bmattock
Veteran
I try to remember to bring this up at least once a year. Some of this advice is specific to the USA, sorry - but most should be useful anywhere.
Many of us own, er, more than one camera. Some of us have quite a few of them.
Are they covered by your homeowner's or renter's insurance?
We buy, sell, and trade with some regularity - do we keep an accurate record of what we have at any given moment? Receipts? Photos of our kit? And even assuming we do - is the information stored someplace OTHER than our home?
Insurance claims adjusters are lovely people - but their job, remember, is to adjust claims with an eye towards minimizing losses for their company. They'll never see YOU again after you get a check, but they have to deal with their bosses every day, and they have their own careers to look out for. In other words, if they can avoid paying a claim legally, they can - in fact, they must. It is not their job to 'make you whole', it is their job to protect their employer from excessive losses. It is YOUR job to make sure you are protected against perils.
You might want to consider checking with your insurance agent. I like to call mine at least once a year and just go over our policies. What's covered, what's not, what has changed for them or for me during the previous year. Your agent is on your side - he or she does not get put through the wringer if you have a big claim - it is no skin off their teeth either way - and they make money based on how much insurance you buy - so they are more than willing to sit down and work out your risk and discuss how much it costs to cover that risk.
It may not make sense to insure some things. I have a bunch of cameras, sure, but most of them are not worth all that much. I would not pay a huge amount to insure them all. But I would want to be sure that the cameras that I did pay a bit for are covered, and pay for additional coverage if not.
Some of us (not me, but some of you guys) have a bunch of very expensive Leica and other high-end cameras. Do you know what a red flag that sends if you call your insurance agent to report three M7 and four M6 bodies stolen after the fact?
It's like sending up big smoke signals informing them that you are comitting insurance fraud. I'm not saying they won't pay - I'm saying it sets off all the alarms they have. Same if you happen to have a Rolex collection and it gets nicked and they didn't know about it ahead of time. So get this straight with your agent BEFORE anything happens. Document with serial numbers, receipts, video, or whatever means they recommend.
You may also find that your standard homeowner's policy only covers up to a certain amount in any one category - for example, you may have a total coverage of over a million dollars, but only $5,000 for 'jewelry and etc' which includes cameras. If you make money with your cameras - even a little - they may consider them not covered at all. You can generally guy extended coverage, and your agent can tell you if you need it when you tell him or her what kit you've got.
Consider also the type of coverage. Some is 'replacement cost' and some is 'actual cash value'. With cameras, unless you can prove they appreciate and do not depreciate with time, you may find that if you have 'actual cash value' coverage and your thirty-year-old classic cameras get stolen, you get nothing from the insurance company - they 'have no value' according to standard depreciation tables. Hey, don't blame me, I didn't make up the rules. You may wish to make sure you have 'replacement cost' insurance - with that, the insurance company has to pay (minus your deductible) to replace like with like. This can mean replacing a classic M3 with another classic M3 in the same or very similiar condition, etc.
Likewise if something gets stolen from your car or your luggage on a trip - often it is the homeowners (or renters) insurance that covers the loss - but check with your agent, be sure!
I'm no insurance expert. I suffered a loss due to a flood a LONG time ago, and I never forgot it. Buy the insurance, folks. Make sure you know what it covers and what it doesn't cover - and what the limits are - especially for things like firearms (sorry), cameras, lenses, studio equipment, jewelry, and other small, expensive items.
Consider this - if you have 300 music CD's, that's 4 to 5 thousand dollars sitting there. Hard to believe, huh? What will your policy pay if someone breaks a window on your house, stuffs them all in a rucksack and runs away? Mine would only pay $1,000 - with a $500 deductible - until we addressed that.
Also remember you can use your cameras to document your OTHER belongings. One of the best uses for an old-fashioned safe-deposit box at your local bank is to keep receipts for high-dollar items and photos and other documentation of the small expensive things you may own. They're cheap too, by the way.
Also consider perils that might not otherwise be covered. No homeowners insurance in the USA covers flooding - you have to buy that from FEMA directly. Do you have it? FEMA says that 25% of their losses are in areas that have NEVER HAD flooding before. Being on high ground may not protect you, and if you're in a floodplain, you have to be crazy not to have flood insurance.
Here's a tip - most homeowners insurance does NOT cover water damage NOT due to floods, either. Like when a sewer backs up. But the law says they HAVE TO OFFER IT if you ask for it. So they don't tell you, you don't ask, and when the local sewer system backs up and makes your home rot from the foundation up, too bad so sad for you. I asked for it, my agent gave me a wink - "Most people don't know to ask for that, smart lad" and it cost a grand total of $35 per year extra. Remember, flood insurance from FEMA and water damage due to non-floods from your insurance company. If you didn't ask for it, you most likely don't have it...
Insurance doesn't cost much, and you sleep better at night. Most have it because if they have a mortgage, they have to have it. But the coverage may not be what they think it is.
OK, end of spiel!
Best Regards,
Bill Mattocks
Many of us own, er, more than one camera. Some of us have quite a few of them.
Are they covered by your homeowner's or renter's insurance?
We buy, sell, and trade with some regularity - do we keep an accurate record of what we have at any given moment? Receipts? Photos of our kit? And even assuming we do - is the information stored someplace OTHER than our home?
Insurance claims adjusters are lovely people - but their job, remember, is to adjust claims with an eye towards minimizing losses for their company. They'll never see YOU again after you get a check, but they have to deal with their bosses every day, and they have their own careers to look out for. In other words, if they can avoid paying a claim legally, they can - in fact, they must. It is not their job to 'make you whole', it is their job to protect their employer from excessive losses. It is YOUR job to make sure you are protected against perils.
You might want to consider checking with your insurance agent. I like to call mine at least once a year and just go over our policies. What's covered, what's not, what has changed for them or for me during the previous year. Your agent is on your side - he or she does not get put through the wringer if you have a big claim - it is no skin off their teeth either way - and they make money based on how much insurance you buy - so they are more than willing to sit down and work out your risk and discuss how much it costs to cover that risk.
It may not make sense to insure some things. I have a bunch of cameras, sure, but most of them are not worth all that much. I would not pay a huge amount to insure them all. But I would want to be sure that the cameras that I did pay a bit for are covered, and pay for additional coverage if not.
Some of us (not me, but some of you guys) have a bunch of very expensive Leica and other high-end cameras. Do you know what a red flag that sends if you call your insurance agent to report three M7 and four M6 bodies stolen after the fact?
It's like sending up big smoke signals informing them that you are comitting insurance fraud. I'm not saying they won't pay - I'm saying it sets off all the alarms they have. Same if you happen to have a Rolex collection and it gets nicked and they didn't know about it ahead of time. So get this straight with your agent BEFORE anything happens. Document with serial numbers, receipts, video, or whatever means they recommend.
You may also find that your standard homeowner's policy only covers up to a certain amount in any one category - for example, you may have a total coverage of over a million dollars, but only $5,000 for 'jewelry and etc' which includes cameras. If you make money with your cameras - even a little - they may consider them not covered at all. You can generally guy extended coverage, and your agent can tell you if you need it when you tell him or her what kit you've got.
Consider also the type of coverage. Some is 'replacement cost' and some is 'actual cash value'. With cameras, unless you can prove they appreciate and do not depreciate with time, you may find that if you have 'actual cash value' coverage and your thirty-year-old classic cameras get stolen, you get nothing from the insurance company - they 'have no value' according to standard depreciation tables. Hey, don't blame me, I didn't make up the rules. You may wish to make sure you have 'replacement cost' insurance - with that, the insurance company has to pay (minus your deductible) to replace like with like. This can mean replacing a classic M3 with another classic M3 in the same or very similiar condition, etc.
Likewise if something gets stolen from your car or your luggage on a trip - often it is the homeowners (or renters) insurance that covers the loss - but check with your agent, be sure!
I'm no insurance expert. I suffered a loss due to a flood a LONG time ago, and I never forgot it. Buy the insurance, folks. Make sure you know what it covers and what it doesn't cover - and what the limits are - especially for things like firearms (sorry), cameras, lenses, studio equipment, jewelry, and other small, expensive items.
Consider this - if you have 300 music CD's, that's 4 to 5 thousand dollars sitting there. Hard to believe, huh? What will your policy pay if someone breaks a window on your house, stuffs them all in a rucksack and runs away? Mine would only pay $1,000 - with a $500 deductible - until we addressed that.
Also remember you can use your cameras to document your OTHER belongings. One of the best uses for an old-fashioned safe-deposit box at your local bank is to keep receipts for high-dollar items and photos and other documentation of the small expensive things you may own. They're cheap too, by the way.
Also consider perils that might not otherwise be covered. No homeowners insurance in the USA covers flooding - you have to buy that from FEMA directly. Do you have it? FEMA says that 25% of their losses are in areas that have NEVER HAD flooding before. Being on high ground may not protect you, and if you're in a floodplain, you have to be crazy not to have flood insurance.
Here's a tip - most homeowners insurance does NOT cover water damage NOT due to floods, either. Like when a sewer backs up. But the law says they HAVE TO OFFER IT if you ask for it. So they don't tell you, you don't ask, and when the local sewer system backs up and makes your home rot from the foundation up, too bad so sad for you. I asked for it, my agent gave me a wink - "Most people don't know to ask for that, smart lad" and it cost a grand total of $35 per year extra. Remember, flood insurance from FEMA and water damage due to non-floods from your insurance company. If you didn't ask for it, you most likely don't have it...
Insurance doesn't cost much, and you sleep better at night. Most have it because if they have a mortgage, they have to have it. But the coverage may not be what they think it is.
OK, end of spiel!
Best Regards,
Bill Mattocks
