.  When I say everything- I mean drops, kids breaking something, falling in the pool, clumsiness, if it gets wet on an amusement park ride- WHATEVER.  No deductible!!  The only exclusion is wear & tear, war, insect, vermin & nuclear. The nuclear could be a minor issue living where I do- or if it goes through the screening at the airport & it damages something that way- those things would not be covered. Other than that- I'm feeling very calm knowing that I have a little protection against things that could devastate me when it comes to my gear.

Look in to it!!!  It offers great peace of mind!