jblazar Loc: Sunnyvale, CA

Hiscox works well for. Had a claim; paid with no hassle

whatdat Loc: Del Valle, Tx.

Agree. Mine with State Farm, also. Replacement value & no haggling. I told them the repair cost by Nikon & the still paid me the replacement cost which was higher.

Ed Commons

I won't use State Farm for anything. A couple of years ago, I got a letter from State Farm. It said that I had had my insurance with them for 7 years and never filed a claim. They chose not to renew my coverage, because the odds were in favor of a claim in the near future.

sv3noKin51E

Over the last 50 years I've been with several major insurance companies; as long as you aren't using your gear as a professional making your living, the cost of replacement coverage for VPP or specific cameras isn't all that bad, but these days, it is becoming far different, depending on your state and every different insurance company. Except for one or two independent or regional companies, at present they are ALL completely into Big Data and every form of Ai that's available in the guise of 'loss prevention', documenting your life history to raise their bottom line. In the midwest, we've been with a regional company, Shelter Insurance (called MFA insurance many years ago), for home, auto and everything we own for over 15 years. With some companies, they insist on having your SocSec number, but with Shelter, they didn't ask, but as everyone knows, insurance companies are tied into all of the states as well as the national criminal and driving (and professional) licensing databases, so they'll get your SS# anyway as soon as they run your license to be sure you're in their territory, and that your driving record is clean. After 3 years with most companies, many of them used to consider your record clean, unless you have any children on your policy, and/or living at home, and that always makes for a higher claim and payout rate. With a regional insurance company, if they aren't in a coastal region, most of those don't have to deal with hurricanes unless they're working as a re-insurer for other companies; in FL, the east or west coast..well, sorry about that chief. Since the NADA has driven up all prices on all used and new model year cars (doesn't matter if it's a 20 year old rust bucket), they and most other insurance companies have introduced an 'inflation' clause into all 'personal property' policies for any and all property you insure with them, cars, homes, cameras, jewelry, firearms, name it. Many states are now required by state law, to use the most recent NADA estimate of whatever their franchised and or independent dealers might decide to allow you on a car trade in and/or what they can screw someone else out of if they sell your trade in for. Many retired folks these days can't afford a 'new' car unless they can write a check for one, and personally, I've met only one 'honest' car dealer in over 60 years. As with used cars and cameras, no matter where you buy personal property, depending on age or mileage, dealers will not offer or sell you any type of insurance for it, so you are at the mercy of the insurance industry as to what they consider 'average' or 'replacement' value. After talking with 2 different agents and companies recently, they confirmed that even if you've never before had a claim, even if it's a 'replacement/comprehensive' or 'replacement value-Valuable Personal Property (Nikon, Canon, Sony, Ford, Chevy, etc, or jewelry/firearm collection), they consult their databases or a national appraisal value online vendor who has all of the latest repair/replacement values at their fingertips. Local tax assessors everywhere are getting a bit lazy and no longer pay you a visit to value anything. Most of them don't like this new process any more than most regular citizens, they have to pay taxes and for insurance as the rest of us. They drive new and old cars, but many of them have decent homes and cameras, so they know how the insurance game is now played. The insurance industry blames higher rates on on Covid, the 'supply chain' issue and anything else as an excuse, even if those reasons are now getting quite state and out of date. One agent admitted, that if you file more than one personal property camera replacement in 3 years, they'll cancel every policy you have, regardless if you have photos, receipts, notarized witness affidavits and official police reports, and even you've never filed a claim with their company. The insurance industry underwriters are connected to all databases so they do whatever the data says they should do. Most folks have always played fair, but this way of doing things is hurting all businesses. We've had only one comprehensive (windshield) claim in 25 years, an uncovered dump truck threw a stone at ours and several other autos on the freeway; the insurance company whined so much about the claim, that I had to gently remind them that we weren't with organized crime, and of the many thousands of dollars worth of profit we'd made them over the years. My joke didn't seem to impress the rep, but as they're all working from home, they may or may not be acting in a professional manner when they're rude to their customers. What you can't see may hurt you. That single full coverage replacement/value comp claim more than paid back 5 years worth of full comprehensive coverage on everything we own. Windshields and installs are quite expensive for any car built in the last 15 years, and the same is true with most modern cameras, because the manufacturers aren't stocking parts or offering to fix a camera over a few years old. I had a D700 rebuilt by Nikon about 3-4 years ago; they advised in that instance that they only had 2 months worth of parts and then they would no longer service the D700. I insured it with UPS for full/loss/damage replacement retail price with overnight shipping to Nikon (which really got the agent's attention), and the same for Nikon to return it to me. Naturally, UPS was very gentle with it since I didn't trust their basic $100 loss/damaged shipment policy. The insurance companies are leveraging all of our current databases everywhere to their advantage, and if they decide for any reason to cancel you after they pay you for a claim, they have divisions of attorneys on retainer to 'just keep saying no' to you for filing your claim in good faith. Kind of makes you wonder why we have to pay so much for all of this protection when we're becoming so limited in recourse, or worse yet; afraid to use the policies. As my dear old dad used to say, full coverage replacement insurance is the final frickin you get if you frack up, such as if you allow your policy to lapse or don't have full value replacement cost on everything. It's now getting to the point that unless your home and contents are wiped out by fire, tornado or an earthquake, you better have full retail/equivalent replacement value for your used personal property, (& nuclear war isn't covered). Be certain sure you have your full retail replacement coverage on everything and keep copies of all of your records off site in fireproof safes, unless your bank has a vault.

We never had to file more than one camera theft/replacement claim; someone managed to walk away with a spare FE2 body with 35-135mm flash and motor drive at a church function shoot back in the 80s. I always thought shooting in a church was one of the safest environments for photogs to work in. Afterwards, my assistant was always near the back drop, watching everyone and everything that entered the room. Nowadays, it's not only the feds and local police agencies who access all video security video feeds (without warrants) from your local big box, grocery chain, pharmacy or from a live traffic camera; the insurance companies all have the same access via 'Big Data' feeds so they can be more profitable. A former AAA rep recently said, 'how do you suppose we get to take all of those free, all expenses paid employee junket/group trips to Europe, Africa, Australia?'

Best advice, lock down your best insurance deal in writing with your insurance company; they know what all of the other companies terms and rates are. One idea is to have your phone in your coat pocket on voice memo record /silent mode only, so as to have your own personal record of your complete policy review with your licensed insurance agent when you're sitting across from them in their office, as soon as your policy is issued. Have your better half or a good friend on hand to witness the review, because it's very likely the company is recording you on their system. Do your insurance business in-person with your licensed agent and don't depend on whatever the company or the agent may say to you 'off the cuff' or over the phone; none of them will not send you a transcript of their recordings of your call which is always being run over voice stress analysis, so it's in your best interest to depend on that in-person, licensed agent relationship, not some call center person sitting on their balcony in their pajamas. Have your highlighter pen handy to mark specific points of interest as written into your policy regarding terms, especially including what, when, why and how your company may decide to cancel your policy under any and all circumstances, such as how long you can go after filing a fully verified replacement item loss claim, before you're cancelled-if and or when you need to file a subsequent claim, such as 3 years, 5 years etc. When you're out doing public shooting, some fellows will carry a big shiny but non-functional/worthless old camera which you can either swing at a dumb thief doing a run/snatch/grab, but only as long as you can safely determine that criminal isn't pointing their peashooter at you. Always give them the dummy camera so they don't get the good one hanging on the strap under your coat, unless they're going after your coat too, which is the unfortunate current trend in the big cities:)
Hope this is of some help and good luck. Don't sweat the small stuff, and keep on shooting.

Vector

Following

johnblenko Loc: Pittsburgh

For those of you with a replacement policy, what do the companies do if your camera, lens, flash or whatever is no longer made? Do they just give you what their monetary outlay would be? Do they pay for the next [camera, lens, flash, etc.] up the totem pole? Thanks.

ronichas Loc: Long Island

I also have state farm for my home, car & a separate policy for my camera equipment. I am on Long Island. I have only had positive experiences with SF. What state are you in? Thanks

Mjump54

Check out PPA. If you are a member they offer coverage

ronichas Loc: Long Island

I joined PPA, thought the coverage might be helpful. I didn't find out that there is a deductible, there were other limits that just didn't make the payment to join PPA worth it.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

The major players for homeowner's insurance left Florida years ago. My current carrier offers a rider for personal equipment, but it is expensive and has a huge deductible and limited coverage, and is just not worth it. NANPA offers coverage through an affiliate. I checked that out a few years ago and it seemed reasonable.

http://www.randinsurance.com/nanpa/nanpa-photographers-equipment-insurance/

Gorzek

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Don Gorzek of Menomonee Falls, WI.

xtoothdr

....same, but in SF Ca.

scsdesphotography Loc: Southeastern Michigan

I think the PPA monthly journal is worth the membership cost, along with the insurance options. They have every form (downloadable) you might need to pursue photography, model releases and contracts.

Bruce T Loc: Michigan

Professionally Photographers of America has insurance with their membership.

worldcycle Loc: Stateline, Nevada

I insure through “Hands On”” policy. If my gear is at home I don’t worry about it. If traveling and on the road, I have a PacSafe 3L locking bag that if nothing else, slows them down. I have approximately 25k in gear and I am never without about $10 k of it. My philosophy is….. You’re carrying it, be aware of it. Use a discrete bag, not a camera bag to carry it. Don’t be paranoid, you will call attention to yourself. If your house burns down, we’ll…,.. I’ve got about half of my gear stashed in my car. I’ll buy new stuff later.