If you haven't flooded something photographic you will. At least that's what I hear everyone say. The closest I've come is a small leak with a Nikonos and a 15mm lens, and no I didn't have insurance at the time but it was a company camera.
Now that I've racked up some change in housings, cameras and strobes I can't afford not to have insurance. I did some shopping around and found that DAN (the medical outfit at Duke Univ) also offers equipment insurance. Unlike some of the other equpment insurance providers DAN's underwriter does not require you to insure anything you don't want to (like DEEP that makes you insure your reg, BC, etc.). It's great piece of mind. When getting an online price estimate make sure that you add everything you have and watch what the premium is. I noticed that as I added more stuff the premium didn't change. I forget what the price break point is but you can add as many things as you like until you reach a certain price and then the premium will raise to the next higher level. BTW you have to be a member of DAN in order to get this insurance but you should be anyway.
Robert,
I started a thread on this very subject a while back. It would appear that DAN insurance for equipment is USA member based only. This is no good for the likes of myself from the UK. Although I would be interested in DAN's official stance on this. Alternatively, as myself, insurance is through house contents. However, I have just purchased some new expensive gear & need to review this in more detail.
Mark
Yes I wasn't thiinking international. But home owners insurance is probably just as good.
Ask your agent what they will do for you if you flood it. Mine (State Farm) said unless it's do to a leak in the roof I am out of luck. If you can get Dan, it makes me sleep better at night.
My agent told me that under my house plan the housing is not covered for flood protection but, is covered if it is stolen or lost on a trip.
I say nothing more.
Woops! Dropped another one overboard again, derrnit!
He He He. Yeh. Keep em comin. That darn mutt of mine got kinda hungry & chewed up the housing.
Bless im, he gets the blame for everything in our house. I must upgrade my mobile phone every 2 months for a better model. You'd think the phone company would cotton on to it by now! They must have quite a collection of dog chewed phones by now .....lol.
I am in the UK and shopped around for insurance for both my dive gear and camera equipment. I ended up using Dive Master Insurance because they insure for every single eventuality, loss, damage, flooding etc and a major deciding factor was that they don't mind what country you dive in, even countries recommended for avoidance by the Foreign Office. I even asked if i could dive in Iraq and still be covered, and yes it is!!
i have about £8200 worth off kit insured and it costs about £400 a year. Expensive but great peace of mind
I recently contacted Divemaster about this too. They do not offer flood insurance only. You have to insure all of your equipment too. I was quoted £500 but found this particularly expensive. I contacted my house insurance company and all of my gear is now covered at home, in transit, in use etc for an extra £100/yr. Not bad. It DOES NOT cover flood insurance, but hey if it floods its a csae of 'it fell in the pond whilst takin a duck photo'.
Mark
I even asked if i could dive in Iraq
Go on then educate me....where the hell in Iraq????? or more importantly why?
The point i was making was that they don't mind where you go. Places that most insurance companies just wouldn't touch
LOL I actually was on a dive trip in the Cozumel, we got back to port....fellow divers camera flooded. He packed it all up carried it to a restaraunt, left it by his table, wandered the square for a couple hours, what do ya know, when he got back some asshole had stolen it.
Ha ha... Brilliant, I love initiative.
Best flood insurance I know is patience & regularly maintained O-rings!
All insurance has a deductible - so don't flood yours on purpose. With DAN, the flood deductible is more than the loss/theft deductible. Strange eh?
Cheers
James
the flood deductible is more than the loss/theft deductible
I didn't flood my camera, it fell over the wall and I didn't feel that it would be safe to chase it.
My deductible through Farmers Insurance is $100 no matter what happens to it. It's called an "all risk" photography endorsement and everything including the housing is covered. The laptop is covered under a seperate endorsement and all the rest of the dive gear is covered under the normal policy up to $12K. All this for $75/year.
Unfortunately Farmers vs. State of Texas may force me into another carrier before the year is out.
