Gear Insurance
- Thread starter dbmathis
- Start date
puredrifting
Major Contributor
Run&Gun
Veteran
I just changed insurance companies this year. Long story short, the company I had been with for probably the last 15 years told me at the beginning of last year(just after I had renewed) that they would no longer insure me going forward, because I worked in TV production. There is a large “prejudice” against us in the insurance industry. I’m not sure what the epiphany or change of heart was on their part, I had never hidden that fact or been deceptive in the description of myself or what I do. The only thing I can think of in that regard, is if my agent had been misrepresenting me to them. But anyway...
So I went with an agent that a friend uses(agency is based in LA and specializes in our field). I was shocked at the quotes compared to what I had been paying, but the thing that got me the most was the equipment schedule. My previous insurance was more or less a blanket replacement cost policy that required no schedule. I just told them the amount of coverage and that was it. This new company not only wanted a list of every item to be covered(if it’s not listed, it’s not covered, they didn’t offer any unscheduled coverage and no “grace” for new purchases, additions have to be reported immediately and the agent actually suggested reporting them before you take delivery), but also a cost for each item. And on top of that, the agent said that if something happened to an item and it costs less then they pay the lesser amount, but if it costs more, then it’s still capped at the amount listed on the schedule. My old replacement cost policy was they paid what it cost to replace an item, either higher or lower. The agent was able to package some unscheduled equipment coverage with my liability coverage, so I didn’t have to list everything on the main equipment policy, but still, what a PITA and limiting compared to what I had previously.
I’m probably going to start shopping around again in the fall, well ahead of my renewal period, because I just don’t feel like I got a very good deal, especially with my liability package(it’s less coverage than my previous company, but a higher rate).
This also brings up something else that a friend said when I asked him about his coverage. He said he was actually planning on lowering his coverage and said (his opinion) you should only really have coverage for what it would take to get you back up and running(what do you need to do an average shoot with). To me that is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard. I guess if you don’t have a lot of gear, you can justify that, but it just seems ludicrous to me if you own several hundred thousand in equipment that you don’t cover it all. I just can’t fathom spending $100K’s on equipment over the years and then opening up the possibility of losing it all to theft or accident, because you wanted to save a few bucks on your insurance(different from finding good rates).
I know this has nothing to do with the OP’s question. Just more of a rambling vent about insurance.
So I went with an agent that a friend uses(agency is based in LA and specializes in our field). I was shocked at the quotes compared to what I had been paying, but the thing that got me the most was the equipment schedule. My previous insurance was more or less a blanket replacement cost policy that required no schedule. I just told them the amount of coverage and that was it. This new company not only wanted a list of every item to be covered(if it’s not listed, it’s not covered, they didn’t offer any unscheduled coverage and no “grace” for new purchases, additions have to be reported immediately and the agent actually suggested reporting them before you take delivery), but also a cost for each item. And on top of that, the agent said that if something happened to an item and it costs less then they pay the lesser amount, but if it costs more, then it’s still capped at the amount listed on the schedule. My old replacement cost policy was they paid what it cost to replace an item, either higher or lower. The agent was able to package some unscheduled equipment coverage with my liability coverage, so I didn’t have to list everything on the main equipment policy, but still, what a PITA and limiting compared to what I had previously.
I’m probably going to start shopping around again in the fall, well ahead of my renewal period, because I just don’t feel like I got a very good deal, especially with my liability package(it’s less coverage than my previous company, but a higher rate).
This also brings up something else that a friend said when I asked him about his coverage. He said he was actually planning on lowering his coverage and said (his opinion) you should only really have coverage for what it would take to get you back up and running(what do you need to do an average shoot with). To me that is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard. I guess if you don’t have a lot of gear, you can justify that, but it just seems ludicrous to me if you own several hundred thousand in equipment that you don’t cover it all. I just can’t fathom spending $100K’s on equipment over the years and then opening up the possibility of losing it all to theft or accident, because you wanted to save a few bucks on your insurance(different from finding good rates).
I know this has nothing to do with the OP’s question. Just more of a rambling vent about insurance.