Camera and Multimedia Insurance

The Need for Camera and Multimedia Insurance - A good photographer friend of mine recently had all of his back up photography kit stolen including a top end DSLR and lenses. It was during a wedding shoot many years ago! Far be it from me to judge, but leaving it in your car, although well covered and in the car park of a very posh restaurant, is just asking for trouble.

However, at the time, the news hit me like a freight train as I realised I had no camera insurance whatsoever. Not only that but my car had my photography website address splayed all over it. That was basically saying “come and break into me, I have expensive gear inside!”

Nobody ever has though. Yet.

Sure, my kit was covered inside my house, under the contents insurance but out in the field? Nope!

Over the years I have accumulated quite a stash and tend to take a lot of it with me when I go out on shoots.

The amount of times that I leave my bag unattended as I run around like a loon trying to capture events at the venues is staggeringly scary. If I was a thief, I would turn up to any old wedding service or venue wearing a suit. I would mingle about (as no-one knows everyone at a wedding) and check out the photographers movements.

That is not meant to be an invite for any pesky scoundrels out there to come and help yourself. It is meant as a “heads up” for photographers like myself who have too much trust/naivety in their bones!

I now have insurance and also use a smaller rucksack/utility jacket combo for my kit which stays with me at all times.

Camera and Multimedia Insurance - Looking for Insurance Companies

As I recall, one reason for me not having camera insurance was this. It was the fact that when I had searched in the past, I kept hitting brick walls. The lack of insurance companies that would insure photography equipment was amazing at the turn of the century. Even the ones that did had a very poor reputation.

Then along came a company who seemed to listen and understand the needs of professionals in the multimedia industry. There are still exclusions or limitations in place such as:

It is still one of the best that I can find in the UK: Aaduki Camera and Multimedia Insurance

Their cover includes or can be extended to include:

If and readers know of a better company that we can add to this article, I would be grateful for your input.

My advice for now…