Follow up on 'death of a 600/F4'

[Astacus]

Previous thread. Warning, contains NSFW trauma images!

I have a personal/amateur insurance policy with eversure - have done for as long as I have been schlepping costly gear around the world.

Sequence: March 2nd, 2024. At Tapir Valley, Costa Rica (a must visit for bird photographers), my 600/F4, attached to an A1 and a 1.4 TC fell from the tripod mount and, to put it mildly, the lens broke! Short term solution: gruelling drive back to San Jose to buy a 200-600 - thanks to our amazing guide. Ended up with lots of great images.

Filed initial insurance claim from CR.

Got home, and claim was finalised, and passed to loss adjusters.
They in turn passed the issue to their specialists, who arranged collection of the lens bits, all packed in original packaging.

In a short while, they proclaimed the lens irreparable, and now, (May 3rd) I am going through the final stage of arranging for a brand new replacement lens to be delivered to me.

I cannot find ANYTHING to complain about with my treatment, with the efficiency of the process, or with the outcome.

Morals of this story:

1. Don't drop your expensive lenses!
2. The insurance policy absolutely paid for itself. My home insurance would not have looked at this!
3. I expect my premium will go up, but if it is a reaonable increase, I will stay with Eversure. They have done right by me, and deserve my continued business.

Nice to report a happy ending!

Rob

 

[Unframed Dave]

Thanks for the update, any contact details for eversure?

 

[Astacus]

https://www.eversure.com/camera should work

 

[Tim Mayo]

That's great news Robert and thanks for keeping us updated. It's always good to know which insurance companies pay out and which don't or make it very difficult.

 

[AlphaWorld]

That's great news Robert and thanks for keeping us updated. It's always good to know which insurance companies pay out and which don't or make it very difficult.

Agreed - good insurance companies are hard to find~

 

[Richard A]

Just wondering if the camera and lens became detached from the tripod or if the whole lot went over?

 

[Unframed Dave]

I've just covered my equipment. It was around 450 for uk and worldwide use for 30 days, public liability and legal expenses.

A major chunk of money, I suppose but something I've been meaning to sort for a while.

Took 20 minutes and had to specify all items over 2K, my drone and laptop.

 

[Astacus]

Good! About what I pay. Needless to say, I am so grateful! Been with them at least six years

 

[Astacus]

Just wondering if the camera and lens became detached from the tripod or if the whole lot went over?

The former….

 

[iamdlewis]

I've just covered my equipment. It was around 450 for uk and worldwide use for 30 days, public liability and legal expenses.

A major chunk of money, I suppose but something I've been meaning to sort for a while.

Took 20 minutes and had to specify all items over 2K, my drone and laptop.

I don't know what insurance companies are like in the UK or elsewhere so this might be just for the US folks.

I have through Travelers my A1, A7R4, 100-400 and 200-600 insured through a Personal Articles policy linked to my homeowners & auto and it is now running me $230 a year. I don't have a deductible/excess or a trip time limit restrictions. I have used this once with my 100-400 and I had no issues with Travelers, they didn't ask what happened or what was wrong they just wanted a detailed invoice of the repair work (this was an issue because Cardinal Camera only wanted to list "Return to factory specifications" as the work being done).

I don't have a laptop covered because the laptop I travel with cost me less than the external SSD drives I plug into it.

 

[iain clyne]

The problem with most if not all home policies in the uk is that if you make even a small amount from your photography they class you as professional and will not pay out a claim if they find out about it, as one of my friend found out to his cost.

 

[Unframed Dave]

I hear you, I try and limit my risk of claiming on my home insurance. I live in a house that is somewhere around 350 - 400 years old. It's also listed, which adds to the joy of living here. My insurer recently insisted on a desktop rebuild survey. This estimated the rebuild value of our home at a cool million, I quite believe this, but it is way over the actual value of the house. This resulted in a massive increase in our premium and limiting the number of insurers that would actually touch us. I also have a specialised collection of antique things (I'm being deliberately vague here) which bump up the premium.

For this reason, I am keen to keep my camera gear separate as it is such high risk.

Insurance costs in the UK have gone absolutely bonkers.

 

[iamdlewis]

The problem with most if not all home policies in the uk is that if you make even a small amount from your photography they class you as professional and will not pay out a claim if they find out about it, as one of my friend found out to his cost.

I hear you, I try and limit my risk of claiming on my home insurance. I live in a house that is somewhere around 350 - 400 years old. It's also listed, which adds to the joy of living here. My insurer recently insisted on a desktop rebuild survey. This estimated the rebuild value of our home at a cool million, I quite believe this, but it is way over the actual value of the house. This resulted in a massive increase in our premium and limiting the number of insurers that would actually touch us. I also have a specialised collection of antique things (I'm being deliberately vague here) which bump up the premium.

For this reason, I am keen to keep my camera gear separate as it is such high risk.

Insurance costs in the UK have gone absolutely bonkers.

Here because the camera stuff is on a separate rider a claim on it would have no impact on the rate for the home. If I was to take photography beyond what the IRS would classify as a hobby I would have to change policies.

 

[Richard A]

The former….

Have you come up with a way of preventing that happening again? I think that would be pretty important going forward...

 

[Astacus]

Have you come up with a way of preventing that happening again? I think that would be pretty important going forward...

Don’t want to go into details, but I know what I did.. carelessness and a heavy system on a travel tripod. Mea culpa.