Do you have adequate insurance for everything in your camera bag?
You’ll know if you take a few hours to inventory your equipment. I just completed this task and I explain how I did it below.
I finally decided to inventory my camera equipment this month. What else is there to do on a rainy, winter day? It occurred to me that if I had my camera bag stolen out of my car or on location, I would not know off the top of my head what exactly what was in the bag.
I decided to use an electronic inventory method, so I could provide my insurance company with a PDF, in the event I had my stuff stolen. So I laid out all my equipment on the floor, photographed all my gear, including camera bodies, flash, filter, SD cards, batteries, and other accessories. I created a Word Table with four columns and wrote down the serial number, date purchased, and the cost new. I inserted the photograph of the item in the first column. Next, I dug up all the receipts, so they were all in one place. I’ve purchased most of my equipment on Amazon or B&H Photo, so I was able to log on to both sites and retrieve my order history.
It is a good idea to contact your insurance company to find out what your home policy covers. If you are over the limit they provide, you may have to take out additional insurance.
Luckily for me, the PPA (Professional Photographers of America) provides $15,000 of equipment insurance with the annual membership.
So get started now, and don’t forget the SD cards, batteries, and lens filters. They all add up. It might be the best thing you’ll do all month.
If you would like the template that I created, contact me, and I will email it to you.
