Cataloging Equipment

[HillPhotos2009]

Hi.



So, I may have a little ocd issue, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Before we leave home for any extended period of time I like to catalog my valuables. I write down the make, model, brief description, and serial number of my equipment from t.v.s to camera equipment.

I just talked to our insurance agent and he said as far as lenses go, you write down the description and take a picture and that will be good enough to replace lenses if something ever happens to them. He also said there were serial numbers for lenses - which I can't find. I have Tamron, Sigma, and Canon lenses. Where might I find these elusive serial numbers?

Does anyone have any safety advice when it comes to leaving beloved equipment behind or insurance information they'd like to share?

[Tom]

If you use them for business, they may not cover them if they are stolen from your house. My home owners insurance won't.

I have a business insurance account with Tom C. Pickard, who does mainly photographers. Everything is on a spreadsheet with them and I keep a copy of it in GoogleDocs, so I can access it from anywhere.

Lens serial numbers are often near the mount where it attaches to your camera.

When I go on a long trip, I put all my lenses and hard drives (that I don't take) in a safe-deposit box at my bank. Peace of mind if priceless.

[soymilk]

thats a good idea about the safety deposit box. i'll do that next time i take a long vacation.

[kenw]

i keep a spreadsheet of my gear with description, mfg, current replacement cost. It also contains (but the ins guys could care less!) filter size, min focus distance, AV min/max, condition notes, etc; even 35mm FoV equivalent. yeah, I'm a spreadsheet guy....just so I'll have all of the info in one place.

mine is not a business, but a separate policy covers all my stuff regardless of where it may disappear: from car, from house, hotel, airplane, etc. Homeowners' policies have big restrictions and a huge deductible and are useless if someone steals it from the Holiday Inn. This policy has no deductible. If I have a lens insured for $1000 and it gets stolen, I get $1000. No more, no less. no depreciation, etc. I know PPA has similar policies for good prices, I got mine thru our homeowners/car agent for a comparable price. the cost of the policy is based purely on how much you claim the stuff is worth.

[groovyone]

I also keep a spreadsheet with model numbers, serial numbers, purchase info, etc.

[crbeveri]

+2 to what ken and Keith touched on. Anything I dont take I put in my fathers Safe that's bolted to the floor and rated to more than a house fire would produce in heat.

[mdurisseau]

Sir, if you don't mind saying, who is your carrier? One other question: Might I get a copy of your spreadsheet? I think it might come in handy for me, too, now that I've got so much stuff! You're welcome to PM the info regarding your carrier...

Originally Posted by kenw

i keep a spreadsheet of my gear with description, mfg, current replacement cost. It also contains (but the ins guys could care less!) filter size, min focus distance, AV min/max, condition notes, etc; even 35mm FoV equivalent. yeah, I'm a spreadsheet guy....just so I'll have all of the info in one place.

[picman]

I use Lightroom to catalog my equipment. Photograph the piece and add the serial number to the meta data. Got the info I need and and it's backed up in several places.
And I've got a picture to cry over if something happens to the stuff.

[parrotmomma]

It's funny you should mention this, because just yesterday I began to think about how much money I have invested in equipment. I wondered if my homeowner's policy would cover it all, if something were to happen. As it turns out I needed a rider, which is only about $12.00 per year per $5,000. in coverage. Well worth the cost, I think. She advised me to gather up as many receipts as I can find (I have them all) and record serial numbers.

Tom, that is a really great idea about the hard drive in the safe deposit box, thanks.

[mdurisseau]

That could be as good as anything! Take a photo of the serial number that matches, of course...

Originally Posted by picman

I use Lightroom to catalog my equipment. Photograph the piece and add the serial number to the meta data. Got the info I need and and it's backed up in several places.
And I've got a picture to cry over if something happens to the stuff.

[stephenpinn]

Just remember is you put your equipment on a rider to your home owner policy standard deductions apply which, with today's polices in the coastal areas, 1-2% of the insured value of your home. That can be significant, $400k home = between $4 and $8k deductible.

[groovyone]

My homeowners will only insure individual items over $1500. In theory the rest is covered just like any other item in my house I suppose. I need to look into separate camera insurance.

[venchka]

I thought that I had purchased an all risk, full replacement value, no deductable policy to cover my photo equipment. That is how the policy, a rider on my Homeowner's policy, was described to me when I started paying the annual premiums. When I tried to make a claim for my first ever in 40+ years damaged lens, I was informed that the lens was subject to 10% depreciation per year. The lens was about 8-9 years old at the time. essentially worthless according to the depreciation schedule. Needless to say I cancelled the rider immediately.
State Farm is the company.
Be careful.

[groovyone]

Wayne, that is ridiculous! I totally understand why you cancelled. What lens depreciates like that?

[kenw]

Originally Posted by mdurisseau

Sir, if you don't mind saying, who is your carrier? One other question: Might I get a copy of your spreadsheet? I think it might come in handy for me, too, now that I've got so much stuff! You're welcome to PM the info regarding your carrier...

(there's an Outland comic about that "sir" nonsense...)

carrier is State Farm, altho this IS not a rider or in anyway related to the homeowners' policy which (if it were a rider) has all the limits of that as mentioned in other posts herein: deductibles, depreciation, etc. This is a separate policy. It just happens to be with the same carrier, that's all the relation there is.

I don't insure lower value things like filters, remotes, softboxes, etc.

On the XLS, the serial number is hyperlinked to the B+H page just to make it easy to update. (but I crossed it out here, ya just never know...) Some values (28-80 v1) are just estimates since they are no longer sold new.