Tips & Tricks
Insurance: H2O or DEPP? Neither!!
Submitted by : Addict
Date: Mar 23, 2005
Recently I bought some extra camera equipment, and decided to add up my total scuba equipment value. Over the past 3 years I have bought over $8,000 in scuba equipment!!
Since I am a DAN member, I decided to get a quote from their equipment insurance company, H2Oinsurance.com. My quote came to over $240.00/yr.
After a bit of investigation, I found that DEPP is another popular provider, and a post on Scuba Board asked for insurance comparisons between DEPP and H2O. Someone wondered about adding a provision to their homeowners policy to cover their equipment. One poster came in and offered up a new option... a State Farm Personal Articles policy.
I easily chose State Farm. Read on to see why.
Below, I have listed out the approximate value of my equipment, and the costs and deductibles for H2Oinsurance.com vs. State Farm.
Sony DCR-PC330 MiniDV Handicam $1,200.00
Ocean Images Dolphin PC330 Underwater Housing, WA Lens, PRO-ALT Microprocessor $1,325.00
Olympus C-5050 Zoom Digital Camera $500.00
Sea & Sea YS-90DX TTL Strobe Duo $550.00
Olympus PT-015 Underwater Housing $300.00
Suunto Cobra With Compass $675.00
Suunto Cobra with Compass $675.00
SeaQuest PRO QD+ BC (Size L) $495.00
SeaQuest Diva LX BC (Size S) $595.00
Aqua Lung Titan LX 1st & Second Stage $395.00
Aqua Lung Titan LX 1st & Second Stage $395.00
1 GB 80x Lexar Compact Flash Card $99.95
Sea & Sea SEFA Flexible Light Arm 83.00
Sea & Sea SECFOYS90DX Fiber Optic Sync Cable 60.00
Sony InfoLithium Battery NP-QM71D 90.00
Atomic Aquatics Split Fins Size L 179.00
Atomic Aquatics Split Fins Size S 179.00
Aqualung LPO Octopus 80.00
Aqualung LPO Octopus 80.00
Underwater Kinetics C4 Dive Light: 40.00
Underwater Kinetics C8 Dive Light: 55.00
Underwater Kinetics Q40 Dive Light: 20.00
Ikelight PCa Light: 25.00
TOTAL: $8,095.95
Here are the differences between policies:
H2Oinsurance:
Premium: $243.00/yr
Common Covered Perils: Flooding, Theft, Lost Luggage, and Accidental Damage.
Dedutible: $250 (or 10% whichever is greater) for flood claim, $100 for other losses.
State Farm - Personal Articles Policy
Premium: $97.00/yr
Common covered perils: Flooding, Theft, Lost Luggage, Accidental Damage.
Deductible: $0.00 for all claims.
I called 2 State Farm agents before finding one who would insure camera equipment (used in scuba diving) against flooding. The first agent I called seemed to be very knowledgeable, but said that it would be very difficult to find an insurance company to insure against flooding. He did say that if it fell off the boat and sunk into the abyss - it would be covered, just not if it floods.
The second agent I called called the underwriter directly to check about the 'flooding' condition. They said he would underwrite the policy. Took me a day to take pictures and get serial numbers for my equipment (not sure if it was required, but it was suggested). Next day I was covered.
I cannot be sure of if I will ever have any problems with any claims, but I feel that I am working with a reputable insurance company - so I do not expect any.
If you think about it, the most likely thing to happen is flooding, and chances are slim that both of my cameras (still and video) would flood on the same trip. If my C5050Z flooded and I went with H20insurance, I would have paid 243.00 for the premium + $250 deductible = 493.00 for a claim for $500. This is my most likely scenario, and it didn't seem worth it - in fact the flooding insurance in general really wasn't worth it. It only became valuable in the event of theft. If a thief stole everything, I could pay a $100 deductable and get all of my equipment replaced. I get the best of both world for a reasonable price with the State Farm Insurance.
Comments
Posts: 1160
Administrator
I just inquired with my State Farm agent as to why another agent wouldn't give me a peril that includes flooding as a covered peril.
She stated that term 'Flooding' in the insurance industry is highly correlated with the natural disaster where water flows along the ground and into a house. NOT underwater housing failure. They are insuring against failure of my underwater housing, and flooding is probably not the correct term to use.
In addition, it should be noted that my cameras are NOT insured against failure due to moisture such as humidity or resulting rust or mold. She indicated that this is considered something that occurs over a longer period of time.
Posts: 7
Junior Member
In other words if you flood your housing pay someone to "take care of it" for you. If it is stolen then it is covered but not if it is "flooded" in the divers terms.
Posts: 1160
Administrator
Incorrect. The way it was explained to me is that it is insured against failure. So if you have a underwater housing that fails, the result is that your camera is ruined - so you ARE covered. In the scuba industry, we call this 'flooding'. The word is used differently in the insurance industry.
"Flooding" is a term used in the insurance industry to describe groundwater that rises to a level that it flows into a house. So if you have your camera laying on the floor in your house, and the the nearby river overflows, and the water runs into your house and destroys your camera - you would NOT be covered.
I highly recommend that you clarify this with your agent, but explain that you want to insure your stuff against failure. Explain that a failure would result in water breaching the housing - destroying the camera equipment.
Here is a direct quote from an email I sent to my agent:
ME: "Does the policy specifically state that they are insured against flooding? Is there anything that is not covered?"
AGENT: "There is no specific wording regarding coverage for flooding of the camera equipment - however, equipment damage due to dampness of atmosphere (rust and mold), and temperature extremes is excluded. Other exclusions for all scheduled items are damage or loss due to war, nuclear hazard, civil war or insurrection, inherent vice (i.e., deterioration, "wear and tear", rust, mold) and vermin. Theft, mysterious disappearance, breakage are all covered. If the camera housing broke underwater and damaged the camera - that would be covered - just not damage caused by the eventual rust and mold from being in the humid atmosphere. If you dropped the camera into the water and it sunk to the bottom depths of the ocean - that would be covered! I hope I am explaining this adequately for you... The policy copy outlines all of this."
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