Camera flood insurace

[Grajan]

Did not want to hijack this thread so I moved the discussion here.

Thanks for the sites for insurance. I just did a quick analysis of deductibles and the result was interesting:

DEPP: $25 or 10% whichever is greater

H2OI: $250 or 10% whichever is greater

For my $500 camera (c/w memory) that would be:

DEPP: $50

H2OI: $250

I don't know what the cost of the insurance is but a 50% deductible is not very alluring.

Am I missing something here?

 

[blacknet]

Hello,

NO way! I use h2oinsurance and my policy coversy $12,000 and runs around that per year.

Also note the yearly difference in the 2 programs, you'll fine there's a HUGE differene in cost. Another thing about a flood you have to service/replace the camera/housing/lens/port/anything else that was with it. This coudl get very costly quickly.

If there's any mistakes durring the repair then that's a redo, h2o just shells out the $ while depp does the refurb.

Ed

 

[Dee]

That's one reason I've stayed with DEPP. I've had one strobe battery compartment flood which was found to be a defective o-ring...no charge and replaced with new unit. One sync cord flooded, my fault, cost me $25 ded. I sent the strobe to a specified authorized repair facility. It was repaired to my satisfaction before the case was closed. In fact, I was asked to dive with it and report to them before they would release the billing to DEPP. More than fair if you ask me.

My Oly C-4040 is discontinued so cannot be exactly replaced. If it floods or needs to be replaced. I will have the choice of it being replaced with a refurbed unit from the manufacturer or the option to upgrade and I pay the difference. For my camera gear and the way I use it, the DEPP policy fits me perfectly. A flood won't effect my housing, strobe or WA lens but will kill the camera.

I think one difference in Ed's choice and mine is that he's got thousands of dollars in professional equipment. Like he said,

Another thing about a flood you have to service/replace the camera/housing/lens/port/anything else that was with it. This could get very costly quickly.

With his kind of camera rigs, that has to be taken into consideration. Just because h2o fits his needs, doesn't mean it fits everyones....just like any other insurance policy. Most of us have recreational camera rigs, his seems to be more on the professional (read very expensive!) side of things!

 

[drbill]

Remember that some housings contain exposed internal electronics (PCB's) that may need to be replaced if the housing floods. My Top Dawg is one such model. The interesting thing is that with the two floods I've had in the last 450 dives, the 1-2 tavlespoons of salt water that got into the housing wiped out the housing electronics (thus notifying me of the problem) before the camcorder itself was affected. And I just heard from L&M that the electronics in the recent flood incident were working fine when they received my unit. Strange- they didn't work the day of the incident or two weeks after. Of course I'm glad to save $200-250.

Dr. Bill

 

[Jaytor]

I haven't checked out DAN's new flood insurance, but I've been very happy with DEPP. I've only had one claim - flooded strobe - but getting it repaired couldn't have been simpler. I just sent it back to the store I bought it from, which is an authorized DEPP repair center, and a couple weeks later got back what looks like a brand new strobe. No paperwork. No hassles.

I do have professional gear (Nikon D1X in Seacam housing, dual Ikelite 200 strobes). I'd be willing to consider DAN insurance if the premiums were considerably less. DEPPs insurance runs 1-1.5% for coverage against loss (theft, etc.) and an additional 4% for coverage against flood. So, for my $25K+ in gear (includes a couple other camera systems), I'm paying $900+ in annual premiums.

Ed, do you know how DAN calculates premiums? Does this cover against theft and airline loss as well as flood?

- Jay

 

[blacknet]

Jaytor,

Yes it does covery theft and damage by the airline. The premimun is based on the coverage amount. I.e. $12,000 is $250/year. ( or very close to that).

Ed