Do you insure your flyfishing gear?

[Acristickid]

Since I have been laid off and have some spare time to research/follow up on things I would not normally follow up on.

I had to go to my insurance agent about an issue (my health insurance, since COBRA is more expensive) anyhow- I got into asking about insuring my fly equipment and my guns. She gave me a quote of $1.53 per every $100 insured worth of equipment with no deductable. Does this seem comparable to other folks if you insure?? I think the most logical reason to get it is- I take several rods with me and leave them in the car while fishing or in camp grounds etc...

1 $500+ Sage
2 $600+ Winstons
plus a couple $300 ross reels

Now if I was a young buck I would never have even considered it (since ALL of my money went to the bars and chasing girls) but I figure I could afford $30 a year to insure some of my favorite tools.

Anyone with any intel on this? Did anyone ever use their insurance?

I am probably going to insure my Browning Citori O/U 20 gauge. That sucker was $1200! Thanks for any and all input. Paul

 

[tomgamber]

Just curious, what are you insuring it from. If its stolen from or damaged in your car, does your auto policy not cover this? If its stolen from or damaged by say fire in your home does your policy not cover the contents? I do not know the answers to these questions...I'm just kind of wondering what you found out from teh agent..what are they covered for.

 

[Acristickid]

She said homeowners is kinda iffy on paying anything close to the value of the equipment and my car insurance would not cover them in the case of theft. My thought on getting the insurance was thinking if someone was to break into my care and steal them. That recent night rider thread got me thinking. For $20-$30 bucks a year why not? Insurance is a total waste of money until you need it. I think Yogi Berra said something like that.

 

[jayL]

It could be a decent idea. I'm still in the bars and girls phase of life so I won't do it. I also don't have anywhere near that kind of investment. When my gear got stolen, it was just a few cheap okuma reels, flies, and a vest full of nippers and whatnot. The flies were priceless to me. That's the part that really sucks. If I lost my rods, I'd be screwed, but I'd say I have less than $1000 worth of terminal gear.

In the future, it might be a something I'd do.

 

[JackM]

I would examine both homeowners and auto policies because I believe they cover items stolen from vehicles or other off-site locations. You may face deductibles and total value limitations, but I believe there is coverage. Once you know the details of present coverage, you can better judge the value of supplemental insurance. A rider to either the homeowners/renter or auto policy is bound to be cheaper than some kind of stand-alone policy.

My best defense against my extra rods or reels being stolen from my vehicle is to take them out of the case and lay them in plain view so the thief will be able to see right away that it isn't worth his trouble.

 

[Maurice]

I had some stuff stolen and filed a claim with Nationwide. Here is how it worked out. The total was $1490. in goods stolen. The reimbursement claim was based on retail value at time of sale minus depreciation unless replaced. I was awarded a check for total value (minus) depreciation (minus) deductable. ($900) If I replaced the gear and proved it with receipts I could get the depreciation back. I was diligent to replace every item and made it back to the Total (minus) deductable. ($1240)

That is how it worked out for me.

So in my thinking, if you only had your gear stolen every 10 years, the extra rider would not be worth it.

As well, there are limits to the amount of replacement value in each occurrance. Mine was $1500.

The gear stolen were
Orvis one wt rod
Scott Alpha series 8' 5wt.
Orvis Rod luggage
Orvis CFO III reel & line
SA System 2 Reel & spare spool + lines
(2) Cortland fair play reels
Cortland Rim fly reel + line
Cabelas rod case
Dual reel case
Assorted leaders and tippets.

It was a pain in the butt, but Nationwide was on my side. :-D

 

[Acristickid]

M- damn. I would be mad as hell. Sorry I had to learn that it is probably not worth it to buy the insurance from your misfortune. I have to ask, did you file your claim with your auto or homeowners?

J- sound advice, I will look into.

Thanks Paul

 

[Maurice]

If you knew the circumstances....boy what a story.

I believe it was my Homeowners...both with the same carrier.

 

I; think, (which is scary enough, believe me!), that it's probably something that goes from "insurance co. to insurance co." and ESPECIALLY "how good, your agent is"!
Several years ago, my canopy was broken into, up on the St.Joe river, in North Idaho. My cheapie "stuff", ( a rod and reel and spool) wasn't taken, but my Thomas and Thomas and Sage reels were stolen, along with a gear bag and wood net. The thief must have known fly gear and it's value.
Whatever,all my auto ins. carrier agent requested from me, were "pictures of the things I had stolen, along with current prices". Which, duhhh,was easy, by merely taking him catalog cutouts from various catalogs I had. Within two weeks, I had a check for all my gear stolen, less about $25.00.
I told my agent, that the Sage reel was no longer made, ( a Sage #304), and that, he said, was probably the $25.00 difference.
Several factors, MAY or MAY NOT have entered into this kind of service, from Allstate.....................
My agent and I, are friends and often fly fish together.
My auto, life and home owner's ins. were all with the same company.
I had photo proof, to show my claim adjuster, that "what I had stolen, I truly owned" and there was very obvious proof of the break in, into my truck.
Now, on the DOWN side of all of this............................was divorce.
My, "now ex", KNEW the value of my gear and when "property split" came into play, during the divorce......................you guessed it. I was out a hell of a lot of gear! In fact, I lost over $5.000.00 worth, in the "settlement".
NOW................... my only fear, is if my current bride, sells my gear when I'm gone........for what I've told her I've paid for what I own, she'll only get about $5.15 out of it!?

 

[CAMBYSES]

I have never really thought about this! I'm still young, dumb and maybe a little naive.
I fish a lot! and carry A LOT!!! of gear in my car. My fly fishing stuff isn't real expensive but my spin gear is as well as my tackle and my hand tied flies which are priceless. I'll now have to call my agent and see if I'm covered for this stuff under my auto and renter's ins.

I carry 5 fly rods and 7 spin rods in my car at all times along with 3 tackle bags and numerous loose plano boxes full of gear not to mention my wading boots, waders, chest packs and vests. I think if this stuff was stolen I would cry like a little baby and my fiancee would rejoice!

I also carry a 10' Liquid Logic MR10 kayak with a fish finder and Carlisle Paddle, which if I wasn't near my car for an hour or so could easily be stolen, I wonder if that would be covered?

 

CAMBYSES..........
Usually, (depending on the company, of course), sporting equipment, such as you carry, IS covered under homeowner's and/or, renter's insurance.
However, BOATS, 99% of the time anyway......... are NOT. They carry their OWN policy, such as auto insurance covers your vehicle, renter's insurance covers your household goods and clothing, etc.
I'd get a "real definite" from my agent, before I'd risk the loss of your kayak!

 

[ian_brown]

This is the downside to having cool toys. This wouldn't be an issue for me because my rods, reels, lines, etc are only worth about $650, and my deductible is $1000.

 

[Panchon74]

It really depends on the Ins. Company as to the $ amount that they will cover. But most will cover your items under homeowners and or renters, minus deductible and or depreciation. All that is needed is pictures of items, sales receipts, manuals or material that came with items or an itemized list as part of claim to prove ownership. In some cases just an affidavit will due. No need to get additional coverage. So just check your policies declarations page and or call the Ins. co direct not your agent.

Mario

 

Interesting article, on this very topic, at... www.postcresent.com .
When on their home page, (it's a Wiscon. newspaper), there's a search box in their header. Type in; "tackle thefts", under "Recent News".
It's a pretty decent article about "Fishing tackle thefts being on the rise", as well as "How some insurance companies cover such losses".