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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Stolen Gear Serial Numbers and a word of Advice
Margaret Bowles, Photographer
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Houston | TX | | Posted: 6:32 PM on 12.07.09 |
->> Here are the Serial numbers for my stolen gear.
Serial Numbers: All Canon
16-35mm 2100203913
70-200 2.8L IS 25963
24-85 3.5 221000254494
300 2.8L IS 25963
600 F/4 10772
400 2.8 L IS 20188
2x extender 33046
1.4 extender 31164
580 EX Speedlight 007800
Mark II 21498
Mark II 209814
Mark III 21-550693
20D 0320110135
I just want to say one more thing to help people. I spent a couple of hours going over things with my insurance adjuster. There are quite a few things I never bothered to add to the schedule of equipment: a Thinktank Airport Security bag, a LowePro back pack, a couple of lenses I bought last year, external hard drives, extra batteries, memory cards, a 580 EXII flash, and so on. Please take the time to include everything on your schedule of insured equipment. I will not be able to recover for any items that were not listed. It's an expensive lapse of attention on my part. Hope you can learn from my mistakes.
Also, laptops are not covered on an Inland Marine Policy; they are covered under homeowners insurance. Mine has a $3000 limit. I thought that would be enough--before I bought a MacBook Pro
Teaching new shooters how to protect themselves might be a good topic for a workshop. |
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Dirk Weaver, Photographer, Assistant
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Charlotte | NC | USA | Posted: 6:54 PM on 12.07.09 |
->> Margaret,
Point well taken. Again, I'm sorry to hear about your loss and will take this into consideration moving forward. I hope everything works out for you.
Regards,
Dirk |
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Danny Munson, Photographer
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San Dimas | Ca | United States | Posted: 7:18 PM on 12.07.09 |
| ->> Sorry to hear about the loss Margaret. Now that I think about I have probably $3000 worth of stuff I need to add. |
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Thomas Boyd, Photographer
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Portland | OR | USA | Posted: 11:02 PM on 12.07.09 |
->> Be sure and post this list on your area Craigslist and also outlying cities as well. I did just that when I was ripped off and recovered 100 percent of the gear and there's a dude sitting the Snohomish County Jail right now for selling stolen goods.
Craigslist is a cesspool of stolen goods. |
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Diana Porter, Photographer
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Houston | TX | USA | Posted: 1:46 PM on 12.08.09 |
| ->> Send the list to Canon as well so if they get any in for repair they will be flagged as stolen and they can contact you. |
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Eric Canha, Photographer
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Brockton | MA | United States | Posted: 2:47 PM on 12.08.09 |
->> Margaret your are 100% correct that no item is too small to list on the schedule. I just had an agent question why I was listing 3 CF cards given that the cards (singularly) would not break the deductible. Took me explaining to her that it wasn't the value of ONE card but the sum total value of the memory wallet that I was adjusting.
Agents and adjusters don't always understand how our businesses work. What might not make sense to them may save us $100's should we have to file a claim.
Unless you have an agent that deals with photographers and studio policies, ask around and compare coverages from 2 or 3 people in the business that you trust. One other thing to consider is whether your gear is covered where you store it. I have outgrown my current location and had to rent space at at storage facility. I learned from the Hartford that I only had $5K in coverage. I had to modify my policy to include the off site storage facility and to adjust the amount of coverage there as well.
If you are serious about your business and protecting it, you should audit your policy EVERY YEAR when it renews. I'm lucky in that my wife is an insurance supervisor and has a master's understanding of the beastly policy that gets mailed to us.
Go through the schedule looking for things that have changed. Stuff that you have sold, has been broken and tossed, or otherwise is no longer in your possession. Look for changes that the company may have made without your knowledge, for example I learned that the Hartford changes the deductible to $500 at renewal by default. It's up to me to call EVERY year and have it set to what I want. If you carry "additional insureds" go through that list too. Make sure that the list is current. Nothing sucks more than to get to the rental shop and be faced with having to put down deposits on your weekend rental because they never got your renewed policy (almost happen to me).
If something ISN'T being covered on your business policy don't just take your agent's word that your homeowner/renter policy will cover it. That MAY BE true in the case of things owned by your employer UNLESS you are your employer. Call the company and ask to have underwriting review and issue a written response.
Agents are very nice (usually) people who get paid to originate a policy. They have nothing to do with underwriting or adjusting a claim. Having an agent tell you that xyz will be cover means nothing if the policy has an exclusion or if they were just plain wrong. I really do like my agent but I just don't expect him to be an underwriter too.
BTW It totally sucks that you lost all of your files. That is one thing that can't be replaced and unless you have one heck of a good policy and well documented sales and licensing numbers VERY hard to pin a value on the collection. I don't know what was in that collection of work but you may want to pursue the value of those files and the loss of future licensing if you had coverage for lost income. A good PA (Public Adjuster) can sometimes find coverages for losses that the insurance company either misses or simply chose to miss because you didn't claim them.
I really do feel for you.
Eric |
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Phil Hawkins, Photographer
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Fresno | ca | usa | Posted: 2:54 PM on 12.08.09 |
| ->> I don't mean to hijack this thread for it's excellent advice on protecting yourself, but it seems appropriate to ask where people are getting coverage and who should I call for good photog insurance? And for folks like me who live in an apartment... etc. etc. We might as well discuss the entire subject. |
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Shelly Castellano, Photographer
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Huntington Beach | CA | USA | Posted: 3:36 PM on 12.08.09 |
| ->> California residents can call a friend of mine at State Farm who will be happy to review a current policy, give you some advice and compare it to what they have available to fit your needs. Call Paul Bush at 714-330-3643 tell him I sent you and you will be in very good hands. |
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Jeff Hinds, Photographer
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Portland | OR | USA | Posted: 3:42 PM on 12.08.09 |
->> Wow, so sorry to hear about the gear loss, Margaret. I missed how it was stolen? Do you mind sharing here?
Eric, all great advice, thanks!
Here is a great product that helps with peace of mind when I'm away (34.8cuft sentry safe on sale now at costco.com, delivered to your door for $799!):
http://tiny.cc/s7K7Y
It holds a TON of gear! |
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Larry Lawson, Photographer
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Portland | OR | USA | Posted: 6:22 PM on 12.09.09 |
->> About companies, I called my state farm guy, and he says it's a $500 limit for cameras, and that SF doesn't do sports camera gear - even if I registered as a wedding photographer.
A referral to another business site was $500 a year, but was wasn't a blanket policy, and was basically a one strike policy as well.
They referred me to A&A, which is in England. I'd prefer to keep in it country. Anyone willing to share who they're using? |
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PJ Heller, Photographer
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Santa Barbara | CA | USA | Posted: 6:33 PM on 12.09.09 |
->> I can highly recommend http://www.tcpinsurance.com/
They specialize in insuring photographers.
Re State Farm: When I checked in the past, the didn't want to insure you if you were a pro photographer (at least if you were in California, as I recall).
If you do use your equipment professionally, it may not be covered by your homeowners policy. It pays to check . . . |
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Harrison Shull, Photographer
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Fayetteville, WV | Asheville, NC | | Posted: 6:41 PM on 12.09.09 |
->> Lotsa threads here at SS on insurance - use the search feature.
Here's one - http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=33206
Sounds like most folks are using TCP or Hill & Usher.
I have been with TCP for ages and they are great. |
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Brian Cripe, Photographer, Assistant
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East Lansing | MI | USA | Posted: 6:44 PM on 12.09.09 |
| ->> TCP has been stellar - I have unfortunately had gear stolen out of my vehicle, and TCP was great about handling it. I made the same mistake Margaret made and had some items not listed, but TCP was still able to cover them for me. I cannot speak highly enough of their service. |
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David Seelig, Photographer
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Hailey | ID | USA | Posted: 6:52 PM on 12.09.09 |
| ->> I use The Hartford a few years ago I had 2 claims in 2 years no raise of premiums. |
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Eric Canha, Photographer
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Brockton | MA | United States | Posted: 7:06 PM on 12.09.09 |
| ->> Hill & Usher's Total Choice. It provides equipment coverage as well as general liability and coverage for business (non-camera) equipment. I haven't had a claim so I can't comment on how they handle claims |
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Sean Popke, Photographer
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San Diego | CA | | Posted: 7:18 PM on 12.09.09 |
| ->> Another vote for TCP. I haven't had a claim, but it's nice working with a company geared for photographers. Because of Margaret, I just updated my list yesterday morning and updated my policy. |
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David Royal, Photographer, Assistant
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Monterey Bay | CA | USA | Posted: 2:16 PM on 12.10.09 |
->> Thanks for the info Margaret.
Does anyone know where to find the serial numbers on battery grips like the Canon BG-E6? |
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William Purnell, Photographer
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Wichita | Ks | | Posted: 11:48 PM on 12.12.09 |
->> Wow, Margaret. Your experience brings back some vivid memories for me.
I was robbed of my gear in Houston last December, luckily in a one in a million shots some friends of mine from Houston Camera called me the very next afternoon and advised me some thugs were in the store trying to sell them my stolen gear, still had my business cards in the bag.
A quick call to the police and all gear was recovered.
So to add a bit to your great advice, its often worth a quick call to all the local camera shops that might purchase used gear to advise them of the theft too. |
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Chris Ivin, Photographer
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Sydney | NSW | Australia | Posted: 4:15 AM on 12.14.09 |
->> Here's a couple of tips that may prevent people getting robbed (it caught me out a few years ago). Common sense some may say ...
Be very wary of selling privately. Telling 'potential customers' your home address is something I'll never do again. There are thieves out there using the online ads as a weekly work list. If you can't figure this out and you want to know their modus operandi send me a message and i'll tell you.
Only have as much personal information online ( i.e. address, numbers etc etc ) as you really have to. |
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