BarbB

I am planning to sell my home and drive across the country and probably settle in Portland, OR. Once my home is sold, I will no longer have the home owners insurance that I have used to cover all my camera equipment. It is very likely that we will not have an apartment or home before we actually get there, so we will not have a new renters or home insurance policy during the drive out for coverage of the contents of the car. Does anyone have suggestions for insurance for the cross country drive? ( car insurance does not cover it..) Thanks!

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Have you contacted your present insurance company and asked them?

BarbB

Yes.. that’s how I know that once the home is sold, the contents and special riders ( like for cameras) are not covered.. spoke to them at length.. they do not cover items unless it’s part of home or rental insurance(Allstate)

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Ouch.
Never occurred to me when I moved from Florida. Guess I was lucky.
At least I don't remember doing anything.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Consider

https://www.fullframeinsurance.com/camera-equipment-insurance

nicksr1125 Loc: Mesa, AZ

Like Longshadow said, contact your homeowners insurance company. We've been with USAA for many years. My camera equipment & my wife's jewelry are covered under a valuable personal property policy that covers anything. It's a separate policy from our homeowners policy. Your's should offer something similar and it should be fairly inexpensive. Mine covers over $6K of camera gear & an equal amount of jewelry for less than $200.00/year.

BarbB

Allstate is our homeowners policy, and they will not cover items if we don’t own the home any longer. They don’t have separate policy just for jewelry or cameras.. I have extra riders for those things but it is cancels once the home is sold.. that’s the problem

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Honestly, I have always had at least one home - have signed a rental agreement before I sold a house, for example. Are you saying that you will be "homeless" for awhile? Will a moving company be storing your possessions in the meantime?

BarbB

Yes snd yes.. because of the pandemic we might not be able to fly back and forth to buy.. so if that’s the case we will be homeless until we get there and either stay with our kids until we get a rental our house

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

What about special coverage with your existing auto insurance policy? Although it hasn't happened, I believe I am covered for theft from the vehicle.

BarbB

I asked that as well when I spoke to the agent at Allstate.. apparently car insurance only covers theft of car or car parts( like radio, tires, etc)... content inside of car ( like suitcase, is covered by home insurance.. at least that’s what Allstate told me

nicksr1125 Loc: Mesa, AZ

We sold our house in Ohio last September & moved to Phoenix, AZ. The VPP policy we have wasn't tied to our homeowner's policy. If Allstate can't accommodate coverage during a move, I think I'd be looking for a new insurance carrier.

tcthome Loc: NJ

I use State Farm, personal property ins. I hear they have no problem with claims . Haven’t had to use it yet, hopefully never will.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

When looking at insurance it's important to differentiate between the low-cost policies that require proof of purchase, and have deductibles and depreciation. With such a policy you buy a $2000 camera, keep a copy of the receipt, and 4 yrs from now it gets stolen. You'll be lucky if you get $200 after taking out the deductible and depreciation.

A replacement cost policy will cost more, requires you provide a schedule (list of equipment covered) and they will cover that $2000 camera and in the event of loss you will get a check that will cover the cost of a replacement, less a deductible, if any.

Homeowner Policies are a scam. They will gladly take your money, offer a replacement cost option, and it will look a lot like a industry-specific policy. All of that goes out the window when you have a claim. They will pay the claim, but they will also enter a "black mark" on your policy. If you are unfortunate to have a second claim, good luck getting your policy renewed. They will give you a hard time insist on charging you more, or just not sell you a renewal. I learned this the hard way many years ago.

As a member of NANPA (North American Nature Photography Association), you have the option of buying a great policy underwritten by Chubb. You can custom tailor the policy to your needs and expectations. The biggest benefit is that the NANPA group is large and it's members get a better rate than if you were to buy it from another underwriter as an individual.

If you see a low-cost policy, do a little digging and make sure that it offers what you need. Avoid putting a rider on your homeowners - it is definitely not worth the hassles.

SonyBug

Statefarm is your best bet. They cover my stuff on a separate policy. You would have to disclose the transient status but it should not be a problem.