insurance

[macca5]

i have had my gear under my parents home insurance.
but i am earning most my income now from photography, and my gear is getting more expencive. and is not covered if used in buisness, What companies do you use?
How much is covered. The total of gear would be $20,000 at rrp

[ricktas]

Most insurance companies will cover you, but it is worth getting a few quotes from around the place.

http://www.insuranzdirect.com/ - have specific insurance for a wide range of businesses, including photography.
http://www.photoinsurance.com.au/ insure photographers specifically.

But often if you contact your current insurer they can give you a good quote too.

[MarkW]

It costs me about $300 more on my contents policy for about $30K worth of gear. Classified as specified portable valuables, coverage is from NRMA.

[Paul G]

AON is a company I know of that has some camera specific policies too.

http://www.aon.com.au/small_medium_business/photographers.asp

[Dylfish]

just to expand on this, sorry for the hijack but Im going overseas next month and I want to take my gear with me, is there anywhere that will insure gear for a small period, such as a holiday for discounted prices?

[ricktas]

just to expand on this, sorry for the hijack but Im going overseas next month and I want to take my gear with me, is there anywhere that will insure gear for a small period, such as a holiday for discounted prices?

Generally OS travel is considered a higher risk than using your gear in Aus, so yes you will be able to get cover, but not at a discounted price, rather you will most likely pay a higher price due to higher risk.

[Nigel]

Make sure you let the insurer know that you are a professional photographer and earn an income from it. I know that NRMA didn't want to insure me once they knew I was operating a business.

I am currently paying $400 per year for a full world wide insurance for accidental loss or damage for about $20k of listed gear with a $250 claim excess through photoinsurance.

Also, check the t&c's for little things like "excluding breakage of lenses" as these are quite common.

And one last thing, make sure you get public liability.
10M through photoinsurance is approx $400

[ehor]

Aon also do public liability insurance for photogs, something you might want to consider :)

[hoffy]

Most insurance companies will cover you, but it is worth getting a few quotes from around the place.

http://www.insuranzdirect.com/ - have specific insurance for a wide range of businesses, including photography.
http://www.photoinsurance.com.au/ insure photographers specifically.

But often if you contact your current insurer they can give you a good quote too.

I believe that insuranz direct will no longer be offering policies within Australia (the last time I looked anyway)

[IngridM]

A lot of insurance companies are happy to turn a blind eye to the fact that you 'may' be working with your equipment some of the time and take your premium payment every year but as soon as you make a claim and they know you're getting paid for it, that's the end of their 'Mr Nice guy' situation and they won't pay. Allianz were happy to be 'vague' about the earning money issue when accepting my premium but when I really grilled them about claiming, they back-tracked and didn't want to cover me.

I got a good discount through the AIPP and am covered by AIS Insurance Brokers, who had a very specific photographic policy which required serial numbers for everything and they were very thorough. It was a good $200 per year cheaper than not using a Broker and it's underwritten through Lloyds of London.

[macca5]

yeh guys thanks for the info i found cover from wsc at caringbah at a decent price.
working as an assistant, and freelancing doing event work through other companies should i also look at getting public liablity insurance?

[Doot]

Most of the names mentioned above (AON etc) are insurance brokers and not insurers themselves. Many operate binders on behalf of (mainly UK) insurers, including Lloyd's, and probably can give you attractive quotes. Remember however that the real test is how well they deal with claims. In some cases you may feel happier with an insurer or broker you already deal with, rather than trusting to someone unknown.

[Redgum]

yeh guys thanks for the info i found cover from wsc at caringbah at a decent price.
working as an assistant, and freelancing doing event work through other companies should i also look at getting public liablity insurance?
If you have contents insurance you should already be covered personally. You only need PL if you're operating as a business (legal entity).

[campo]

I got a good discount through the AIPP and am covered by AIS Insurance Brokers, who had a very specific photographic policy which required serial numbers for everything and they were very thorough. It was a good $200 per year cheaper than not using a Broker and it's underwritten through Lloyds of London.

$200 per year cheaper? is that after factoring in the being an AIPP member?

from what i read on the AIPP site:

Registered subscriber: $395 per year plus a one-off joining fee of $71.50.
Emerging member: $195 per year (up to 2 yrs only)

[bigdazzler]

I am renting my place and I just got contents insurance for the firs time in my life (yea yea i know .. ive been lucky :crzy: )

I got "renters contents" insurance with Allianz, who Ive had comprehensive car insurance with since 1998, for $100K total contents. I itemised my camera gear and my macbook as portable items for a total of $15K inside and outside of the home. This costs me $85 a month. Regular excess is $300 on any general claim, and excess on a claim specific to one of the portable items is $100.

[IngridM]

$200 per year cheaper? is that after factoring in the being an AIPP member?


from what i read on the AIPP site:

Registered subscriber: $395 per year plus a one-off joining fee of $71.50.
Emerging member: $195 per year (up to 2 yrs only)
No, I'd actually forgotten about the AIPP membership (I'm only emerging), but, the other company offered no discount for AIPP membership so regardless of membership, it would have cost me a further $200 if I'd gone elsewhere because I was a member with AIPP long before taking out insurance. I didn't join AIPP just for the cheaper insurance, that was just a flow-on benefit.

[Natsky]

Went through all of this about a year ago. Finally went with AON (yes a broker, actually covered by VERO). Can do monthly payments, I nominate the values of my gear (and can go S/H in some instances), can include my Mac, hard drives and dehumidifying cabinet I store my gear in, am covered if I go OS for a top up fee, rental coverage while my gear is out of action and a whole lot more.

All my other insurance is with NRMA, however they would only cover external damage of my gear, so if mirrors or sensors were cactus, too bad. Many companies will not cover if gear is being used professionally, or charge exorbitantly for the privilege, and others will not cover theft from a locked car. Read the fine print.

[Longshots]

$200 per year cheaper? is that after factoring in the being an AIPP member?

from what i read on the AIPP site:

Registered subscriber: $395 per year plus a one-off joining fee of $71.50.
Emerging member: $195 per year (up to 2 yrs only)



Discount on insurance is only one of many direct benefits of membership of the AIPP. I'm not specifically interested in promoting them, but it would be reasonable to say that there are a great deal more than this example. There is a full list of those benefits here:

http://www.aipp.com.au/aipphome.php?ID=325&cat=Join&A=

There is of course many non direct benefits as well. And of course if you're declaring your income from photography, the cost of membership is tax deductable.

[peterb666]

$200 per year cheaper? is that after factoring in the being an AIPP member?

from what i read on the AIPP site:

Registered subscriber: $395 per year plus a one-off joining fee of $71.50.
Emerging member: $195 per year (up to 2 yrs only)


Looks like the fees have changed in both directions.

Subscriber is $85 a year with a once only $35 joining fee. Not sure how you can have a joining fee when you are classified as a non-member but there you are.

Emerging Member is $300 a year or $150 a year for 'Ex-Student' with a 1 year limit for ex-students. There doesn't appear to be a 2-year limit for emerging members any more.

As you can get the discounts as a Subscriber and you get the publications and stuff as well, it may be a reasonable proposition.

[Pine]

Why insure it just look after it. :cool:

Insurance is a scam riding on the back of peoples fears.

Regards