Digital Camera Insurance

Insurance is intended to protect consumers against financial loss in the case of accident or disaster. If your house burns down, the insurance company pays out and you rebuild. Without such a pay out, you may never recover financially, and so the premium was worth every penny. But is it worth insuring a digital camera? Under some circumstances, the answer is yes, definitely you should.

A basic digital camera insurance policy will normally cover accidental damage, destruction by accident, malice or force of nature, loss or theft. It is, of course, possible to add many other features to the policy to cover such things as public liability protection and the hire of replacement equipment. Coverage can be limited to your home, or can be extended to equipment left in your car, or losses while travelling. Travel policies may be limited to the UK, they may cover the UK and Europe, or they can be extended worldwide. Travel policies are usually limited to the period in which you will be travelling, but can be year-round for frequent travelers. Some policies require a deductible (the amount you pay out of pocket). For example, if you have a £100 deductible and your claim is for £130, you will pay £100 and the insurance will pay £30.

Insurance companies are normally willing to structure a policy to individual needs, and - for a price - will add any coverage you want, no matter how bizarre. It is, therefore, a good idea to consider your equipment, your risks, and how serious loss of, or damage to, your digital camera is to you.

The first point to consider is the cost of the camera. For digital equivalents of the Brownie, insurance may not be worthwhile, especially with a deductible. If you tend to break things frequently, you could consider an extended warranty, which will often replace a damaged camera, no questions asked. Even with a deductible, it is probably worth insuring a £500 camera.

Next, you need to consider what type of insurance you need - amateur or professional, professionals being people who make money from their photography. Most amateurs will have cameras of the point and click variety, not expensive and maybe not worth insuring. Professionals, however, are likely to have much more expensive equipment and more of it. Professionals also have to consider, unfortunately, the matter of public liability. Quite apart from possible injury to a passerby who falls over a tripod or lighting cord, professional photographers have to worry about frivolous law suits (an art form in the US, but gaining ground elsewhere) from the likes of unhappy brides who claim the wedding photographs make them look fat.

Professional photographers may work out of a studio, in which case their cameras will be covered by the general business insurance, but they may also travel from venue to venue, country to country, increasing the risk of loss, damage or theft. While it is possible to put a replacement value on the equipment, it is more difficult to estimate loss of income because you don't have a working camera, and loss of revenue from photographs stored in the defunct machine. Nevertheless, these losses are worth insuring against.