Considering renting my Scarlet out... few questions first

[James_Mills]

I'm thinking about renting my Scarlet out when I'm not shooting, but wanted to ask you guys a few questions on the matter first:

1. What kind of insurance should I get for it, and does anyone know of any cheap and reliable insurers I could look at? At this moment NONE of my equipment is insured and am looking to change that once the new year starts but I don't know which company to insure from and what kind of plan I should get...

2. My friend said that he makes his customers that rent from him buy their own insurance? Is this hard for them to acquire and will it detract from potential renters?

3. What's a decent rate these days for the Los Angeles area? I've seen their packages out as low as 425 from some independent renters, but I feel like that's kind of a diluted price...

and most importantly...


4. Would you guys even recommend renting my equipment out? I've heard good and bad stories about it...

I was going to post this in the Rental Group board but figured it might be more appropriate here since it's mostly ads over there. I'm sure these questions are probably just common knowledge to most around here, but I'm admittedly ignorant about all this stuff and any help would be fantastic... thanks, guys.

 

[Paul Ellington]

It really depends on why you got it. Do you insist on 100% return on investment? Can you do this and live without renting it out? Can you afford to own it for the sake of art? I think you can guess were this is going. Insurance is easy to get for renters and they should have it, and so should you just in case isht happens. I have rented out and so far I have been lucky, a lost crank for a follow focus, and a knick-knack or two but overall I am good. The productions I did rent to have always had insurance.

I tend to hold onto my rig, but I am trying to create a small startup with a friend which will change things a little but not much. More control. You could try to rent it out with you attached. I had no luck with that in New York, but then I didn't rent my Epic out.

Best.

- Paul.

 

[Michael Notar]

i hear the standard is 2% of the retail value of the equipment as a per day rental, with a 3 day week and 3 week month. Smaller electronic items (accessories/lenses) i try for 3-5% per day. it depends on the item, the wear on the item and what it is (last one is unofficial). think what would you be willing to rent it for. i rent grip electric lighting camera and audio gear out. grip and electric cords have a low rental rate due to life span. it seems camera batteries and memory cards a little higher than the norm. lenses seem to be a little lower than norm. lights have bulbs that are actively used and needs to be factored in.

i am usually on set with my gear. i do a gear and gaff package kindof thing. for the scarlet, i definitely require proof of insurance and that i am named as a loss payee. if its a small shoot i usually avoid it. i have full insurance for my gear but with a deductible less depreciation of the equipment lost/stolen/broken you will probably have to come up with some money. so even with insurance you could/prob will be out of pocket some.

 

[James_Mills]

Thanks for the responses.

May I also ask what you guys think about leaving my camera at a rental house and having them rent it out for me? And what rate would be decent for this (my friend says he has a 60/40 deal with his but I've heard of some as high as 75)

 

[Eric Oh]

I have my Cooke Panchro/i (Mini S4/i) and Zeiss CP2's at a rental house. The split is 80% for me and 20% for them. They maintain my lenses and is covered under their insurance.

 

[Michael AvMen]

https://www.buymyinsurancenow.com/Home/Insure-My-Rentals/ Just Make sure people Insure it or Make sure you do.....

 

[James_Mills]

Awesome, thank you guys so much.

Michael, that insurance link was significantly cheaper than I had imagined or even heard from my other friends' insurance claims... is that the cheapes tone? Are they pretty good?