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Mark Maslonkowski
07-22-2012, 9:26 PM
So I not in buisness at this time just a new hobbyist laser owner. The problem I am having is finding home owner theft coverage that will be enough to cover my laser along with all the other tools in my shop that is behind my house. I have purchased as much coverage as my home owners insurance company will offer for theft protection $20,000.00. Which doesn't even cover the laser much less the other 40k with of tools in the shop. My agent told mei would be covered if I had a fire but they can only offer the above theft coverage for tools. So I ask how are the rest of you hobbyist laser owners protecting your equipment from theft.

New owner of epilog helix 60watt

Thanks
Mark Maslonkowski

Joe Pelonio
07-22-2012, 9:40 PM
Did you ask about a rider? I have always had business insurance at a large cost separate from the homeowners, which I continued after moving it to my house, since I needed liability for installation work.

Most companies will do a rider to insure expensive items such as jewelry, artwork, antiques and equipment that are not covered by the normal policy.

You may want to shop around and see if you can find a company (or different agent) that can handle this for you.

Steve Clarkson
07-22-2012, 11:32 PM
I was thinking about getting some extra coverage this week........since I had 200 laptops valued at $1,500 each ($300,000 total value) sitting here for 3 days...........I pretty much held my breathe the entire time hoping that I wouldn't have a fire. I wasn't worried about a thief since I had carried them all in and almost had a hernia......

Rodne Gold
07-23-2012, 2:05 AM
I'm pretty sure you can get more than $20k coverage of household goods , it sounds very low , find another insurance company.

At work all our machinery is "specified" (IE listed) for full comprehensive insurance (which we used once when a car drove thru our workshop glass door frontage and damaged a laser..)

At home , I have some serious hifi equipment , everything is insured for FULL replacement value and is "listed" - I have pictures of all my stuff including serial numbers and proof of purchase , these pics are also uploaded to a pic sharing site , so if my place burns down , I got "proof".

In insurance , you generally get what you pay for , go for "cheap" insurance and it's almost 100% likely your claim will be adjusted downwards or repudiated entirely...
Insurance companies do not like paying out .. they will find all sorts of clauses etc that give them an opportunity to repudiate the claim , anything you discuss with a broker must be in writing and not verbal and go thru the terms and conditions of the insurance with a fine tooth comb..
Be aware , with a household policy , the insurer will apply an average clause , lets say you have a $20k laser and you are insured for $40k , the adjuster comes in and determines you actually have $60k's worth of goods in your house (they will include EVERYTHING at current prices like curtains , light fittings, your clothes etc) , You lose the laser in some way and the insurer will say ... $40k/$60k = 2/3rds of your goods were insured , so you will get at best 2/3rds of the $20k for the lost laser..

Actually , it's a big problem , finding cover for "goods in transit" or stored goods (your laptops as an example) so as to goods in transit , no insurance co will offer big numbers here for little money... You will be able to get some nominal amount like $5k and have to self insure unless you want to pay big money , so it's VITAL when accepting a job where you are "storing" goods worth big $ amounts , that you make the customer sign a waiver of responsibility or to organise insurance themselves. We have a customer with solid gold and solid silver trophies they bring in for engraving , probably worth $200k+, we decline to accept them on our premises unless we see proof of insurance.

Martin Boekers
07-23-2012, 10:03 AM
Make sure you get "replacement cost" then the will replace with new and not pro-rated cost.

Sandy Henry
07-23-2012, 11:40 AM
My only option was a separate policy, Inland Marine, to cover my laser. I think its the same as used to insure boats & rec. vehicles.

Bruce Dorworth
07-23-2012, 12:56 PM
Is it just me or what? I just can't imagine losing a laser to theft, maybe fire but not theft. :<)

Bruce

Brian Tymchak
07-23-2012, 1:25 PM
My only option was a separate policy, Inland Marine, to cover my laser. I think its the same as used to insure boats & rec. vehicles.

I work in Insurance IT and had heard the term "Inland Marine" for years, but I never knew the history of the term. So, since you mentioned it, I thought I'd do a bit of reserach on wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inland_marine_insurance):

Inland Marine insurance had its origins in the oceanic shipping business, specifically at the point where ocean-going cargo was off-loaded to barges, which was called the "inland marine". In today's insurance world, inland marine policies cover personal property usually beyond coverage limits of typical homeowners policies. Boats and rec vehicles, which we refer to as "powersports" here at my company, have their own categories of policy.

Lee DeRaud
07-23-2012, 1:29 PM
Is it just me or what? I just can't imagine losing a laser to theft, maybe fire but not theft. :<)What he said. Out of a storefront, sure, but out of a residence? Aside from the size/weight (and in my case stairs), I can't imagine a residential burglar even knowing what it was, much less where to fence it.

In any case, if your insurance company can't provide coverage for big-ticket items, do you really want to trust them to cover your house?

(Note: as in Mark's case, none of these comments apply to lasers and woodworking equipment for business use...that's a very different thing.)

Randy Digby
07-23-2012, 2:10 PM
My laser is upstairs as well in my residence so theft is not a real worry. Fire and storm damage are real concerns. We run our business out of our home so our standard homeowners policy would not cover the business equipment (please read your policy or ask your agent if you think your policy covers your business equipment if it is located in your home). For that, we took out a separate commercial policy through our same insurance agent.

Mark Maslonkowski
07-23-2012, 8:01 PM
Thank you all for your input. My laser is located in my second home a 30x48 shop behind my house which has very good concealment for the would be their. The laser is on wheels and could very easily be rolled out the door if someone just pulled up behind the house. The other thing is I am a Lt. In a jail and have plenty of accused theifs that don't always like my answers that could look me up if they desired when on the outs and rob me blind seeing they know my work schedule. I do have some security in place but who knows. The 20k is all theinsurance company will cover as far as tools not a total personal property.