Equipment insurance, any suggestions?

K

Kyle Kearns

Active member
I'm looking for insurance for my gear, (worth less than $25,000) can anyone make any recommendations?


I'm more concerned about protection against theft than anything else.

Thanks
 
Let me say upfront my post is not referring to Debinatx recommendation, as recommendations are the best. And I know nothing about FA. I am just posting an alternative thought.

For the past ten+ years I've had my insurance through a firm that specializes in media insurance and honestly after checking around I found their rates to be rather high. In my case I feel the coverage packages were from the 80's high value on portfolios, extra charges every time I needed to "show" insurance, etc.. What I found is that most insurance companies will insure small businesses and even have specific video/photography categories. I was able to cut my rate in half by going with the sister company who insure my house/car. This is business insurance, if you were to just put a rider on your expensive equipment with your rental or homeowners insurance and then it was brought to light you are professional I believe that voids the insurance. Don't quote me I'm only an artist.

A couple of thoughts on insurance, first I am only concerned with liability, without it I can't step foot on location. And you normally need to show proof (including naming the location) of insurance to get a location permit. While I did include insurance on my equipment I have never used it(maybe I should have?) I have been robbed two or three times and a dslr camera went for a tumble. The robberies have only been for a couple of pieces of gear that were well used not a full case of gear so I never reported it to the insurance for not wanting my premium to jump over a used piece of gear (laptop tripod etc). Yes I did report them to the police to no avail. If I would of cut my bill in half ten years ago and put that extra four hundred per year in an account such as a CD to self insure myself I would be better off. The real lesson don't keep any info on a mobile computer what a headache (even with passwords).

I guess my point is you might want to check and see if the insurance company you already use can add on a business policy. Is the additional cost to insure all your equipment really worth it especially if you decide not to use it to save on premium increases and can you save to self insure? Do you have signed contracts with your helpers that specify they're Independent Contractors who are responsible for their own insurance etc.? As for specific recommendations I can only say who I thought was high and I won't do that.
 
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Find a local business insurance broker. Someone you can call up or go talk to with questions. Look for "best of YourCity 2015" or something like that. Chamber of commerce, etc. They'll be happy to have an initial meeting with you to discuss your needs. What you want is "inland marine insurance" coverage for you gear. That way it's covered when it's traveling around with you, and not just when it's in your studio/office/home. It's rather simple really - give them a big list of what you want insured and they'll give you a quote though a provider (I have Hannover based in MA, they're nice and easy to work with when you need something)

I would recommend regular liability and professional liability insurance while you're at it. From memory, I pay about $1k a year for the liability, and something like $600/year for the inland marine portion. It's pretty affordable.
 
I've found the best solution is often using a broker you already have business with, which generally means homeowner's insurance. If you own a home, check there first. My agent gave me a really good rate. Hardest thing is photographing and listing everything, serial numbers, and replacement value. (I have an absolute ton of gear). Down to every hard drive and stick of RAM and rail system odds & ends. Takes a whole weekend if you have lots of stuff.

When I had a separate studio, I had a business liability policy that also covered gear - it was pretty affordable. The cool thing was, when I needed insurance for a location I could just make a call and get a million bucks coverage and a certificate to show the venue. As I recall, it was like $50-$100 a pop.
 
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