Picture this scenario: you’ve gone on a rooftop several floors up to take a picture of the sunset against the city for your portfolio. After you’ve set up and taken some shots, you’ll want to see how they look. As you scroll through the pictures, you suddenly lose your grip and before you know it, your camera is gone.
Losing that picture, along with several other stored professional photographs, is bad enough. But perhaps what’s more painful is thinking about how you’re going to replace that expensive camera, especially when it’s your office.
Therefore, camera insurance is something you should consider if you have a business that uses cameras and related equipment, whether it’s a photography, videography, or entertainment-related business.
What Is Camera Insurance?
Camera insurance is a type of insurance policy that indemnifies a camera owner in case of loss and accidental or mechanical destruction of the camera and related gear. You can take insurance to cover various kinds of cameras, including DSLRs, action cameras, and even camcorders. See more information about camera insurance.
Why Is Insuring Your Camera Important?
The cost of cameras and related equipment can easily run up to tens of thousands of dollars. The risks of owning such equipment and the potential inconveniences of these risks are pretty significant. So, if you run a photography or related entertainment business, losing your equipment can set you back really far.
That’s where camera insurance comes in. When you purchase your camera gear, make sure you also budget for insurance to protect it. The manufacturer will, of course, cover any repairs or replacements due to manufacturing issues when your camera equipment is still new.
But they will not compensate you if your camera gets lost or breaks accidentally. In any case, a manufacturer’s warranty only lasts for a short while.
Taking insurance for your camera is extra important because:
1. It Gives You Peace Of Mind When You’re On The Job
The risk of your camera being stolen or damaged when you’re out for work is pretty high. Anything can happen even if you’re extra careful. This is especially the case if you have employees since you cannot monitor everything.
With camera insurance, you’ll have the peace of mind you need to focus on your job.
2. It Saves You From Unexpected Expenses
Professional photography equipment is expensive and insurance helps to cushion you and your business from such costs.
3. It Makes Sure You’re Never Out Of Work
If something terrible happens to your gear you can take up to several weeks or even months (depending on the loss) to get your business back on its feet. However, with insurance, you’ll be covered against such risks. Depending on the company, it may take you just a few days to replace your gear, and you’re back to work.
Insurance For Your Camera: What’s Covered & What’s Not?
Before buying camera insurance, you need to find out what your package will typically cover. Usually, this will be determined by the provider and the amount insured. All the same, it helps to know what you should look for in the market.
That said, here is a roundup of some of the issues that your insurance may cover:
Accidental Damage
It happens when your camera suffers damage after an accident. For example, if you accidentally drop your camera in a pool and it sustains water damage.
Travel
Travel camera insurance means that your camera is insured when you travel with it to another country. The cover is often for specific days per trip or a specific number of trips yearly.
Mechanical Malfunctions
Your insurance will cover any costs involved in repairing your gadget in case a mechanical breakdown happens. Some issues that fall under this bracket include a defective capture button, shutter error, or battery problems.
Theft
Insurance against theft means your insurance provider will be responsible for replacing your gear if it were to get stolen. Note, there are bound to be some exemptions, for example, if your camera is stolen due to negligence.
Loss
This cover will compensate you if you were to lose your camera while outside your house, including through theft. But keep in mind that the insurer will expect you to take the necessary precautions to avoid loss.
What Your Insurance Will Not Cover
When you buy insurance for your camera, there are a couple of things that will probably not be covered. Some of these include:
Wear & Tear
With time, your camera will undoubtedly get older, and some features may not work as well as they used to. Insurance providers don’t usually cover these problems.
Old Cameras
Your insurance provider will probably not accept to cover you if your device is older than a year. However, some insurers go up to 3 years.
Second-Hand Cameras
An insurer will only insure your camera if you’re its first owner. You need to have bought your device directly from an accredited store or manufacturer.
Cosmetic Damage
These are defects in your camera that do not really affect its functionality. They include scratches, dents on the surface, and so forth.
Cameras Used For Commercial Use
You need to get business insurance or any other necessary special insurance if you use your device for work.
Tips For Picking The Right Insurance For Your Camera
With so many providers in the market, how do you find the best insurance for your camera? Just like other kinds of insurance covers, the providers will vary greatly. Here are a couple of things you should consider:
- Determine how much your photography gear is worth.
- Be sure to find out precisely what your coverage offers.
- Understand all the details in the fine print, e.g., how long will you wait for the payout? Is the cost of the deductible against the total for the premium reasonable?
Don’t Risk It: Insure It
A career in the photography business can be quite fulfilling, but also expensive when you consider how much camera equipment costs. And, since these jobs involve a lot of travel and social interactions, you’re bound to find yourself in situations where you expose your gear to certain risks.
But with camera insurance, you won’t have to lose what you’ve worked so hard to build.
