articles/Insurance/aquestionofinsurance-page3

A question of insurance - part 3 of 1 2 3 4 5 6

Published 01/11/2008

There are important things to think about when covering equipment, for example making sure you insure ALL of it. All insurers operate a system called 'averaging'. This means that if you have a total loss claim and you have not insured all your equipment, then you will only get a proportion of the value back. For example, if you have £10,000 worth of equipment and only insure half of it - say £5,000 then under the averaging clause you should not expect to receive more than half of your claim back - £2,500. This is something that is not unique in just the photographic market so look out for it. If you have equipment that you don't want to insure as you don't use it and you feel it has no value then try to get rid of it - maybe on eBay. If you are keeping it as a back-up then you should be insuring it just in case.

Another way to ensure you don't fall foul of the 'averaging' clause is to list every item you insure. This means if you have a total loss, then the items on the list will be paid for at the values you have specified. The downside to this is if you have bought a new piece of equipment and not yet notified insurers of it, it will probably not be covered. When you insure your equipment, make sure you list any item over £1,000 with the insurance company. It is wise to let them know the make, model, serial number and replacement cost from the beginning then there should be no quibbling over value. In some cases, if you are going to be abroad for a while, and not replacing equipment, it is probably worth giving them a complete list. That way, if anything happens whilst you're abroad, they have all the details to hand.

All insurers who provide cover for professional photographers should offer new-for-old cover. After all, the equipment is important to you and, should the worst happen, then you will want replacement equipment. This is no good if you are insured on a second-hand basis! Always make sure you insure your equipment to replace, as new, should the worst happen - and make sure the insurers are quoting on a new-for-old basis - if not, walk away! After all, it is lovely to have a Canon 5D that you paid £500 for but it would cost you around triple that to replace and insurers aren't going to hunt around for a second-hand one at the value you paid so you could end up losing out!

A large number of photographers tend to try to add their equipment onto a household policy. It is really important that you realise that, should you do this and you have a claim, this will affect your contents' cover renewal and you need to ensure that the insurer knows exactly what is being covered, values of equipment and the fact you are using it professionally. Don't just take a customer service adviser's 'yes' over the phone - if it isn't a specific photographic insurer, get it in writing! It is also important to get answers to the right questions - are they covering you in unattended vehicles? What about late into the evening?

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