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Options in camera equipment insurance

I’ve been interested in insuring my camera equipment for a while now. Considering online retail value, my gear is getting up there in total cost. So much so that in my current situation I would not be able to replace much of it if something were to happen. I’m personally focused on just insuring my equipment as I don’t really do much that deals with professional liability like a photographer that owns a studio.

My research so far brings me to a few companies:
Zurich North America

  • They are said to be one of the insurance companies that is open to photographers, but there site doesn’t say anything on the subject.

Hill & Usher

  • They seem to be one of the most open companies toward photographers as their site includes a lot of information on the subject. The policy they show on their site seems geared toward professionals with studios or people that derive a lot of their income from photography

State Farm

  • I have general insurance from them, so I thought they would be a good option. I have a reasonable level of trust for their company and would expect them to honor anything that were to ever happen. They have a a well known “personal articles” policy as well as a business policy for camera equipment.
  • I was quoted $1.50 per $100 in gear for personal and $1.75 per $100 for business equipment. Not too bad assuming at this point that the policy covers a fair amount of possibilities.
  • I’ll assume most general insurance companies offer similar policies, at least for personal articles. Contact your company of choice to see what they offer. EDIT: They changed their mind about not taking a list of my equipment, so I eventually sent in photos and serial numbers of the high ticket items.

Professional Photographers of America

  • They offer discounted insurance for members. It looks like the insurance includes equipment as well as liability for people who desire that level of coverage. The negative of this option is that you must be a member of PPA, which isn’t cheap, plus the cost of insurance, which also doesn’t look cheap.

Hartford

  • Another company that is said to offer photography related policies. I couldn’t find any information by searching their site.

Tom Pickard

  • This company appears to specialize in photographer insurance. They offer large policies that cover everything from professional liability to office furniture and “portfolio coverage” (whatever that means…). They say their policies range from $500 – $700 per year. That seems like a good option for the professional.

Photo.net through Willis of Pennsylvania, Inc

  • The cost per year seems pretty reasonable at $10 per $1000, yet I feel the deductible per item is much too high at $250. Their liability price seems like a good value assuming they honor their coverage.

All that being said, I’m probably going to go with State Farm as it is the easiest option to use, not too expensive, and they offer a equipment only business related policy. Assuming their overall coverage terms are decent, I’ll be insured soon!

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