Equipment Rental; how does it work?

J

jamani

Active member
Sorry if this is a bit misplaced in this forum.

I must be missing something! From the frequency with which people both pros and hobbyists are urged to rent equipment to try them out before buying them, or just for use where buying cannot be justified, you would think the process of actually doing so is as easy as renting a car. What I have gathered in my research is most if not all places require that you deposit an amount equal to the value of the equipment AND/or have insurance. Now I can see how a professional who does this for a living would have no problem meeting these requirements but what about the hobbyists or rookies hoping to go pro some day? How do I, an aspiring pro, rent say a RED or C300? I don't have insurance and I sure as hell don't have $15k+ sitting in a bank account or a credit line of that magnitude ready for rental purposes. And while at it, how does the insurance thing work and is it worth it for a non-frequent renter?
 
jamani said:
Sorry if this is a bit misplaced in this forum.

I must be missing something! From the frequency with which people both pros and hobbyists are urged to rent equipment to try them out before buying them, or just for use where buying cannot be justified, you would think the process of actually doing so is as easy as renting a car. What I have gathered in my research is most if not all places require that you deposit an amount equal to the value of the equipment AND/or have insurance. Now I can see how a professional who does this for a living would have no problem meeting these requirements but what about the hobbyists or rookies hoping to go pro some day? How do I, an aspiring pro, rent say a RED or C300? I don't have insurance and I sure as hell don't have $15k+ sitting in a bank account or a credit line of that magnitude ready for rental purposes. And while at it, how does the insurance thing work and is it worth it for a non-frequent renter?
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Some places will sell you a floater policy. Others may offer to charge a hefty fee to "self-insure" your rental, maybe 20-25% of the rental cost. Insurance policies that cover rentals start at a few hundred dollars for a year of coverage. Anytime you rent from a new place, you'll provide a certificate of insurance that lists them as additionally insured.
 
keylight said:
Some places will sell you a floater policy. Others may offer to charge a hefty fee to "self-insure" your rental, maybe 20-25% of the rental cost. Insurance policies that cover rentals start at a few hundred dollars for a year of coverage. Anytime you rent from a new place, you'll provide a certificate of insurance that lists them as additionally insured.
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Not sure where you are located but could you recommend any rental house in the East Coast (NJ/NY)? I am especially interested in the "floater policy".
 
IMO, Adorama is the best in NYC. No deposit required and prices are amazing. I was up and renting within 30 seconds once I signed up in their system with the proper information (ID, credit card that can cover the cost of the item, etc.) No amount is deducted from your credit unless you damage or do not return the equipment. No insurance is necessary at least on the things I've been renting, which are 2k-3k lenses. Maybe something like a C300 would require one, but I don't know. AbelCine would be my next choice.
 
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jambredz said:
have you ever tried out Lensrentals.com? I'm not sure what there policy is like.
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Bingo. Online rental places.

Those guys are good. I personally use lensprotogo.com. You can get the C300 and only pay $35 for insurance. Some of these places do make exceptions with the really expensive equipment if they don't know you, understandable. But on these websites you can get 99% of the equipment for the rental cost plus $10 - $15 for insurance on it.
 
grantw said:
Bingo. Online rental places.

Those guys are good. I personally use lensprotogo.com. You can get the C300 and only pay $35 for insurance. Some of these places do make exceptions with the really expensive equipment if they don't know you, understandable. But on these websites you can get 99% of the equipment for the rental cost plus $10 - $15 for insurance on it.
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But for the kind of gear the OP mentioned...

jamani said:
How do I, an aspiring pro, rent say a RED or C300? I don't have insurance and I sure as hell don't have $15k+ sitting in a bank account or a credit line of that magnitude ready for rental purposes.
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... the insurance may still be needed.
Are there any special requirements for renting certain items?

Unfortunately, yes. With several of our very high value professional items, there are additional requirements for rental. Occasionally, even if you don’t rent one of these items, but you rent a very large amount of equipment, there are also additional requirements.
In these cases, we ask you to obtain independent insurance, if you don’t already carry production insurance. We will need to have a certificate of insurance that covers rented production equipment for at least the replacement value of the items on your order. The certificate must name LensRentals as an additional loss payee.
We require this insurance even if you pay for our damage waiver. We do this because, with high value items or large orders, our primary worry is that some of our equipment might be stolen from you on a busy set or shoot. With the high value of these items, the amount owed to us if it gets stolen is more than most people can pay out of pocket. The insurance gives us some measure of security that if the equipment disappears, we’ll be compensated.
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And even it if insurance isn't needed, the damage waiver still runs 15-20%. On a $100 lens rental, that's maybe $15. On a $1000 Red, it's $150-$200.

Edit: Not saying it isn't a good place to rent from, just that it's probably out of the OP's price range. Truth is, there's probably nothing (or very little) that is in his range.
 
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If you have homeowner's (or renter's) coverage, check with your agent. They'll often sell you a business coverage for rentals - I know an audio guy who keeps about $30k of gear in his van; he pays $700 a year or so for equipment coverage - when I had a studio space, my insurance was very cheap and they'd add location coverage (millions) for like $60.
 
Michael Carter said:
If you have homeowner's (or renter's) coverage, check with your agent. They'll often sell you a business coverage for rentals - I know an audio guy who keeps about $30k of gear in his van; he pays $700 a year or so for equipment coverage - when I had a studio space, my insurance was very cheap and they'd add location coverage (millions) for like $60.
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Homeowners insurance is a really different beast than the kind of stuff you need to cover pro gear (like inland marine). I've never found a place that sells homeowners to offer (or at least offer at anything near a competitive price) anything that would cover renting pro gear. Of course, YMMV.
 
As a side-business, I do camera and gear rental. We do not ask for deposits, however we email clients a small invoice (reservation fee) when they reserve. They pay it online, which means we have a credit card or a paypal on file

Also we ask for a photo ID, and also a proof of address (utility bill, bank statement etc. issued in the past 3 months), and a valid credit card. Also the person has to be a Canadian resident or citizen. We do a photocopy of ID and credit card
 
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