Travel Insurance for Photographers

[Hank]

[font color=\'#000000\']Mark-

I don't know about coverage for amateurs, but for comparison review the insurance available through the Professional Photographers of America (ppa.com).  It's quite reasonable if you are already a member of PPA and use other services, but expensive if you include the cost of PPA membership on top of the policy.  We have used them for years and have been completely satisfied with their fairness and promptness in claims.

Hank[/font]

[leucopogon]

[font color=\'#000000\']I'm a newbie to this forum.

My question is: can somebody point me in the right direction of an insurance company that provides a realistic policy for coverage of camera gear for international travel?

What policies are you serious amateur photographers buying for your overseas trips? Having done a little investigating it seems like most policies aren't designed with the travelling amateur photographer in mind. For example, one policy I looked at considered has a limit of 3,000 Aussie dollars for loss, damage or theft of camera equipment (not really adequate for a travelling underwater photographer, some housings are worth more than AUD$3,000!!!).

I'm an Australian citizen, so if anyone has any info pertaining to travel insurance available to Australians that would be great. I'm still interested to know any American insurance companies that people use so I can visit their websites and read over the fine print of their policies (for comparison sake).

Looking forward to your input

Mark[/font]

[neil]

[font color=\'#000000\']My personal State Farm agent got real nervous when I began to describe my imaging equipment and coverage desires.  He was going to send me to an agency that writes coverage for regular businesses.  But ASMP has an arrangement with a commercial company for very reasonable coverage.  I don't know what the situation for you in Austrailia is as far as professional organizations but I'm sure that's the best route since that avoids a 'custom policy' route and brings the power of a group to bear (which is how the insurance agency looks at the world).[/font]