Photo Insurance

[Alpha]

Sorry, that isn't correct.

I make quite a solid amount of money with my equipment, but I have it under my home owner's insurance and I know for an absolute fact that I am covered. I've done quite a bit of research on it and even had an opportunity to test it.

Trust me, it's not black and white. There is a lot of "it depends" in this area.

Smartest thing you can do is have a frank conversation with your insurance agent to make sure you understand the conditions involved and make a business decision on what makes the most sense for you.

It is black and white. I hope you do not have the misfortune of finding that out the hard way. If you were using your equipment in a professional setting and something went wrong, your insurance company would not be obliged to cover you. What your sales rep says on the phone and the fine print details of your policy are very different things. What they may be trying to say is that they will only cover the equipment while you're using it for personal stuff. Of course, there's no question that you have no liability coverage in commercial endeavors.

 

[SpeedTrap]

Homeowner’s policies only have limited coverage for the most important things (it is not the gear coverage)

When I first started out I quickly discovered my home insurance could not cover the cost of my gear, so I contacted my agent and he offered me home based or small business insurance, at first I thought this would be great, but when I looked into it, the coverage was when the equipment was at the business only, if it went off site, no coverage.

Most people seem to think the most important part of the insurance is to replace stolen or damaged equipment, but it is not.

The reason the above poster is requested to show insurance is for liability coverage. We typically deal with light stands and cords and other things that are hazards.

If someone were to injure him or herself at a shoot you do not need to worry about spending the rest of your life paying for it.

The current package I have is with PPOC (Professional Photographers of Canada) and covers everything on and off site and even 50 days a year out of country. It is much more expensive then any level of homeowners insurance, but worth every penny.

 

[kirkg]

Homeowner’s policies only have limited coverage for the most important things (it is not the gear coverage)

When I first started out I quickly discovered my home insurance could not cover the cost of my gear, so I contacted my agent and he offered me home based or small business insurance, at first I thought this would be great, but when I looked into it, the coverage was when the equipment was at the business only, if it went off site, no coverage.

Most people seem to think the most important part of the insurance is to replace stolen or damaged equipment, but it is not.

The reason the above poster is requested to show insurance is for liability coverage. We typically deal with light stands and cords and other things that are hazards.

If someone were to injure him or herself at a shoot you do not need to worry about spending the rest of your life paying for it.

The current package I have is with PPOC (Professional Photographers of Canada) and covers everything on and off site and even 50 days a year out of country. It is much more expensive then any level of homeowners insurance, but worth every penny.

Off site coverage is provided by a policy or endorsement that is known as an inland marine floater. It will cover your gear in transit and on the job!

 

[kirkg]

Sorry, that isn't correct.

I make quite a solid amount of money with my equipment, but I have it under my home owner's insurance and I know for an absolute fact that I am covered. I've done quite a bit of research on it and even had an opportunity to test it.

Trust me, it's not black and white. There is a lot of "it depends" in this area.

Smartest thing you can do is have a frank conversation with your insurance agent to make sure you understand the conditions involved and make a business decision on what makes the most sense for you.

When it comes to a claim on personal v. busines, it is black and white, so trust is not part of the equation. If you're looking for your agent to do you a favor when you go to file that claim, think again. Th adjustor will set you and the agent straight.

***If any, at all, is covered under your h/o policy, it is very limited and will likely fall short of the equip you own. I would ask your agent to give you something in writing, say a dec page or certificate of insurance that specifically states that ALL of your equip is covered by the policy/endorsement. Just remember that some, with a limit, can be covered by your h/o policy. However, you will have no liability coverage.

It's just good a business practice to get BUSINESS insurance with an Inland Marine Floater to protect your business personal property, aka your equipment. Since you make a "solid" amount of money, it would be considered quite irresponsible not to have it.

Ask for that dec page and get back to us when you get it...

 

[manaheim]

It is black and white. I hope you do not have the misfortune of finding that out the hard way. If you were using your equipment in a professional setting and something went wrong, your insurance company would not be obliged to cover you. What your sales rep says on the phone and the fine print details of your policy are very different things. What they may be trying to say is that they will only cover the equipment while you're using it for personal stuff. Of course, there's no question that you have no liability coverage in commercial endeavors.

When it comes to a claim on personal v. busines, it is black and white, so trust is not part of the equation. If you're looking for your agent to do you a favor when you go to file that claim, think again. Th adjustor will set you and the agent straight.

***If any, at all, is covered under your h/o policy, it is very limited and will likely fall short of the equip you own. I would ask your agent to give you something in writing, say a dec page or certificate of insurance that specifically states that ALL of your equip is covered by the policy/endorsement. Just remember that some, with a limit, can be covered by your h/o policy. However, you will have no liability coverage.

It's just good business since to get BUSINESS insurance with an Inland Marine Floater to protect your business personal property, aka your equipment. Since you make a "solid" amount of money, it would be considered quite irresponsible not to have it.

Ask for that dec page and get back to us when you get it...

Well, clearly I must be living in a fantasy world, then, since I had to make a claim on my equipment that I use for both personal and professional purposes and had absolutely no issue with it.

Now, if you would like to assert that it is generally a "safer approach" to go with just business insurance any time you get to a point where you think you're even going to make one dollar with your equipment, well, yeah... sure. Of course it is. If you would like to assert that if you have an accident while on an actual job that you are VERY unlikely to be covered by your homeowners policy... sure. I would tend to agree.

However, the seemingly common belief that if you ever make ANY money with your camera that you are NEVER covered by a homeowners policy is provably a myth.

I have made a business decision based upon a lot of research. My business decision is along the lines of "My homeowners insurance covers me reasonably well for most of the situations I am in with my camera, and on the rare occasions that it does not, I'll be making enough money to more than cover the costs of replacement." That works for me just fine for the moment.

And that brings us full circle to the OP. Let's keep in mind that the OP has not declared whether or not they are making money here... they have not clarified what they are doing or the various other elements of their situation. Those elements that we don't know anything about have a GREAT DEAL of impact on the "right answer for them". For all we know he may just need a health insurance policy to prove to whomever he's working with that if he trips on the job that they won't be liable to cover his Tylenol bills.

What works for me may or may not work well for them. IT DEPENDS.

Very little in life is black and white, guys.