For those who have vacuum sealed housings, do you still buy insurance?

I have personally had good experiences with DAN flood insurance, but of course it costs about $200 per year. I also carry a separate rider on my personal insurance for travel loss/theft.

So, do any of you who have vacuum attachments on your housing still buy flood insurance? On first thought, it would no longer be necessary. I understand a flood can still happen, but insurance is "playing the odds" anyway, right?

thanks,

John

Hi John,

I've always considered it much more likely that my gear could be stolen or come up missing at an airport. I plan to keep my "all perils" insurance policy paid up.

Cheers,

Steve

I use a vacuum check and yes all insured, things can happen underwater and if you have a valuable rig I would still insure it

Yes, definately still keep my insurance.

/Erik

A vacuum system is prevention. Insurance is for recovery.

Insurance is a balance of cost against the real loss from a flood. When I was shooting film I found the cost of insurance for a year was nearly that of a camera body and lens. So I started going without insurance. I still don't carry flood insrance. I do carry theft insurance on my camera equipment.

Yes, i have it still insured,

to flood a D800 with professional lenses is a expensive damage ...

My insurance (Dive Master Insurance UK) covers also loss, theft, etc and includes flooding so i get some kind of a "no-worry package"

Chris

My insurance (Dive Master Insurance UK) covers also loss, theft, etc and includes flooding so i get some kind of a "no-worry package"

 

They also run a truly fearsome kind of "no-claims" policy, and I can't afford to insure my set-up after a flood and a loss...

I might not have stated this properly.

All insurance, whether it is from a 3rd party policy or from using a vacuum device on your housing is designed to mitigate costs assocated with a catastrophic flood.

- a vacuum device is a preventative insurance measure, since you should see if there is a leak before it actually damages anything.

- an insurance policy is strictly an after-failure solution, but is also designed to ultimately protect your investment.

Any solution is reducing the odds of a loss. A person could say, I'm *never* going to flood a camera and I'm not going to buy insurance or a vacuum device. If this turns out to be correct, that person has saved a lot of money. Over ten years, probably enough to buy a pretty nice camera setup.

A person who pays for any and all options available is "safe", but they surely understand over a ten year period they are perhaps doubling the cost of their setup.

With computers, I'm totally a gambler. I never buy the insurance for a phone or tablet or computer. I think monetarily I'm ahead of the game.

Of the two mitigation options available, having a vacuum device seems signifcantly superior to having insurance. Insurance may buy you a new system, but it won't fix flooding your camera on the 2nd day of your $7000 trip. Plus, the odds of a flood surely go down by at least a factor of 10 with a vacuum device. I'm considering not doing flood insurance and just relying on a vacuum system. Flood insurance doesn't cover theft anyway and I have that coverage through other sources.

I am aware you can still flood a system with a vacuum device, but it would seem to be a pretty rare occurrence. It will be interesting to see how many people buy flood insurance 5 years from now when all housings have vacuum systems installed from the factory. I have suffered two floods in 30 years of diving. Both would not have happened with a vacuum system. I am betting when it comes standard on all housings floods will be a very rare occurrence.

Well, after getting a D800 Setup. I decided to get all of it, in order to sleep well.

I have a vacuum Setup and a flood insurance ( it includes theft as well).

With my old D80 Setup. I did not have any of it.

Atleast for me it is down to how much the System is worth...

/Erik

Well, after getting a D800 Setup. I decided to get all of it, in order to sleep well.

I have a vacuum Setup and a flood insurance ( it includes theft as well).

 

With my old D80 Setup. I did not have any of it.

 

Atleast for me it is down to how much the System is worth...

 

/Erik

Yah, that makes sense Erik -- my D7000 would be much easier to replace than a D800. I am most interested in getting to the end of a dive week with a minimal amount of equipment issues

Insurance is a monetary gamble as you've stated but something that

I still feel necessary to have.

I have a vacuum on my Nauticam housing, and I still have it insured.

I use USAA's VPP (valuable personal property) coverage...no deductible replacement. It wouldn't help me if I get a flood on a trip, but it will get me a new camera for my next one. It's very inexpensive for everything I have covered, and gives peace of mind. This is especially true when the airline decides to make you check a carry on full of photo gear b/c all the bins are full.

You can also drop your camera or loose it into the depths. Vacuum won't help you there, nor will it help if you flood your strobe.

You can also drop your camera or loose it into the depths. Vacuum won't help you there, nor will it help if you flood your strobe.

I will bet that there will be some strobes put out with vacuum systems in the future.

Yes, buy the insurance. There are other things that can happen to your gear besides flooding. And even with the vacuum system, it's not foolproof. I recommend the extra $$ for peace of mind.