I may be about to switch insurance companies again. (Oh, why don't
I have much confidence in my insurance, expensive as it is?!)
I am looking for specific experience with US companies - NOT what
an agent or the policy says, but actual experience with losses
and claims results with specific US companies, please. My needs:
PROFESSIONAL-use coverage, REAL replacement value (NOT depreciated,
though a deductable sum is OK), REASONABLE price (I pay about $500/yr.
now [which is acceptable, I guess, if the insurance has value] with
little confidence that I could actually collect the coverage I am
paying for now). I have never had a loss (whew!), but could not
afford to self-insure now (20 years ago, I could have, if I had
known I wouldn't have a loss in the next 20 years....;-).
Thanks for any help.
Hope This Helps

I saw your post about camera insurance. If you have what is known as an
"Inland Marine" policy with terms you find accepatable, you should have
absolutely no problem collecting. Unfortunately, I did once have to file
a sizeable claim, and the company more than honored its obligations.
Insurance companies are state licensed, and your state regulator assures
that the resources are adequate to protect the insured. Moreover, some
states (including mine - New Jersey) are "good faith" states. In those
cases, even the letter of the policy may not restrict your ability to
collect because the company is first bound to "good faith". Please feel
free to e-mail me back with any questions- I've got a helluva little
background in this stuff.
Curtis Leeds

In article <4scd2h$gja@newsstand.cit.cornell.edu> d_ruether@hotmail.com (Bob Neuman
) writes:

>I am looking for specific experience with US companies - NOT what
>an agent or the policy says, but actual experience with losses
>and claims results with specific US companies, please. My needs:

My experience doesn't exactly fit your criteria, but I'll let you know
what happened anyway. Last summer, my Olympus OM-4 and Series 1 70-210
lens were stolen from my office. I have replacement coverage on my
homeowner's insurance. My agent said the company would pay to replace
the camera and lens with "like kind and quality." I purchased a new
OM-4T and Series 1 70-210 from B&H, and the company (State Farm)
promptly sent me a check for the total cost minus my deductible. I was
pleasantly surprised at how easy and accommodating the process was.

HTH

Eric Birdsall r1eb@dax.cc.uakron.edu (Eric Birdsall)

Hi--

>In article <4u8hpu$imr@newsstand.cit.cornell.edu> you write:
>>I may be about to switch insurance companies again. (Oh, why don't
>>I have much confidence in my insurance, expensive as it is?!)
>
>I'd be very interested in your findings, and I hope you can post your
>results. I tried to discuss camera insurance with my homeowner's
>carrier (State Farm) but the agent seemed so clueless that I didn't
>want to proceed. They've been very good at claims handling for auto
>and home losses, however.
> wtyler@mv.us.adobe.com (William Tyler)

So far, yours is the only response! Thanks. I had State Farm, and the
agent also couldn't answer what I considered basic questions about
the insurance (I switched twice since, with no more confidence in the
companies....). I have heard what you relate - maybe I should go back...