More on the insurance claim
30th June 2011
In my previous posting I mentioned that I had damaged one of my camera bodies and was waiting to hear from the insurers.
Although I don't have the cheque in my hand yet, my insurers have emailed me to tell me that they are going to settle the claim. The slight shock was the amount of the excess. In the small print of the policy I discovered that the excess is doubled for losses abroad. It made me realise that if someone walked off with my entire camera bag whilst I was shooting abroad, I would have to find over £2500 out of my own pocket!
It's hard to work out the economics of camera insurance. I pay approximately 50% more for my camera insurance than I do for my car insurance. This particular claim will pay me out less than a year's premium. A few years back I managed to write off my car for which I was paid a fraction under £8,000. My car insurance is roughly £200 per year, so I managed to blow 40 years worth of premiums in one accident!
A word about Fixation UK, who mended my damaged camera. I have heard various pros and cons about taking your kit to Nikon or using Fixation. One pro photographer I know described Fixation as being slightly arrogant. Well, I actually inserted the word 'slightly' and I must admit that I have found their customer interface to be a bit mixed. However, I gave Fixation the go ahead to mend my camera on the Thursday and it was ready for delivery or collection the following Tuesday. Not bad. I've also had a second hand D3 and some lenses off them and have found their prices competitive. A 300mm f2.8 lens from them went wrong about two weeks after I bought it, but they put it right with no quibble. The parts needed took some time to source and I wish they had kept me informed. But my view is, unless they do something to let me down, I'm in the Fixation camp at the moment.
Although I don't have the cheque in my hand yet, my insurers have emailed me to tell me that they are going to settle the claim. The slight shock was the amount of the excess. In the small print of the policy I discovered that the excess is doubled for losses abroad. It made me realise that if someone walked off with my entire camera bag whilst I was shooting abroad, I would have to find over £2500 out of my own pocket!
It's hard to work out the economics of camera insurance. I pay approximately 50% more for my camera insurance than I do for my car insurance. This particular claim will pay me out less than a year's premium. A few years back I managed to write off my car for which I was paid a fraction under £8,000. My car insurance is roughly £200 per year, so I managed to blow 40 years worth of premiums in one accident!
A word about Fixation UK, who mended my damaged camera. I have heard various pros and cons about taking your kit to Nikon or using Fixation. One pro photographer I know described Fixation as being slightly arrogant. Well, I actually inserted the word 'slightly' and I must admit that I have found their customer interface to be a bit mixed. However, I gave Fixation the go ahead to mend my camera on the Thursday and it was ready for delivery or collection the following Tuesday. Not bad. I've also had a second hand D3 and some lenses off them and have found their prices competitive. A 300mm f2.8 lens from them went wrong about two weeks after I bought it, but they put it right with no quibble. The parts needed took some time to source and I wish they had kept me informed. But my view is, unless they do something to let me down, I'm in the Fixation camp at the moment.
