Am I being ripped off?

[TonyT]

Ok I have my camera equipment insured and have had for several years, currently I have in the region of £11,600 worth of gear and my insurance costs near enough £430 a year to cover....

I have bought a second hand lens and wanted to add this to my policy, they came back with £258 to cover an additional £3700, which in my eyes is nearly an eye watering 1/2 of my current premium for a 1/3rd of the cover.....

Now this is where it gets weird, the site gives initially £118.82, but when you save the quote it changes to that below
it gets worse, I then went onto the site of the said company involved and putting in to cover £3700 worth of camera equipment a grand total of £38 is the premium......

so now re-quoting on their site for £16,000, which is more than the total I was looking for, it comes back as £423.92
And that is less than I am paying now!!!!!!

[the black fox]

Re: Am I being ripped off?

Any insurance is a rip off ,my advice would be to shop around different companies and see what they come up with

[Bazarchie]

Re: Am I being ripped off?

Some people rely on their house contents insurance provided it covers away from home use and accidental damage. May need to disclose individual items above a certain cost/value. Specialist insurance is probably a safer option, but your quote does seem high. As the black fox recommends, shop around. Most insurance companies seem to rely on inertia to increase premiums.

[Nathaniel]

Re: Am I being ripped off?

I use my home contents policy to insure my kit.

[AndyMulhearn]

Re: Am I being ripped off?

I use my home contents policy to insure my kit.

Same here. On the recent policy none of our kit was notifiable as single items - none of it was expensive enough. If you're into 1Dx's and big white 600s I can see that would be different.

[TonyT]

Re: Am I being ripped off?

It also replaces with new replacements both in home and covers secure in car boot etc plus any liability. Yes 1Dx and 500mmL etc.

I initially sent a how can you justify this increase, with I intend to shop around, I then followed up the email with one with their own lower quotes asking them to explain them. End of day I will take the new quotes and cancel the agreement if they are not forthcoming.

[Stan]

Re: Am I being ripped off?

Any insurance is a rip off

A typical statement made by those who have little or no knowledge of how insurance companies calculate their premiums

Often the premium rates depend on the sum insured, the higher the total, the lower the rate and often in bands, for example up to £5000, £10000, £15000+ etc, so the original quote for £3700 could have been stand alone for 12 months cover and then the amended figure of £38 just an additional premium to add up until the current renewal date. Whatever the answer I am sure the insurer will sort it out.

Stan

[bobowen]

Re: Am I being ripped off?

Stan just beat me to it.

One of the problems with dealing direct with some Insurers is that they tend to offer packages and if your circumstances don't fit then they often appear to be inflexible.

As others have said, your Home Insurer should be you first option or speak to an Insurance Broker who will be able to find you a suitable alternative.

Bob

[TonyT]

Re: Am I being ripped off?

The policy is just going through renewal.

The £118 or £37 depending on the quote you read, is the amount on their site quote system for giving a full years cover for the £3700 worth of equipment as a new quote.

The £258 is the amount they quote via email to add that £3700 to my existing policy for the same period of coverage.

The total of £688 would be the cost of my current policy with the additional cover (via email) to run from the renewal which is now for 1 year

Their website when I enter in £100 more as the total coverage including the £3700 comes back with a premium quote of £423 for that same period and cover!

[bobowen]

Re: Am I being ripped off?

Time to pick up the phone I think!

Bob

[TonyT]

Re: Am I being ripped off?

Time to pick up the phone I think!

Bob

Done and lo and behold, my premium has now dropped to less than I pay now and that includes my new lens.


It pays to double check!!

[bobowen]

Re: Am I being ripped off?

Done and lo and behold, my premium has now dropped to less than I pay now and that includes my new lens.


It pays to double check!!

Certainly does!
Glad you were able to sort it out.



Bob

[AndyMulhearn]

Re: Am I being ripped off?

My approach to insurance, unless it's specialist which may work differently, is to never renew a policy more than once. For a long time I went down the brand loyalty route and stuck with the Prudential because my parents used them. Each year I got renewals that went up by 50% or 60%, I'd phone them and argue the increase and feel happy hen it went down to 25% or so. Until my buildings and contents insurance quote hit £1600. Then I hit compare the market and got hat down to £350. Lesson learned.

[rcarca]

Re: Am I being ripped off?

I went down the brand loyalty route and stuck with the Prudential because my parents used them

Brand Loyalty is a one-way relationship for most organisations today - sorry to say. Like employee loyalty, which is rarely reciprocated by employer loyalty...

[rajjayaraj]

Re: Am I being ripped off?

Another vote for home insurance add on, it worked out cheaper than specialist insurer, i do own 1Dx and few white lens. I have learned the lesson from here with similar thread in the past.
Raj