209 replies to this topic

[echeng]

That's a good deal. I just insured $33K worth of gear through DEPP for $1,330 or so (with $16,850 of it insured against flood). That's roughly 4%.

We need cheaper alternatives on the Canon front!

[Craig Ruaux]

And for those who are keeping score (this thread has been quiet for a while), I just insured $10.5K worth of gear through DAN (ie H20INSURANCE.COM), all with flood coverage, for $312.00/yr. This includes some lenses that don't go underwater (70-200 AFS, for instance), as they are expensive enough I wanted separate coverage from my homeowner's policy.


Sleeping @ night... priceless

[Notorious]

Just to add to this thread:
Got my kit insured with DEPP $4800 worth for $230. All pretty painless. Their webshite looks exactly that and their credit card payment system is not secure (use the phone......also not secure I know....anyway).
But their service and comunication was top.
All good, i supose the real test is when I make a claim though!
Cheers

[justin-branam]

We need cheaper alternatives on the Canon front!

Well i just took out a sub-policy on my homeowners insurance. My gear is now covered anywhere in the world, for anything that can happen to it. if i drop it, if i throw it in the ocean, stolen, confiscated, etc.

I insured just over $12K in gear, and it was less than $200! Of course, they dont give retail prices for the stuff, they will either find you a replacement item, or give you the cash that it would cost to purchase one (my choice). and fyi, i have USAA insurance.

[Ambress]

Adding my own two cents, I've had my photo gear and select dive gear (dive computers, reg consoles for a while) insured under a Personal Articles Policy with State Farm for at least 12 years now. I pursued the insurance parallel to when I first took a Minolta Maxxum 9xi diving in an EWA housing; good thing too, as the first dive was the first flooding and a total loss. All equipment was replaced without a hitch. Subsequent years found an SB-102 flooding and two floodings of a Nikonos V, one a total loss. In all cases, State Farm covered my costs. With the purchase of a new housed system recently, I've now revamped my coverage from a $13,200 total to about $18,000. I've yet to learn the new premium, but proect it to be around $230/yr. based upon the $177 premium on $13,200. That's far better than the prices I've seen quoted by DEPP, Nikonians, or DAN, not to mention what Eric and others have quoted here. I wonder if one of the big differences is that my gear is insured as a non-professional photographer and thus presumably one of lower risk due to less frequent use of the equipment? I know State Farm told me that rates were higher for professionals, but I never asked how much since that didn't apply to me. At present, this is my only policy with State Farm, so there's no multi-line discount. I think it's a good deal considering that accidental damage, theft, and all other types of loss are covered.

Regards,

Daryl

[meister]

I just got on-line quote about identical to Craig's aforementioned DAN rate. $10,600 worth of gear for $319. I don't want to spend $319, but I might go ahead and purchase the DAN policy as I don't want to find out what might happen to my current inexpensive home owner policy premium if I file dive equipment claim.

[Scuba_SI]

At last!!!
Nikonians launched today its NikSecure Info Portal

From the portal:
Main Features and Benefits
Apply and manage your insurance online. Easily modify insurance coverage online.
Fast and hassle-free claim processing online.
Low premium: Insure equipment worth $5,000 USD for only $150 USD per year.
Cover up to a maximum of $20,000 USD worth of equipment.
Covers both amateur and professional use.
Covers all camera equipment and photography accessories.
Worldwide coverage and your location does not matter.
"All risk" coverage including breakage.
Covers breakage, damage, theft and loss.
Covers accidental damage.
Covers damages due to rain, water, moisture, snow, sand, storms, lightning, explosions and "Act of God".
Covers damage, breakage or theft on camping grounds and in tents.
No deductible except on theft ($250 USD).
"New for old" within the first 12 months of purchase of new equipment. Compensation after 12 months based upon actual cash value.
Insurance available both in US Dollars (USD) and in Euro (EUR).

Annual Premiums
$0 - $5,000 USD insured equipment value for $150 USD flat (3%)
$5,001 - $7,500 USD insured equipment value for $190 USD flat (2.53%)
$7,501 - $10,000 USD insured equipment value for $225 USD flat (2.25%)
$10,001 - $20,000 USD insured equipment value for $400 USD flat (2%)

Its not writing there but in discussion its was mention that damage that done while diving is covered including housing, strobes and any other necessary equipment needed to u/w photograph.

Update from the FAQ:
If I dive with my camera is it covered?
If you are using a underwater housing that was not defect at the time of starting the dive, yes.

Hi all,

Has anyone actually claimed off the Nikonians Insurance yet? My Divemaster insurance in teh UK is costing a fortune, and only covers me upto i think a month out of the UK per year, if i want coverage for over that i have to pay and extra 50%!

I'm thinking of heading over to Nikonians, but wanted to make sure that weren't being shitty when it came to claiming.

Cheers,

Simon

[sgietler]

I noticed this on the nikonian's insurance policy:

-------

How is the "actual cash value" calculated in case of claim?

Lost or damaged equipment will be valued at the full cost of repair or replace on the date of loss or damage with material of like kind and quality, less allowance for physical deterioration, depreciation, obsolescence and depletion in the country of residence.
-------
I wonder how much they lower the cash value from what you paid... does DAN and DEPP have clauses like this?

scott

[scubamarli]

DEPP has no such clause. This appears similar to my old tenants insurance; I had to list and pay extra coverage for replacement value insurance, or deal with depreciated value. In this day of planned, short term obsolescence, that could be quite useless coverage. Regardless, you do need to keep your coverage up to date in terms of value. For example, if the cost of your strobe arms has gone up, and you haven't changed the value on your policy, then you may have to pay the difference between the value you have covered and the actual cost to replace them.

Cheers,
Marli

[Giles]

I just had to sign up for DEPP .. $10k for $150

when the hell did i ever have 10k to spend on stuff !

didnt bother with flooding ... i didnt think it was a bad deal.

When I get back i think i will research home owners instead .. see what i can get .. but its apain down here .. cayman insurance is expensive since Hurricane Ivan (everything comes with flood insurance!)

and not many US companies will take you on .. happy with the quick work from DEPP so far though !

[tx51210]

I wonder if DEPP is still in business. They have not returned email or phone calls and all I get when I call is voicemail.

Edited by tx51210, 30 April 2007 - 05:39 PM.

[scubamarli]

This comes up every now and again, and just seems to a slow responses to messages. Given that they insure all of Fantasea Line's housings, it seems unlikely they've disappered overnight. They don't have hundreds of staff, and can be slow to reply after a weekend (when most claims are likely to arise). I have sent you a PM with contact info that may be different than what you have, so hopefully that will get you a response. Please let us know so we're not all wondering.
Cheers,
Marli

[tx51210]

This comes up every now and again, and just seems to a slow responses to messages. Given that they insure all of Fantasea Line's housings, it seems unlikely they've disappered overnight. They don't have hundreds of staff, and can be slow to reply after a weekend (when most claims are likely to arise). I have sent you a PM with contact info that may be different than what you have, so hopefully that will get you a response. Please let us know so we're not all wondering.
Cheers,
Marli

Thanks for the contact information. I received a brief reply from Sandy telling me to fax the completed enrollment forms but she did not answer my questions about the form I already sent and I find it really disturbing to deal with a company where I cannot talk to anyone on the phone or get questions answered. I really hate the idea of filling out all that information again, but I think I need to go with a different insurance company.

[kramer92911]

I just updated my insurance list for my camera gear policy through our home insurance provider. For the purpose of loss do most of you include all bits and pieces in the policy such as strobe arms and synch cords, etc??

Thanks,
Jamie

[hoovermd]

I just updated my insurance list for my camera gear policy through our home insurance provider. For the purpose of loss do most of you include all bits and pieces in the policy such as strobe arms and synch cords, etc??

Thanks,
Jamie

i had an interesting conversation w/ my insurance provider and they indicated that once equip was take out of the US there was no coverage...
Anyone else heard of such an exclusion??

Edited by hoovermd, 13 May 2007 - 07:39 PM.

[sjbowler]

My equipment is insured by State Farm insurance and I sell State Farm insurance. This policy covers my equipment anywhere in the world.

[drsteve]

I am in the process of making a claim against my insurance and I thought I would point out a drawback of homeowners insurance riders that is not usually mentioned. I have a personal property protection rider on my policy that covers $12k of camera gear. It only costs $191/year. The gear is insured against all peril including floods and the policy has no deductible. The drawback is that I am currently enjoying a 15% discount on my other polices because I haven't made a claim in over 5 years. As soon as they pay out my claim, the discount will go away. If you add up the total cost of losing this discount for 5 years it comes to $750, so in some sense there is a hidden deductible.

It is still worth it since the claim is going to be around $4k and if I have any other claims in the next 5 years the "deductible" will have already been paid.

Edited by drsteve, 14 June 2007 - 02:01 PM.

[Jay-11]

I have been with DEPP for a few years now, however, my renewal is coming up and I was wanting to make some changes to my items. Over the last two weeks I have left a few phone messages and a couple of e-mail messages and have not received any type of response from them. And from this thread it looks like others have had the same type of response from them. I would like to have stayed with them as I had a claim 2 years ago with a flooded strobe on a liveaboard trip and they did not enforce the 5 day rule and had me send a picture of the strobe to them and handled the claim very quickly. So I guess I will check with DAN and with State Farm about coverage for my camera equipment.

[alpine]

This comes up every now and again, and just seems to a slow responses to messages. Given that they insure all of Fantasea Line's housings, it seems unlikely they've disappered overnight. They don't have hundreds of staff, and can be slow to reply after a weekend (when most claims are likely to arise). I have sent you a PM with contact info that may be different than what you have, so hopefully that will get you a response. Please let us know so we're not all wondering.
Cheers,
Marli

Hi Marli,

Would you please send me that contact info as well? I started a claim nearly a month ago (Dixie actually answered the phone!), but now I get no response to either emails or phone calls.

Thanks!
Cheryl

[scubamarli]

Done. Looks like you've had some success but through business contacts, which is totally unacceptable. If you look at the website the company that owns DEPP, AWRY (interesting as it appears something is ), brags about service, and turn around times. I've had pretty good communication, but find this latest string of unresponsiveness very unprofessional. I hope they get it cleaned up soon, as it will surely affect business, and they are a needed player in the insurance game.
Cheers,
Marli