Mike S
New member
How and from what company?
If you think you don't need gear insurance, think again.
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RikWriter
Well-known member
USAA. I talked to an agent and got a valuable personal property policy.
I purchased and cancelled both RVNA and USAA because they did not disclose they were secondary. I ended up choosing NANPA because Chubb the underwriter is a strong carrier.
Someone should ask USAA and confirm this. What I mean is that I would have to file a HO claim first in order for USAA to pay. I have heard also that's not true, but the lack of clarity caused me to rethink it. Again I am not saying I am right, but I am saying that it's hard to get a straight answer. The Chubb policy from NANPA is commercial insurance but available to non professionals. That is the most clarity that its not secondary. The carriers do like to make it confusing.
RikWriter
Well-known member
Why is your text color so messed up?
vbnut
Member
My understanding from their ads and website is that USAA only offers insurance to "the military, veterans, and their eligible family members", which would exclude me and many others. Is my understanding of that limitation not correct?
This is true, not open to everyone.
Do you prefer blue? I am not sure why it matters but I wanted to emphasize the subtle points people are missing. The first screen shot is from USAA and the second from PPA. This provision does not appear in the Chubb/NANPA policy. Thus if you have a loss at home they can look first to your homeowners, OR if your homeowners covers property outside the home, they can look their first.
I edited my first post in the insurance thread to include these.
Excess Amount Clauses
USAA- 5. Other Insurance. If loss or damage covered by this policy is also covered by other insurance, we will pay only as excess insurance over the other insurance.
(Screen shot not included)
PPA - If there is any other policy covering the same loss, other than that described above, “we” pay only for the amount of covered loss in excess of the amount due from that other policy. But “we” do not pay more than the applicable “limit”. (Screen shot below.)
Attachments
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RikWriter
Well-known member
Because the background for me is black and your text was black where it wasn't red, so I couldn't read most of it until I quoted it.
jimfromno
Member
I became a gun owner and obtained a concealed carry permit specifically to protect my camera gear when I was shooting out West at Yellowstone Park and surrounding areas. I was warned that thieves watch for those with expensive camera gear and follow them to their vehicles and rob them. However, I also learned that a gun owner has no legal right to defend his property. If you shoot someone defending property then you are in the wrong and you are going to jail. Possibly for murder.
Jojo
Member
With regard to the use of insurance and guns, you are damned if you do use them, damned it you don’t use them. Florida is unique though as people here would probably pull the trigger on a weapon rather than accessing their insurance coverage.
Did you know there is insurance for those of us which carry concealed weapons and have to use them? It’s supposed to cover legal expenses to defend yourself but that’s a whole other rabbit hole…
Makes sense you are using Dark Mode I suppose. Moderators note this for possible website fix.
mathjak107
Well-known member
yep , most umbrella and liability policies do not cover acts with firearms since they consider the trigger being pulled an intentional act whether justified or not
it can cost 50-100k in legal fees just to be found innocent.
but a civil trial can take everything you have so protecting property with a firearm is rarely a good idea
RikWriter
Well-known member
That highly depends on where you defend yourself. I think you'll find that rural Wyoming or Montana offers a different experience than urban Connecticut or Massachusetts. And back where I lived until recently, in central Florida, it was barely an inconvenience.
Let's stick to the topic of insurance and disasters and not stray into guns....... Thanks!
Woody Meristem
Well-known member
Yup, very true; I became a USAA member back in the mid-60s (1960s that is) when only military officers and their immediate family members were eligible. Many years later they opened up to enlisted service members and veterans. So if you haven't been in the military forget about getting insurance from USAA.
Maljo
Well-known member
This is a puzzle. How did the thieves know he had expensive camera gear in his car? Most of us don't leave expensive stuff in our cars when parked at home. I leave a tripod in the trunk but that;s about it. Did these thieves observe him in the field and they follow him home? Even then, why would they think his camera gear was left in the car? Also an AirTag in the bag can be helpful.
Woody Meristem
Well-known member
Without more information the average thief wouldn't have a clue expensive things were in a locked car in a locked garage, making a break-in worthwhile. Yeah, they might have followed him home after he was shooting somewhere; or along the line he may have mentioned leaving his stuff in the car in the garage, maybe it was his usual practice and a bunch of people knew that. I remember a neighbor having the radiator stolen out of his brand new Chevy that was in his locked garage. If somebody wants something badly enough it will be stolen, no matter where it is.
Calson
Well-known member
Most car breakins are ones of opportunity and the thief is in an area where they do not expect to be oberved. I installed some bright lights that are triggered by motion and this is usually when a dog comes around my house. Very effective for people as well and they use 8D batteries that last more than one year before replacement. I have 5 of these around my house and they are a convenience as I can check something without need for a flashlight and so have both hands free.
San Francisco is notorious for car breakins and a friend who stayed at her then boy friends house in the ritzy Marina area had her BMW broken into twice to steal the radio. She had a shop install a Black Bart car alarm and the third time her car was broken into the thief stole the radio and the car alarm system. Often those with convertibles will leave them unlocked as the damage done by a thief is creater than the value of whatever they might steal.
Any homeowner or renters insurance agent should be able to do a special rider policy for expensive items, including photo gear. For cameras and expensive lenses I have had to provide copies of purchase receipts.
If gear is stolen during a trip the insurance company does not cover the loss of the use of the equipment during the trip. Insurance should be a last resort when all other efforts fail.
San Francisco is notorious for car breakins and a friend who stayed at her then boy friends house in the ritzy Marina area had her BMW broken into twice to steal the radio. She had a shop install a Black Bart car alarm and the third time her car was broken into the thief stole the radio and the car alarm system. Often those with convertibles will leave them unlocked as the damage done by a thief is creater than the value of whatever they might steal.
Any homeowner or renters insurance agent should be able to do a special rider policy for expensive items, including photo gear. For cameras and expensive lenses I have had to provide copies of purchase receipts.
If gear is stolen during a trip the insurance company does not cover the loss of the use of the equipment during the trip. Insurance should be a last resort when all other efforts fail.
Calson
Well-known member
If you shoot someone it will cost you far more than the value of your photo gear in attorney fees. Better to use bear spray on a potential thief and better yet to keep your gear out of sight. I get my camera and lens out of the storage area before getting to where I will be parking my vehicle. A thief only sees the camera and the lens that I am leaving with on my outing.
The likelihood of having gear stolen is greatly exaggerated. When a camera is stolen from a vehicle anywhere in the USA it hits CNN and other news wires and so one have a distorted perspective as to how often this actually occurs. It is great for gun and ammo sales and that is more money for the multi bilion dollar industry that is exempt from liability.
I sold my SUV and went back to driving a pickup as it allowed me to use my two drawer locking metal chest that would take a thief a great deal of time to break into. Cars and pickup trucks are easy to gain entry by breaking a single window which takes seconds to do. With the black curtains one cannot see inside the camper shell to determine if anything of value is inside. I have used this approach with my valuables since I bought my first pickup truck with a camper shell in 1970 and it has been 100% successful even in places like San Francisco.
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Thats a good deal! I do the same with State Farm and it costs me $485/yr for $30k of coverage.
ajrmd
Well-known member
Interestingly, my recent homeowners insurance renewal not only increased the cost of the policy of 25% (in spite of never filing a claim), they decreased the covered amounts and removed the schedules for my firearms and jewelry. If I had my cameras insured with them, it is likely they would have been removed as well. Time to go shopping for new HO insurance.
Mark_Laidlaw
Active member
This is a big reason why I sold my SUV for a pickup truck. Got keyed locks for the tailgate, tailgate bolts, plus a locking tonneu cover that's nearly impossible to open without using a sawzall on the cover and tailgate. I figure if someone is just that motivated to get in, hell... make em earn it!
My previous car got broken into twice in the span of two months in downtown Portland OR. Nothing was taken, I keep the cabs empty. But the 2nd time, while the smashed window was being replaced, I was on Autotrader looking at cheap F-150's.
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Vehicles are a very high risk place to store camera gear. Breakins are frequent and rarely prosecuted.
In our area teams of people go through neighborhoods and retail areas to find targets. They use a flashlight to look into the car for anything indicating value. It can be as little as spare change. It only takes a minute or two to break into a car and steal whatever has value. They hit as many as 10-12 cars in an hour. Targets with value include anything that looks like a purse or computer bag, bags any type from suitcases to duffle bags, bags from retail stores - especially if goods are valuable and can be returned for cash or credit, etc. Once in the car, thieves look for the high value items - a gun in the glove compartment or under a seat, and a spare key in the glove compartment or console. While in the glove compartment, they normally look for emergency cash. All this is done in less than two minutes so a car alarm or security lights don't prevent the act.
If they are caught, the crime is a misdemeanor and does not result in jail time unless a gun is involved. Many of the actual thieves are juveniles so the courts don't bother to prosecute them. Nobody looks for thieves to try to find the crooks - it's too much trouble, it's just property, and the punishment is insignificant.
The only real solution is to kill the value equation. If you have a clean car, no packages or bags of any kind visible, and no valuables hidden in the glove compartment or console, the value of breaking in is reduced or eliminated. If you consistently do that for the entire parking lot or neighborhood, thieves go elsewhere.
PPA and NANPA have good coverage. There are rules and caveats, but the policies are designed for professionals and repeat claims are possible without cancellation or increases. The cost is higher - about double the cost of retail policies attached to your homeowners insurance. And these policies have deductibles and conservative valuation. The best solution is prevention.
You can toy with the idea of excluding low value items - filters, bags, less used items, etc. But these items do add up and don't cost much to insure. You can also look at whether you have a policy that provides replacement with like new items or replacement at current valuation (usually in cash). Take that into account when considering the cost of insurance. If you paid $2500 for a lens ten years ago, it is probably only worth $500-700 today (and you can easily buy a replacement for that amount). Do you want to pay $64 per year for professional coverage on the original purchase price, $32 per year for consumer use at original value, $14 per year based on the current value for professional use, or $7 per year for a consumer policy on current value? The assumption for most of us is you will not make any claims over a 10 year period and the equation is different if you have regular losses.
In our area teams of people go through neighborhoods and retail areas to find targets. They use a flashlight to look into the car for anything indicating value. It can be as little as spare change. It only takes a minute or two to break into a car and steal whatever has value. They hit as many as 10-12 cars in an hour. Targets with value include anything that looks like a purse or computer bag, bags any type from suitcases to duffle bags, bags from retail stores - especially if goods are valuable and can be returned for cash or credit, etc. Once in the car, thieves look for the high value items - a gun in the glove compartment or under a seat, and a spare key in the glove compartment or console. While in the glove compartment, they normally look for emergency cash. All this is done in less than two minutes so a car alarm or security lights don't prevent the act.
If they are caught, the crime is a misdemeanor and does not result in jail time unless a gun is involved. Many of the actual thieves are juveniles so the courts don't bother to prosecute them. Nobody looks for thieves to try to find the crooks - it's too much trouble, it's just property, and the punishment is insignificant.
The only real solution is to kill the value equation. If you have a clean car, no packages or bags of any kind visible, and no valuables hidden in the glove compartment or console, the value of breaking in is reduced or eliminated. If you consistently do that for the entire parking lot or neighborhood, thieves go elsewhere.
PPA and NANPA have good coverage. There are rules and caveats, but the policies are designed for professionals and repeat claims are possible without cancellation or increases. The cost is higher - about double the cost of retail policies attached to your homeowners insurance. And these policies have deductibles and conservative valuation. The best solution is prevention.
You can toy with the idea of excluding low value items - filters, bags, less used items, etc. But these items do add up and don't cost much to insure. You can also look at whether you have a policy that provides replacement with like new items or replacement at current valuation (usually in cash). Take that into account when considering the cost of insurance. If you paid $2500 for a lens ten years ago, it is probably only worth $500-700 today (and you can easily buy a replacement for that amount). Do you want to pay $64 per year for professional coverage on the original purchase price, $32 per year for consumer use at original value, $14 per year based on the current value for professional use, or $7 per year for a consumer policy on current value? The assumption for most of us is you will not make any claims over a 10 year period and the equation is different if you have regular losses.
I’ve always used bespoke photography insurance except this year. When renewal came, I did the usual market check, found my home insurers on the list, checked my contents and they specifically added photography gear! I phoned them to check, recorded the conversation, and I’m covered! No additional premium. probably close to £40k … and it covers £25k out on trips too.
When I insured my camera gear with USAA, I was given the option for full replacement coverage at the value I listed for any reason, or for an option like you mentioned that depreciates value over time. Obviously the former option costs more.