Holiday insurance with Photoguard

[TheNissanMan]

Hoping someone can help as I am struggling with some t's & c's, my PLi is coming up for renewal and am also going on a two week holiday in July to Egypt so am looking at combining the insurances together with Photoguard unless someone can give me a better alternative...

The query I have is to do with the travel insurance element, as the terms and conditions don't come across as the clearest. If I left my camera bag in my hotel room and locked and it were stolen, is this generally covered?

My other query is how would they generally value a product? I have a 7d mk1 and 100-400 mk1, both of which have now been superceeded, would they value on avg used price? In terms of proof of ownership I no longer have the receipts as have had the equipment for a good while, would a photo of each item suffice as proof of ownership?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Anubis]

Most travel insurance policies won't be adequate for that sort of equipment; it will be covered under the valuables section, which will usually state a single item limit, and will usually call a camera body and lens a single item. Some insurers will cover kit left in a locked room, but many won't, insisting that valuables must be placed in a safe or with the hotel. Also, make sure you know what action the insurer requires you to take in the event of theft - lots of people get caught out because they report the theft to a tour operator's rep rather than the police, or the police report just lists 'camera' rather than the detail.

If you have any other cover, such as household insurance or a specialist policy that covers your photographic kit, and you make a claim on your travel policy, you are obliged to mention the other cover - whichever insurer pays will ask for a contribution from the other(s).

I'd say you'd be better off with a travel policy where you can choose the cover, so not bother with luggage, for example, if it's already covered under your home contents policy, and cover the camera separately.

Most insurers will use an industry standard database for value. I would recommend asking a potential insurer what they require as proof of ownership before parting with the premium; I don't know of any that would accept a photo - maybe several, with any identifying marks, serial numbers etc.

My own experiences of Egypt (most recently Luxor, steamship Sudan and Aswan) was that security is tight at hotels (the Old Cataract in Aswan has armed guards), and jobs valued enough to deter petty staff theft. I do not know what the situation is like in the fleshpots of Sharm El Sheikh and other resorts, but I imagine that the security situation has led to most places being fairly tightly locked down.