Insurance Question

Keith W

Keith W

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I am looking at getting insurance for my equipment and was looking for recommendations from TP members as to who is the best to go with insurance wise.

The insurance I am after is for an armature/hobbyist

Also are there any companies I should avoid like the plague?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Take care, Keith
 
Hi Keith,
Is your insurance for business or hobbyist? It makes a huge difference to the answer.

Regards
Pete
 
Hi Pete,

Sorry I should have mentioned, definitely armature/hobbyist

Take care, Keith
 
Until you make a claim you can't really tell who is any good, but myself and I know quite a few others on here use photoguard
 
Hi Heith,
Thanks for the clarification. Personally, I have NOT gone for specialist photographic equipment insurance because I think I have found a better option.
After much research I decided that the best cover I could find was via the house contents policy sold by Hiscox insurance. The terms of their policy are particularly good, for example :

1. No requirement to individually identify "valuable" items;
2. No specific security requirements
3. Posessions covered outside the home for up to 30 days at a time, anywhere in the world.

I recently went on a photo trip and phoned Hiscox for clarification of the cover I would have for my camera gear. They confirmed that it was covered whilst stored in the car (and they weren't bothered that it was a car which only had a cloth cover to the boot), whilst being carried by me and best of all whilst left unattended in my hotel room.

Their customer service is always knowledgeable and polite (and UK based), and you quickly get to talk to a human when you call them too.

I have no experience of claims, but I understand they are prompt at paying out, with the minimum of fuss.

I have no affiliation with Hiscox other than being a happy customer.

If you should ever consider E&L, I would advise researching the internet for information on their willingness to pay out claims.
 
Same as bigbigblue - i talked to my house insurance company (Abbey) and have all my kit added to the contents policy as part of a personal items policy- All my kit is covered for accidental damage , loss etc etc at home and also away from home (New for Old) and it was only a few ££'s extra - upgrading the policy not only covers my camera gear but also all personal stuff - bikes - ipods , phones, fishing gear etc etc. I had a claim last year on a sigma 105mm lens that was damaged and it was replaced within 48 hours.
 
Hi Pete,

Who are E&L?

I had a quick peek at the Hiscox insurance and to be honest it is a bit over kill for me

Take care, Keith
 
Hi Paul,

Thanks for the extra info.

My wife handles all the house type stuff like contents insurance so will check with her to see what is covered etc.

Take care, Keith
 
Thanks for the link Bob

Seems that E&L should be avoided like the plague
 
Canon Bob said:
Might be an idea to read through this thread before making a commitment
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=41983

Bob
Click to expand...

Just had a read through that thread Bob, interesting stuff. A friend had insured her horse with E & L. Sadly the horse died just before Christmas (She had had her since she was a child) but E & L are now refusing to pay out. Don't know the exact details, but given their reputation, I am suspicious. :suspect: Needless to say she is distraught as she now has no money to buy another horse. :(
 
Hi Keith just to add to your list. I took out household insurance with Virgin about 4 years back and have been with them ever since. I phoned them a couple of years back to notifiy them of extra stuff like camera LCD Tv etc, and said do I need seperate cover. No they said it would all be included. I have recently made a claim for my 70-200 F4L which whent for a swim. They asked how it happened, within a week they had sent me a cheque, they did not want to see the item or return the lens to them. all in all I had no complaints.
 
Putting it on your house insurance is fine and dandy until you make a claim, if you don't have no claims protection up goes your insurance for the next 3-5 years
I suppose another factor is the value of the kit, it actually worked out very little difference for me to go with photoguard compared to getting the equivalent cover put on my house insurance.
 
If your amature and your kit isnt high value it could be worth going without insurance and putting your money into a savings account instead. If anything happens you've got money to get it replaced and you get to keep all your cash.

I do this not just with my electricals but also my pet insurance :)
 
Just read all this in horror having just taken out an E&L policy less than a week ago. Phoned up to check I was covered properly for theft from an unattended vehicle with factory fitted shelf (Mini Cooper), and they confirmed I would not be. :rules:

Needless to say, cancelled there and then. Luckily within the 14 day cooling off period, so no charge.:)

Had a good look at Hiscox and their cover looks far better than my current contents, and as another poster has said, they are not awash with exclusions! Having said that, there is a £2,500 limit on theft from an unattended vehicle, so I guess I'll keep lugging some of the kit around with me anyway.

I've taken out a new contents policy with them instead to cover ALL my contents, not just the camera stuff and surprisingly, it's only costing around 40% more to cover literally everything I own, when compared to the E&L Camera only insurance.

Now to cancel the other contents policy...
 
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