Thanks for the info guys, I'll check it out. I have premium coverage under DAN, but am a Canadian resident, but I'll check out H20 as well.
Olympus 5050 - Which Housing
- Thread starter jnberke
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
VERY carefully and pay attention - close attention - to the fine print in the policies and how they list things.
Here's a short list of potential problems to look for:
1. The policies will either "fix" the camera (meaning, in most cases, you get a refurb) or simply give you cash. Ok. But the housing wasn't damaged, so its not replaced. Now what happens if you can't get another camera of the same make/model? You get cash, but what about the (now worthless!) housing? Be very certain you can list the camera and housing as ONE ITEM and that damage to one will cause a payout for BOTH AT ONCE, othewise you run a very significant risk of being stuck with a useless housing that you must replace on your own when the camera cannot be replaced! If that happens it makes the insurance almost worthless!
2. Deductables. Beware them. Many are in the $250 range. Consider that an Oly 5050 is only worth $500-600 or so. So you lose HALF right up front, PLUS the premium you paid up to that point.
3. Other coverage you already have. While most dive insurance companies cover theft and such, so do some of your other, pre-existing insurance policies (like homeowners.) While there are good arguments for not making claims on your homeowners (like getting a non-renewal letter!) there are also good arguments for not paying twice (or more) for something. The dive insurance companies intentionally "layer" coverages against things you probably already have covered to reduce THEIR risk - not help you reduce YOURS.
Remember that insurannce companies don't stay in business by paying out more than they take in via premiums. That is, they are, for MOST PEOPLE, a losing bet.
Insurance is a good idea for catastrophic losses that you could not manage to shoulder on your own. For all other losses they are a bad bet, as you will pay more for the insurance than you will recover in payouts, unless you're a "bad risk" - in which case you'll get dropped like a hot potato by the insurance companies!
Pay very, very close attention to these issues, analyze your potential risk(s) with a purely analytical eye, and then make your choice. It may be a good idea to buy flood insurance, but don't do it "for the hell of it", because that's nothing more than a great way to spend way too much.
Here's a short list of potential problems to look for:
1. The policies will either "fix" the camera (meaning, in most cases, you get a refurb) or simply give you cash. Ok. But the housing wasn't damaged, so its not replaced. Now what happens if you can't get another camera of the same make/model? You get cash, but what about the (now worthless!) housing? Be very certain you can list the camera and housing as ONE ITEM and that damage to one will cause a payout for BOTH AT ONCE, othewise you run a very significant risk of being stuck with a useless housing that you must replace on your own when the camera cannot be replaced! If that happens it makes the insurance almost worthless!
2. Deductables. Beware them. Many are in the $250 range. Consider that an Oly 5050 is only worth $500-600 or so. So you lose HALF right up front, PLUS the premium you paid up to that point.
3. Other coverage you already have. While most dive insurance companies cover theft and such, so do some of your other, pre-existing insurance policies (like homeowners.) While there are good arguments for not making claims on your homeowners (like getting a non-renewal letter!) there are also good arguments for not paying twice (or more) for something. The dive insurance companies intentionally "layer" coverages against things you probably already have covered to reduce THEIR risk - not help you reduce YOURS.
Remember that insurannce companies don't stay in business by paying out more than they take in via premiums. That is, they are, for MOST PEOPLE, a losing bet.
Insurance is a good idea for catastrophic losses that you could not manage to shoulder on your own. For all other losses they are a bad bet, as you will pay more for the insurance than you will recover in payouts, unless you're a "bad risk" - in which case you'll get dropped like a hot potato by the insurance companies!
Pay very, very close attention to these issues, analyze your potential risk(s) with a purely analytical eye, and then make your choice. It may be a good idea to buy flood insurance, but don't do it "for the hell of it", because that's nothing more than a great way to spend way too much.
Genesis brings up a good point, I forgot to mention with DEPP, you cannot itemize housing and camera together so yes, if the housing flood, they will only replace/repair the damage item which is the camera. This could potentially be a problem with Oly 5050 since it will not be available for much longer. Not really a big issue with PT-015 housing since it is relatively inexpensive but if you have a Tetra housing or Ikelite housing for that matter of fact,
it can be quite costly.
The deductable is $100 with DEPP, if I am not mistaken.
Personally I am more worry about flooding my strobe than my housing! (been there, done that ).
DEPP works well for me because there is no equavalent homeowner or apartment renter insurance program over here, like in the US, as far as I know so the theft/accidental loss etc is a big plus for me.
In a way,having an insurance is kind of like the anti Murphy's law for me, nothing will flood while I have insurance but as soon as I forget to renew or send in the premium, bad thing will happen
Of course I think DEPP policy regarding housing/camera is a bit ridiculous in that they could naively think that everyone will report truthfully when their housing flood! If my housing flood, chances are I might just drop the housing and the camera and report it as lost/stolen, went overboard or a shark came by and I use my housing to protect me and it took off with my camera/housing
Well, don't report this to DEPP or else I might get in trouble!
it can be quite costly.
The deductable is $100 with DEPP, if I am not mistaken.
Personally I am more worry about flooding my strobe than my housing! (been there, done that ).
DEPP works well for me because there is no equavalent homeowner or apartment renter insurance program over here, like in the US, as far as I know so the theft/accidental loss etc is a big plus for me.
In a way,having an insurance is kind of like the anti Murphy's law for me, nothing will flood while I have insurance but as soon as I forget to renew or send in the premium, bad thing will happen
Of course I think DEPP policy regarding housing/camera is a bit ridiculous in that they could naively think that everyone will report truthfully when their housing flood! If my housing flood, chances are I might just drop the housing and the camera and report it as lost/stolen, went overboard or a shark came by and I use my housing to protect me and it took off with my camera/housing
Well, don't report this to DEPP or else I might get in trouble!
ssra....I'm pretty sure the DEPP deductable is $25 or 10% of the cost to repair/replace with a max of $250. It was reported in a previous thread recently.
I do agree that that if I used a Tetra or even Ikelite housing for my 5050 I might consider the H2O coverage for those items. But I'm not sure there is any coverage that will pay for a new housing just because your new/replacement camera won't fit the old one, is there?
I do agree that that if I used a Tetra or even Ikelite housing for my 5050 I might consider the H2O coverage for those items. But I'm not sure there is any coverage that will pay for a new housing just because your new/replacement camera won't fit the old one, is there?
wetman
Contributor
Consider how much investment you want to put into a housing relative to how much or how long you'll use your camera as well. The OLY housings are excellent and cheap. If you stay within their limits or will upgrade your camera regularly, theres no reason to go for more expensive housings that will become just as useless if you ever cant replace your camera for whatever reason.
steve
steve
Thank you. This is all very helpful and informative and the insurance info is welcomed as well. With newer and better digital cameras coming out all the time, maybe the Oly or Ikelite would be the more prudent choice for me.
The owner of my LDS bought a video housing for a hi-8 camera years ago for a lot of money. It still works great, but with the new JVC HI-Def camera out now it's like two generations back.
The owner of my LDS bought a video housing for a hi-8 camera years ago for a lot of money. It still works great, but with the new JVC HI-Def camera out now it's like two generations back.
Dee, thanks for the correction. All I remember was that DEPP deduction is quite a bit less than H2O. However, I think in previous thread a few months ago, someone did mention that with H2O, you can itemize housing and camera together so if the camera is flooded and need replacement, you will be able to replace both camera and housing as a single unit. I am not a hundred percent sure though, think my brain is slowlhy turning to mush with less oxygen partial pressure to breathe on land (need to go diving quickly
)
I believe you're right. I just don't have the inclination to find it!
ut: Isn't it amazing what is cured by simply breathing pressure air?
Similar threads
