What's the best method to insure valuables/personal tech while overseas?
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 Posted by Oliver Hulland (Questions: 39, Answers: 59)
Asked on October 23, 2011 1:21 pm
246406 Views
My fiancée recently got assaulted and had her computer stolen while in Bangladesh. We've learned our lesson about travelling with uninsured valuable technology, and I was wondering if anybody had found a good solution for future trips abroad. I am also interested for local solutions, but I am pretty sure my homeowners insurance covers anything while in-country. |
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Travel insurance is usually pointless for expensive electronic items like cameras and computers because of low coverage limits and high deductibles, so I have a "personal articles" rider on my renter's insurance policy which covers specific named items (my computer, my camera and lenses, &c.) against almost anything that might happen to them anywhere in the world. I haven't had to make a claim against the insurance (luckily), but it's cheap enough (about $30/year for $3000 worth of items) that I find the peace of mind to be worth it. Talk to the provider of your homeowner's insurance and see what they offer. |
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Personal articles rider on your home owners or renters policy. Keep it updated with accurate descriptions and serial numbers. This is especially important if you have a "replacement cost" clause. If you travel with expensive photography gear, keep in mind that camera bodies get updated and replaced on a fairly regular basis....but good lenses are for life and rarely lose much value. If you want to save, you can selectively cover the items you just can't afford to replace should they be stolen, damaged, lost, or destroyed and then "self-insure" the rest by setting aside a small saving account. Some photogs insure their lenses through a rider, but self-insure camera bodies they know they can replace or will want to replace with an updated version for less than the price of one piece of good glass. |
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Related: I always scan my passport, drivers license, credit cards, etc. and send the pictures to myself in an email before traveling. Then if they are misplaced or stolen, I have some evidence of my identity. |
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It's generally not worth insuring things that you can afford to replace. For computers, the data is generally the valuable part--back up at least once a day. The smaller the cost of the item, the larger the insurance overhead and the worse of a deal you will be getting on the insurance. The best method? Self insure. Keep around enough savings to replace anything you own. |
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