209 replies to this topic

[Craig Ruaux]

I didn't insure my housing for flood - is that stupid?

Stupid is such a harsh word Rob :wink:

A flooded housing will often require more extensive repair than just a good flush with fresh water.

<speaking from experience voice>
When a housing floods, particularly if it has a bulkhead connector in the base of the housing (like, say, the Ikelite MD housing), water can be pushed in to the bulkhead, through the connector, up the cable and in to the strobe. It is not unusual to need to replace the housing's wiring harness after a flood, and the internal o-rings will need to be pulled, cleaned and replaced.
</speaking from experience voice>

This obviously will cost you... how much depends on who does it. The costs of getting your once flooded housing back to Ike's Illinois mothership will probably be significant, and the repair itself (on a flooded MD, a couple of years ago) was >$200 US.

My F100 housing is insured against flood, my pt-10 isn't. If the F100 housing floods, it is getting repaired. If the pt-10 floods, it goes in the junk.

Just my 2c, but if I were you, I'd be covering the housing against flood damage.

[echeng]

I just signed up with DEPP, $199 for premium on just over $4000 of gear.

I didn't insure my housing for flood - is that stupid?  I'm just planning on giving it a good wash in frehwater if it does.  False economy or is this what others are doing also?

I also didn't cover the strobe - figuring that it (a ds-50) is not likely to have a catastrophic flood.

I insured my housing and strobes to insure against catastrophic loss (boat sinks, dive crew drops it overboard, shark takes it from me, etc.). DEPP still insures against loss of gear while in your posession, but DAN does not. (thanks, James -- it was a typo)

[james]

DAN does not. Looks like a typo.

Cheers
James

[whitey]

Well, I've insured my housing, but just not for flood. Craig R has got me scared now! I just looked at the housing before insuring, and it looked pretty low-tech - one wire from the hotshoe to the strobe bulkhead. 'How hard can that be to replace' I thought...so I unchecked the 'flood insurance' box...

Now I'm assuming at this stage that insuring the housing as I've done will cover most of Eric's scenarios, just not the salty-water-in-housing scenario. But I haven't read the fine print yet, so don't quote me on this!

Also occured to me that Ikelite might cover the housing repair under warranty if it flooded, unless it was obvious user error. I'm not banking on this, though.

My strategy was not to insure every last thing (I'll likely dive with some lenses that aren't insured, which I only use occasionally). After all, I have been diving with my gear in an uninsured plastic bag up to now (I just assumed DEPP would laugh at me if I tried to claim after a EWA-MArine flood, but maybe I could have insured it all!).

This thread is a great resource, BTW. I spent 10 minutes reading it last night, digested all your opinions, and felt I had enough information to make a decision without further research. So thanks everyone!

[mrmishkin]

I just received this from DEPP after inquiring about the necessity of insuring gear and thought I would pass it along.

Hello,

We did require one BCD, one Regulator and one other dive item be listed. That is no longer necessary as that restriction was lifted 3 weeks ago. Camera gear only is now eligible.

Regards,

Customer Service

[Rocha]

So what's the verdict guys, DAN or DEPP? Has anything changed since september of last year? I am buying for insurance for my new system now.

Thanks for any info,

Luiz

[acroporas]

You have no choice Luiz. Dan will not sell you insurence to peopleoutside of the US. So your only choice is DEPP.

[Rocha]

I still have a billing address in the States, and will be moving to Hawaii in a few months.

[acroporas]

http://wetpixel.com/...wtopic=7757&hl=

Here's my insurence story with DAN. In case you dont want to read it.

I had a replacement camera with money left over 7 days after my flood.


Compaired to this recent description of a DEPP claim. Took 4 weeks to get replacement camera.
http://wetpixel.com/...wtopic=8272&hl=

[Telar]

I'm not sure why there is so much more discussion about this "specialty" kind of insurance rather than just extending the coverage of homeowners. It's cheaper and there are no hokey exclusions, at least with my carrier. The only issue my agent pointed out was that claims can affect rates. (More on that later on.)

I recently spoke to my homeowners insurance agent regarding "scheduling", ie listing specific items to be covered. This process provides a very differant insurance coverage from normal homeowners coverage.

Normally my house and its contents are protected from "named perils", fire, theft, windstorm, etc. to the extent the loss exceeds my deductible. Scheduled items are specified (XYZ Camera, serial number xxxx) and are covered for all perils with no deductible . Swept overboard, stolen, lost, flooded, eaten by a shark, you name it, it is covered.

As to cost, for me it is about 7/10ths of 1 percent of the value of the covered item, or $7 US per 1,000. I checked the specialty carriers and they were closer to 10%! Just like special cancer insurance and mortgage insurance policies, they are signifigantly overpriced and prey on people's ignorance. Sorry if I've stepped on toes, but that is the truth.

Claims can affect the rates of my overall homeowners insurance. For me that is unlikely to happen or, if so, will be a minor issue. If you have few claims over time and your credit score is good you are pretty safe from big increases.

Going with the specialty carriers may not protect you from rate increases on your homeowners. Just like health insurance, these companies share information. Just because you don't submit a claim to your homeowners company doesn't mean they don't know about it eventually. And they treat a claim with another carrier the same as a claim with them when figuring your rating.

Don't know yet if reimbursement is based on depreciated value or replacement value. Either way, this seems like a better way to go.

[echeng]

re: extending coverage of homeowners

I'd like to see you claim two housings floods on your HOA insurance. they'll drop you, and you'll be screwed.

that's why we use dedicated insurance; it minimizes risk that you'll have your home insurance canned.

[scubamarli]

Many homeowner's policies will not cover water "ingess". Others will not cover you if you make even 1 cent / year from your photos. Baggage insurance does not cover cameras or sporting equipment. So, I'm glad there are companies like DEPP and DAN around.
Cheers,
Marli

[bmyates]

re: extending coverage of homeowners

Another issue when having camera gear covered under homeowners insurance is that the coverage isn't necessarily based on cost, but on REPLACEMENT value for identical equipment. Someone knocked my Coolpix 5000 off the camera table of a liveaboard last year, and when I went to make a claim, my State Farm agent said they'd only pay about $300 (it originally cost me close to $1,000) because that was the going price of a new CP5000 on eBay. He then said he wouldn't suggest that I even make the claim because if I had a "big" (i.e., more expensive involving housing, etc.) claim within a year or two, they could drop my coverage or drastically hike my rates. So I ended up just eating the loss.

So...yes, a homeowners rider is a cheaper way to go than DAN or DEPP, but not without its own drawbacks.

[moondaug]

My experience with DEPP has been great!

I got back from a Bahamas trip where my Canon S70 flooded due to a small crack in my housing. I mailed it to their authorized camera shop for inspection and within 2 weeks, DEPP bought me a brand new S70 and housing from ADORAMA and had it shipped to me. And I didn't have to fill out any form or do anything other than make a call to report it and ship it! :-D

Delays in response to other peoples claims may have to do with the backlog at the camera shop. That and the shipper (I sent it FedEx ground which took 2-3 days).

[Reefkeep]

Does Depp require a serial number, my housing is used and the serial number (the sticker) is rubbed off so I don't know it. I've tried to find the original owner with no success.

Why do they use stickers on a mettel housing? The part number is engraved but the serial number is a sticker...go figure...

Just so that you guys know; I called both H20 & Depp, neither answered the phone...

[Rocha]

I know that DAN only requires serial numbers of equipment that cost over 5k.

[expatdiver]

I just signed up with DEPP last week and gave them serial numbers for some things but not everything. They did not have a problem with it, and at least one of the items without a S/N is valued at $1,000.

As far as the calling them goes, I think it's just one lady (Sandy) that answers the phone, so you will have to try a few times. Also, they are in CA so 3 hours behind FL. When you do get through to her, she is very helpful.

[frogfish]

The URL for DEPP that Eric Cheng provided at the beginning of this thread..

(http://www.equipment...grams/depp.html)

..no longer works. Trying just "www.equipmentprotection.com" bounces to another website run by a company called Innovative Programs Group, Inc. There are several pages there devoted to DEPP, but this seems to be limited to an members of an affinity group known as "The Coral Reef".

The enrollment form on this website provides, among other things, that any claims be processed through "The Coral Reef" and that damaged equipment be sent to them for repair or replacement. There is a brochure about the policy on the website which lists the same no-longer working URL. To get a copy of the actual policy, you have to call a telephone number in the US (area code 760).

There are some other forms on the site for supplying personal information, all of which require a (US) state and zip code and apparently do not allow one to fill out the form from outside the US. (There is no country field option, and the state and zip codes fields are obligatory.)

Does anyone know what is happening to or at DEPP? The possibility that the company actually issuing the insurance may have disappeared, or that coverage may now be limited to US citizens or residents (who are also members of "The Coral Reef"?) is making me very nervous.

Frogfish

[pmooney]

As far as I understand it "DEPP" equipment insurance has only ever been available to persons based in the U.S. ( US resident )

Am I wrong - has a non US based person ever had a successful claim/ settlement ??

[Simon K.]

I didn't had a claim till know, but I'm insured with DEPP.

DAN are the folks that only insure US Residents

Simon