How to insure your expensive camera gear

Whether you’re an avid birder or just love taking pictures of your kids with a “real camera,” you may have some pricey equipment on your hands. Between your camera itself and extra gear like lenses, lighting, and batteries, you’ve probably spent a pretty penny. So, what happens if your camera equipment gets stolen or damaged? Or what if you accidentally drop it in the lake while capturing the perfect shot of a loon? It’s important to understand your home insurance policy and make sure all of your camera gear is covered if the unexpected happens. Here’s how to know if your expensive camera is covered by your existing home insurance policy — and how to get the right coverage if it’s not.

Note: In this article, we’ll be talking specifically about camera equipment used for personal and recreational purposes. If you use your camera equipment for business, you’ll need to let your broker or insurer know, as you may need a commercial insurance policy.

Whether or not your camera equipment is covered by your existing home insurance policy depends on your insurer, the rules they’ve set out in your policy, and the value of your camera equipment. Most home insurance policies have specific per-item limits for personal belongings, as well as special limits for certain types of belongings — and that list sometimes includes cameras and other camera equipment. Review the portion of your policy that outlines your coverage for personal belongings, as well as your policy’sexclusions, to find out if camera equipment is excluded or subject to a special coverage limit.

If camera equipment is excluded from your existing home insurance policy or subject to a limit that’s too low to cover all of your gear, you’ll need to schedule your camera and any related items in your policy. Scheduling items is the best way to ensure they’ll be covered to their full value if you ever need to make a claim. To schedule your camera equipment in your home insurance policy, contact your licensed insurance broker. You’ll also need to hang onto any receipts so your insurer knows exactly how much your camera gear is worth.

Whether your camera is already covered by your existing home insurance or you’ve scheduled it in your policy, make sure you understand exactly what is and isn’t covered. If you have a comprehensive or “all risks” policy, which is most common, your camera would typically be covered for any peril besides those specifically listed as exclusions. This means you could be covered for dropping your camera in the lake or off a cliff, as long as your policy doesn’t exclude those types of accidents. If you have a “named perils” coverage, it would only apply in the event that your camera is lost or damaged in an event specifically named in your policy.

No matter what kind of home insurance policy you have, coverage for your camera is subject to your deductible and any other terms outlined in your policy.

Adding camera coverage to your existing home insurance policy will probably cost less than you think. The cost of insuring camera equipment varies depending on several factors, including the value of the equipment and your insurance company — but for the average person, it would cost less than a cup of coffee a month to schedule a $2,000 camera in an existing policy.

If you want to make sure your camera equipment will be covered in the event that it’s ever stolen or damaged, contact your licensed home insurance broker. Your broker can help you review your existing home insurance policy and get you any additional coverage you may need.