Komodo insurance cover?

[Daniel Porto]

Can you insure an item that hasn’t been technically released?

 

[Christopher A. Bell]

Doesn't matter. Being an "official" product doesn't have anything to do with it. If you've already paid for it or ordered it, yes(presuming you're talking about a ST Komodo that you have ordered). In fact, my insurance agent recommends that I email him after I buy a piece of gear that I want insured, before I take possession of it so that it can be "scheduled" and covered. Because for my scheduled policy there is no "grace period" for new purchases and if it is not listed, it is not covered.

 

[Christoffer Glans]

Can you insure an item that hasn’t been technically released?

So you don't have a receipt? Also, take pictures and document the equipment when contacting the insurance company. If they still question the existence of the product, you have tons of material of its existence on youtube, from Red etc.
But a receipt should cover it, it's the official document to prove that it's a real product. Never heard of an insurance company that need anything else.

 

[Wil Wong]

From my experience, Insurance Companies simply need to know the value of the gear you are insuring (to replace it). The higher the value, the more the insurance will cost you. Realistically, they don't care what gear is insured as long as it's documented with serial numbers and the replacement value (allowing them to charge me accordingly). My discontinued Epic-W had a replacement value of a new DSMC2 Helium Unibody price - much more than the worth of my Epic.

One note of warning, some insurance companies (like the one I used) had a minimum gear value coverage. Meaning that anything less then that value, You'd still have to pay the same cost as if you had more gear covered. I can't remember but I think that my gear range was between $0-$35,000. So any gears tally under $35,000 was the same price, $1000 YEAR (being the lowest coverage they'd be willing to cover). Anything over obviously cost you more. Mind you, this is in Canadian dollar and a Canadian Insurance Company. So even though Komodo might be only $7000, you might consider adding other gear like Lens, sound equipment, lights, etc. to closely reach the minimum coverage. Hope that made sense. It might not be true of all insurance companies but something to think about and ask.

 

[David Peterson]

One note of warning, some insurance companies (like the one I used) had a minimum gear value coverage. Meaning that anything less then that value, You'd still have to pay the same cost as if you had more gear covered. I can't remember but I think that my gear range was between $0-$35,000. So any gears tally under $35,000 was the same price, $1000 YEAR (being the lowest coverage they'd be willing to cover). Anything over obviously cost you more. Mind you, this is in Canadian dollar and a Canadian Insurance Company. So even though Komodo might be only $7000, you might consider adding other gear like Lens, sound equipment, lights, etc. to closely reach the minimum coverage. Hope that made sense. It might not be true of all insurance companies but something to think about and ask.

Interesting, I never knew about that! But also it makes sense too. Thanks for mentioning it.

 

[Christopher A. Bell]

From my experience, Insurance Companies simply need to know the value of the gear you are insuring (to replace it). The higher the value, the more the insurance will cost you. Realistically, they don't care what gear is insured as long as it's documented with serial numbers and the replacement value (allowing them to charge me accordingly).

More or less, yes. With my current insurance company, when I want to add something, I just email my agent and tell him I’m adding “Piece of Gear/Model # X”, value $Y. Then they email me a bill for its additional coverage. I actually don’t think I’ve ever had to turn in serial numbers on the equipment list/schedule.

 

[Scott Balkum]

More or less, yes. With my current insurance company, when I want to add something, I just email my agent and tell him I’m adding “Piece of Gear/Model # X”, value $Y. Then they email me a bill for its additional coverage. I actually don’t think I’ve ever had to turn in serial numbers on the equipment list/schedule.

The serial numbers will help you in the long run. If you have a loss, they have the information already. You don’t need to track it down. Sometimes, not often, insurance companies will play a game to try and deny the claim. They’ll state that you didn’t specifically insure a named item and then it falls under a general category. Anything over $1000, I’d send the serial number or at least have it well documented.

 

[Christopher A. Bell]

The serial numbers will help you in the long run. If you have a loss, they have the information already. You don’t need to track it down. Sometimes, not often, insurance companies will play a game to try and deny the claim. They’ll state that you didn’t specifically insure a named item and then it falls under a general category. Anything over $1000, I’d send the serial number or at least have it well documented.

I had a large theft not quite 15 years ago and luckily for me, I had just made an updated inventory list with serial numbers, not even a month before it happened. So I had a three ring binder with EVERYTHING in it, in categories(cam, audio, lighting, etc.) and broken down into what was in each individual case.

So my apologies if my post sounded like something it wasn't. I wasn't trying to insinuate that having your serial numbers isn't a good thing, just that none of the companies I've dealt with over the years, to the best of my recollection, have required them up-front for scheduling purposes.

And with all of this down-time recently, I should probably take the time to update my list, so that it is current.

 

[Andy Roberts]

With Kat at Athos Insurance, used by MANY red users, https://www.athosinsurance.com , they separate between "Scheduled" (listed) and "Unscheduled" (unlisted) items. For any items over $5K, you have to add them to the schedule with serial number, etc. For everything below $5K, it is considered "unscheduled" and is just part of a pot of worth. So my coverage for lenses and everything else is roughly $25K for "unlisted" and the Komodo is $7,500 "scheduled" because they want to know full replacement cost including tax. If my house burnt down and I had total loss, they send me a check for $32,500 minus my deductible... but the only item they'd need to know the serial is the Komodo. That's my understanding.