Personal Articles insurance in Canada - recommendations

[Opher]

Hello everyone. I know this topic (like many) has already been beaten with a stick and then some but im asking anyway... dont hate me for it.

Ok so from what i have read a lot of the people here get our insurance from state farm. Are there any other good insurance providers in Canada (Ontario specifically) that will provide extensive coverage plus accidental damage coverage for my gear? I want to be able to have my 5D MKII drop on the ground and splinter into many pieces(shutters inside) and not die of a heart attack. Im thinking i will need $10000-$15000 of coverage leaning to the 10. From what i have read it should be about 100-200/yr. Correct me if im wrong on any of this and i look forward to your recommendations.

 

[dxqcanada]

Hmm, I looked into State Farm also (as I have auto and home insurance with them).

I looked into getting an extension to my policy for camera equipment ... I don't remember exactly what the cost was per $100.00 item value ... but yours sounds about right.

Now that you brought it up ... I should contact them again.

 

[Big Mike]

What's stopping you from picking up the phone and just calling 4 or 5 insurance companies? When I needed Auto insurance, that's exactly what I did....this shouldn't be any different.

 

[SpeedTrap]

One thing to keep in mind if you cover you gear on a personal policy, in most cases they will not pay out if they deem it was broken while on commercial shoot (Anything you are getting paid for) They are going to take one look at your website, see the watermark on your images and decline your claim.
You need to look into commercial coverage for your equipment. be prepared to spend around $700 a year to start.

 

[mwcfarms]

You can get a rider policy to your home owners insurance but you have to be careful like someone mentioned. If you are out at an event/session where you are being paid for your time they will try and use this as a loophole. This just happened to my friend with cooperators insurance. She was second shooting a wedding, and her camera gear all got stolen from her car. They wouldn't cover it because they consider that a business etc. I pay a bit more and have business insurance even though technically I'm not a full out camera business but it covers me from everything, gear, liability, safety things. Its more but worth it in my opinion. I go through Western Financial.

 

[Big Mike]

Does anyone know if it matter what you were doing at the time of the theft/damage? For example, lets say you use your camera (etc) for both business & personal. Your gear gets stolen while using it for personal reasons (say, a birthday party or just a guest at a wedding)....will they still decline your claim if you do sometimes use your gear for professional use?

(I know, I know....what's stopping me from just calling an insurance company to ask them. )

 

[ClickAddict]

Big Mike, I'm not a lawyer but something to consider might also be wether the camera was written off as a business expense. If so, then it probably does not matter what you were using it for. It's not a personal item. It is business and they would probably decline.

So anyone checking with their lawyers (which they should), make sure it's clear who "owns" the camera. Business or yourself personally.