Our camera is gone.
Yep, gone. As in stolen. Obviously there are a million reasons why someone would steal a DSLR, I mean you can pawn it, get cash, or use it for yourself but honest to God, I never thought it would happen to us.
And while the new one is on its way (can't stop the hustle), this made me wonder...what do we do to protect ourselves if this was to happen again?
The fact is, as much as we cherish the equipment we spend so much money on, there are some situations that we can't control There are people in this world who don't care about how hard you've worked for what you have and they rather take it for themselves. Or there may be a time we are just that careless enough to leave our cameras, phones, and laptops where ever we may be.
So...what is there to do?
Well after doing some research because I'll be damned if this shit happens AGAIN, I've found that there are companies who insure your cameras, laptops, and other pieces of equipment.
First and foremost, if you're a renter or homeowner than you are quite familiar with renter's and home owner's insurance. Some, if not most of these plans, covered your items if they are stolen from the household. Where the annoying part comes in is just like with a car, you still have to pay a deductible, in most cases $500.
For us, this didn't make sense because we were able to get everything (camera, extra lens, carrying case, software, etc) for $500, so we technically wouldn't be getting any help. If you have equipment that cost way more than $500 ($10,000+) then taking advantage of your renter's insurance isn't such a bad thing.
Now if you so happen to not use any renter's or homeowner's insurance, there are many companies who provide insurance coverage specifically to those creatives such as:
Hill & Usher-Cameras
Student Insurance Partners-Laptops & Phones
TCP-Cameras
Worth Ave Group-Laptops & Cameras
Insureon-Cameras
Square Trade-Both Cameras & Laptops
Hiscox-Cameras
Safeware-Laptops
And apparently, even Nikon & Cannon have been known to lend out equipment in the case of your property being lost or stolen if you have a big project to finish up.
With the above insurance companies, however, just make sure you check the deductible amount. Some have deductibles as low as $250 and some have deductibles as high as $1000.
Some things we all can do so that we never have to use the insurance we buy to protects ourselves is:
Never leave your equipment in your car
Invest in a lock for your carrying cases/bags
Never let anyone borrow it, if they need to use it rent it out or make sure you are present when it is being used
Put away equipment when company comes over, doesn't matter who they are.
I hope these tips has helped someone so they don't end up in the same situation as us.
And be sure to stay tuned, because we'll be talking on Blogger Insurance next time...yep it's a thing.
Drop a comment below and sound off!
