Camera Equipment Duffle Bag
Hi, my name is Maurizio and I’m the marketing director of Insurious.
I have joined the team recently and I love to tell a story that is symbolic of what Insurious can do for you as it does for me.
CANON DSLR
When my wife and I purchased our first DSLR shortly before our first child was due to arrive in the winter of 2010, I knew that I would someday want to learn more about photography. With a newborn to feed, change, and love, however, it was some time before that someday came.
Eventually, though, I found the time to teach myself how to use my fancy new camera. At first, I wasn’t very good. Over time and with LOTS of practice, I got better. As the years went by I purchase more and more equipment till I had two duffel bags full of it. My wife and I became passionate about taking staged pictures for every holiday so we had backdrops, stands, lighting and, some tripods added to our equipment. The cost of our equipment rose well above $5000 very quickly.
South Miami Beach – South Point
One day we decided to go to the beach for one of our family photoshoots for an early spring adventure and brought all our equipment with us . It was a very busy day and we were surrounded by people so we decided to go back to the car and just take my camera with me while leaving all the rest of the equipment in the trunk of my car. I soon find out that was a horrible idea. After few hours I arrived back at my car to find the truck pried open and my camera equipment bags missing.
Car Trunk Burglar
While my wife and I were very happy we had kept the memory cards with all our pictures with us, we were devastated by losing all our equipment at once. So I took out my phone and start calling my broker to report the claim under the homeowner’s policy that I had purchased. An adjuster was assigned but after few days our claim was denied because our equipment was not stolen at our property address. I consequentially called my car insurance but they told me that my policy did not cover theft of personal items that are left in my car. That was the moment of realization that I was at a complete loss.
This was a difficult, pricey lesson that was better learned before there was a loss. My experience tells me that many photographers assume they are covered by their homeowners’ policy when in fact they are not. I eventually bought my equipment back and start looking for a policy that would cover my newly purchased equipment. To my surprise, it was not that easy to find one. Most companies offer coverage solutions only on location like my property’s insurance policy or offer insurance only to professionals. I later find out the only type of insurance that would cover almost everything anywhere I would go is an Inland Marine policy.
The name “inland marine” was a bit confusing as I thought it was only for mariners of some kind, but instead, it is just the type of insurance that covers your equipment wherever your pieces of equipment go. It is not tied up with any particular location and can be provided to regular people just like me that not necessarily professional photographers.
Later in life, I had two more wonderful children and to this day I enjoy taking pictures with my whole family during the holidays. Amazingly enough, I have joined the team of a company that provides such insurance services to hobbyist photographers such as myself.
Halloween Photography
Because of my life experience I recommend everybody to check their policy and make sure the coverage is appropriate.
At Insurious, we have created an online insurance solution just for any photographer. You can customize your coverage to your preferences and ask as many questions to an operator via our live chat.
Get a free quote in seven-minute or less:
Camera Equipment Insurance
Article by
Maurizio Festa
Marketing Director – Insurious
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