# What the Policy Forms Actually Say, Clause by Clause

Five clauses decide most camera insurance claims: accidental damage, business use, per-item limits, deductibles and settlement basis. Every line below is either **published**, meaning the carrier or form says it and the document is linked, or **reported**, meaning a policyholder described what happened to them. Those are different kinds of fact and are never blended here. Where they disagree, the disagreement is the finding.

Nothing on this page was researched for it. Each reading was done for a post, which is linked. Carriers we have not read on a clause are named rather than omitted.

Canonical page: https://www.getcameraguard.com/policy-clauses

## Accidental damage

**If you drop it, is that a covered cause of loss at all?**

Every other clause on this page assumes the loss is covered in the first place. Homeowners contents is written on a named perils basis, so a dropped lens is not on the list and nothing else in the policy rescues it. Scheduling is the usual fix, and the endorsement forms that would prove it are the ones carriers do not publish.

- **USAA Valuable Personal Property** Open perils. It insures risks of direct physical loss, then takes four exclusions back out, including mechanical breakdown
  - **Published:** "We insure against risks of direct, physical loss to covered property unless the cause of loss is not covered by this policy." (USAA Valuable Personal Property contract, form VPPFCSA (01-26), insuring agreement: https://static.usaa.com/content/dam/digital/documents/pdf/pc/pc-vpp-contract-eusa.pdf)
  - **Reported:** "it cover all reasonable issues including my stupidity." (Backcountry Gallery member JAS, on what his USAA cover responds to: https://bcgforums.com/threads/at-which-point-do-you-start-insuring-your-gear.41027/)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/usaa-valuable-personal-property-camera-gear
- **State Farm Personal Articles Policy** Drops appear to be covered, but only a marketing scenario says so. The policy form is not published
  - **Published:** "Let's say you're cruising the Aleutians on a photo tour and your telephoto lens gets knocked into the Bering Sea. A personal articles policy would help pay the cost to replace your covered drowned camera accessory." (State Farm Personal Articles Policy page, worked example. The policy form itself is not published: https://www.statefarm.com/insurance/personal-articles-policy)
  - **Reported:** "breaks it, loses it, drops it, cracks it, gets it wet, it gets stolen" (AnandTech user SAWYER, relaying a family member's quote for what the policy responds to: https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/state-farm-insurance-for-your-camera.280133/)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/travelers-hq-61b-valuable-items-plus-camera-coverage
- **Allstate Scheduled Personal Property** The base form is named perils and does not list dropping. Allstate says scheduling adds accidental loss, and publishes no form to check that against
  - **Published:** "may be protected against additional risks, such as accidental loss." (Allstate "Are lost items covered?" page. The scheduled personal property endorsement form is not published: https://www.allstate.com/resources/home-insurance/are-lost-items-covered)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/allstate-scheduled-personal-property-camera-coverage
- **Travelers Valuable Items Plus (HA-61-B)** The endorsement switches the base policy exclusions off and substitutes its own. We have not read a covered causes of loss clause for it
  - **Published:** "SECTION I - EXCLUSIONS DO NOT APPLY TO COVERAGE G." (Travelers Valuable Items Plus endorsement HA-61-B (06-95), exclusions: https://milehighinsurancebrokers.com/agent_portal/forms/Travelers%20Valuable%20Items.pdf)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/travelers-cw-02-19-valuable-items-plus-form
- **Hill & Usher Package Choice** A dropped D4 and 300mm f2.8 was paid in full less the deductible, per a policyholder. No published perils wording
  - **Reported:** "One claim since we've been with them, wife dropped her D4 with a 300 2.8 and a 1.4 tc. Very easy to deal with. Paid complete cost of repair minus deductible, which is 10% of the cost of the repair." (Forum member fulltimewanderer, on a dropped D4 claim paid under his own Package Choice policy: https://bcgforums.com/threads/insurance-coverage-for-camera-and-video-gear.37734/post-420444)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/hill-usher-package-choice-percentage-deductible
- **PPA PhotoCare** Drops are covered and carry their own extra deductible, which a claimant found in fine print rather than in the published terms
  - **Reported:** "The policy may have changed, but the additional deductible on drops was in the fine print - not in anything you see. The maximum claim amount for an item was also limited." (Forum member EricBowles, describing a PhotoCare claim he filed: https://bcgforums.com/threads/insurance-coverage-for-camera-and-video-gear.37734/post-421598)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/ppa-photocare-deductible-vs-published-terms

Not read yet on this clause: Travelers Personal Articles Floater, Full Frame.

## Business use

**Does earning money with the gear void the cover?**

This is the clause most likely to turn a paid premium into a denied claim, because the photographer rarely thinks of themselves as a business. The forms range from pricing professional use openly to excluding it outright, and one policyholder had a claim denied over selling a photo or two to a calendar.

- **Travelers Personal Articles Floater** Allowed, and priced for openly
  - **Published:** "It is permissible to insure cameras used by an individual for remuneration. Charge the appropriate premium shown in the Rate Section of this manual." (Travelers Personal Articles Floater manual (CAPAF): https://myglobalfirst.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/PAF-TRAVELERS-CAPAF.pdf)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/travelers-hq-61b-valuable-items-plus-camera-coverage
- **USAA Valuable Personal Property** Excluded outright, with no incidental carve-out
  - **Published:** "Any property: a. while being used for business; or b. away from the residence premises for a business purpose." (USAA Valuable Personal Property policy contract: https://static.usaa.com/content/dam/digital/documents/pdf/pc/pc-vpp-contract-eusa.pdf)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/usaa-valuable-personal-property-camera-gear
- **State Farm Personal Articles Policy** Personal use only. One claim was denied over a photo or two sold to a calendar
  - **Published:** "*For personal use only" (State Farm Personal Articles Policy page, footnote: https://www.statefarm.com/insurance/personal-articles-policy)
  - **Reported:** "If you have ever made any money from what is insured it is not covered under the policy you purchased for it." (Photographer Stephanie Lindemann, on a denied theft claim after two years of premiums: https://www.mhwpc.org/blog_view.php?fr=bt&blog_id=198)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/state-farm-personal-articles-policy-camera-business-use
- **Travelers Valuable Items Plus (HA-61-B)** Excluded, except for incidental business use, and "incidental" is never defined
  - **Published:** "Loss or damage to property used in a profession or business, except incidental business use." (Travelers Valuable Items Plus endorsement HA-61-B (06-95), Exclusion 7: https://milehighinsurancebrokers.com/agent_portal/forms/Travelers%20Valuable%20Items.pdf)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/travelers-hq-61b-valuable-items-plus-camera-coverage
- **Full Frame** Business use is required, not excluded. A hobbyist who sells nothing cannot buy the cover
  - **Published:** "Coverage applies to equipment you own or rent and use for work. The camera equipment coverage is an add-on to a small photography business policy, and is not available on single-event policies." (Full Frame camera equipment insurance page: https://www.fullframeinsurance.com/camera-equipment-insurance)
  - **Reported:** "Also looked at Hartford and they were another 'no thanks' company unless I was a 'business'." (Photographer Rob Ainscough, turned away by three insurers for not selling photographs: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/threads/how-does-one-protect-their-gear-from-theft.4835186/)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/full-frame-per-item-limit-vs-depreciation

Not read yet on this clause: PPA PhotoCare, Hill & Usher Package Choice, Allstate Scheduled Personal Property.

## Per-item limit

**Is there a cap on any single camera or lens?**

A headline limit is not a per-item limit, and the difference only shows up at claim time. A plan advertising $75,000 of cover can cap one body at $2,000, which is less than a third of what that body costs new.

- **Travelers Valuable Items Plus (HA-61-B)** Two limits. Your declarations limit is per class, and a separate clause caps any one item at $10,000
  - **Published:** "SPECIAL LIMITS OF LIABILITY. The most we will pay in any one occurrence for loss of any one item of: a) any class of covered property is $10,000, except for data storage media used in connection with home computers; b) data storage media used in connection with home computers is $500. These limits do not increase the COVERAGE G limit of liability." (Travelers Valuable Items Plus endorsement HA-61-B (06-95), Special Limits of Liability: https://milehighinsurancebrokers.com/agent_portal/forms/Travelers%20Valuable%20Items.pdf)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/travelers-valuable-items-plus-per-item-limit
- **Full Frame** The Annual+ plan caps one item at $2,000, against a $20,000 aggregate
  - **Published:** "Tier 1 equipment coverage: $2,000 per item, $20,000 aggregate, on the Annual+ plan priced at $347 a year." (Full Frame camera equipment insurance page, published plan tiers: https://www.fullframeinsurance.com/camera-equipment-insurance)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/full-frame-per-item-limit-vs-depreciation
- **PPA PhotoCare** A per-item maximum exists but is not published. A member who filed found it in the fine print
  - **Reported:** "The policy may have changed, but the additional deductible on drops was in the fine print - not in anything you see. The maximum claim amount for an item was also limited." (Forum member EricBowles, describing a PhotoCare claim he filed: https://bcgforums.com/threads/insurance-coverage-for-camera-and-video-gear.37734/post-421598)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/ppa-photocare-deductible-vs-published-terms

Not read yet on this clause: Travelers Personal Articles Floater, USAA Valuable Personal Property, State Farm Personal Articles Policy, Hill & Usher Package Choice, Allstate Scheduled Personal Property.

## Deductible

**What comes out of your pocket on a claim?**

This is where published terms and policyholder experience diverge most sharply, and the gap runs in one direction. Two programs publish a flat, reassuring number, and in both cases someone who actually filed described a different structure.

- **PPA PhotoCare** Published as $50 repair and $350 theft. One member reported over $550 on a $475 repair
  - **Published:** "$350 for total loss or theft, and $50 for repairs. Flat deductibles make costs predictable." (PPA equipment insurance benefit page: https://www.ppa.com/benefits/insurance-options/equipment-insurance)
  - **Reported:** "My actual repair cost was $475 and they had over $550 in deductibles without considering the insured value of the lens." (Forum member EricBowles, on a PhotoCare claim he filed: https://bcgforums.com/threads/insurance-coverage-for-camera-and-video-gear.37734/post-421598)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/ppa-photocare-deductible-vs-published-terms
- **Hill & Usher Package Choice** Published as low as $250. A long-term policyholder reports 10% of the claim
  - **Published:** "Get global protection for your photography equipment, so you can work confidently wherever your projects take you. With a deductible as low as $250." (Package Choice, Worldwide Camera Insurance page: https://www.packagechoice.com/)
  - **Reported:** "Paid complete cost of repair minus deductible, which is 10% of the cost of the repair." (Forum member fulltimewanderer, insured through Hill & Usher for about 15 years: https://bcgforums.com/threads/insurance-coverage-for-camera-and-video-gear.37734/post-420444)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/hill-usher-package-choice-percentage-deductible
- **State Farm Personal Articles Policy** Generally none
  - **Published:** "Although available if desired, there generally is no deductible on a personal articles policy." (State Farm Personal Articles Policy page: https://www.statefarm.com/insurance/personal-articles-policy)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/state-farm-personal-articles-policy-camera-business-use
- **Allstate Scheduled Personal Property** Optionally lower, or none, on the scheduled items
  - **Published:** "If you purchase scheduled personal property coverage, you may have the option of choosing a lower deductible or no deductible for the scheduled items." (Allstate scheduled personal property resource page: https://www.allstate.com/resources/home-insurance/scheduled-personal-property)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/allstate-scheduled-personal-property-camera-coverage
- **Travelers Valuable Items Plus (HA-61-B)** None on the scheduled class itself, though your ordinary contents deductible still applies elsewhere
  - **Published:** "No deductible applies to COVERAGE G. However, a deductible, if any, will be subtracted from any payments made under COVERAGE C." (Travelers Valuable Items Plus endorsement HA-61-B (06-95), Deductible: https://milehighinsurancebrokers.com/agent_portal/forms/Travelers%20Valuable%20Items.pdf)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/travelers-cw-02-19-valuable-items-plus-form
- **USAA Valuable Personal Property** Advertised as none, but the same page footnotes a deductible and the filed contract never mentions one
  - **Published:** "The marketing page says "You'll never pay a deductible", while a footnote on that same page says payouts are "subject to policy limits and policy deductible". The word does not appear anywhere in the six-page filed contract." (USAA camera insurance page, against the filed Valuable Personal Property contract: https://www.usaa.com/insurance/property/personal/camera/)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/usaa-valuable-personal-property-camera-gear
- **Full Frame** $250 on equipment claims, which bites hardest where the per-item cap already has
  - **Published:** "A $250 deductible applies to equipment claims. On the Annual+ plan a total loss on one item pays the $2,000 Tier 1 cap less that $250, so $1,750 against a $6,799.99 replacement price." (Full Frame camera equipment insurance page, plan tiers and deductible: https://www.fullframeinsurance.com/camera-equipment-insurance)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/full-frame-per-item-limit-vs-depreciation

Not read yet on this clause: Travelers Personal Articles Floater.

## Settlement basis

**Does a payout replace the gear, or depreciate it?**

Replacement cost and actual cash value can differ by thousands on a body bought a year ago. The wording also hides conditions: one published form pays cash at full replacement cost even when you decline the replacement, while another depreciates it and gives you 180 days to change your mind.

- **State Farm Personal Articles Policy** Replacement cost, with no deduction for depreciation
  - **Published:** "We'll pay the cost to repair or replace your personal property, without deduction for depreciation up to the applicable limit." (State Farm Personal Articles Policy page: https://www.statefarm.com/insurance/personal-articles-policy)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/state-farm-personal-articles-policy-camera-business-use
- **USAA Valuable Personal Property** Replacement cost with no depreciation deduction, and declining the replacement does not reduce it. If replacement is not feasible, it pays the scheduled limit
  - **Published:** "If you do not wish to have the property replaced, repaired or restored, we will pay you the lesser of: (a) our cost to replace the property, without deduction for depreciation; or (b) the cost to repair or restore it." (USAA Valuable Personal Property contract, form VPPFCSA (01-26), Conditions 3. Loss Settlement, c. All Other Insured Property: https://static.usaa.com/content/dam/digital/documents/pdf/pc/pc-vpp-contract-eusa.pdf)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/theft-payout-replacement-vs-cash-settlement
- **Full Frame** A depreciation schedule. A nearly new a1 II was quoted about $2,150 against a $6,799.99 retail price
  - **Reported:** "will only cover depreciated value of which they deem based on their schedule (inquired and my Sony A1 II that I got a few months ago would only get about $2150 back)" (Photographer Rob Ainscough, reporting what Full Frame told him when he asked: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/threads/how-does-one-protect-their-gear-from-theft.4835186/)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/full-frame-per-item-limit-vs-depreciation
- **Hill & Usher Package Choice** Replacement, per a policyholder. A written-off D4 was expected to fund a Z9
  - **Reported:** "Our policy is a replacement policy, so if my wife's D4 is a total loss it will pretty much pay for a Z9. Deductible is 10% of total loss." (Forum member fulltimewanderer, describing his own Package Choice policy: https://bcgforums.com/threads/equipment-insurance-recommendations.41263/post-458856)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/hill-usher-package-choice-percentage-deductible
- **PPA PhotoCare** Published as replacement cost capped at original purchase price. One claimant was paid actual cash value instead
  - **Published:** "Full replacement cost, but capped at the item's original purchase price, so if you bought used gear your payout reflects that rather than current retail." (PPA equipment insurance benefit page, replacement basis: https://www.ppa.com/benefits/insurance-options/equipment-insurance)
  - **Reported:** "They didn't settle the replacement cost as I was expecting but gave me Actual Cash Value of time of loss." (A member describing a claim for nearly $10,000 of stolen gear, DPReview: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/threads/how-do-you-insure-your-gear-against-theft-loss-and-damage.4630088/#post-65934652)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/ppa-membership-camera-insurance-secondary
- **Travelers Valuable Items Plus (HA-61-B)** The endorsement does not set one. It defers to the underlying policy, so read that instead
  - **Published:** "All other provisions and conditions of the policy apply. The endorsement names actual cash value only inside its Loss to a Pair or Set clause, and states no settlement basis for Coverage G itself." (Travelers Valuable Items Plus endorsement HA-61-B (06-95), closing provision: https://milehighinsurancebrokers.com/agent_portal/forms/Travelers%20Valuable%20Items.pdf)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/travelers-cw-02-19-valuable-items-plus-form
- **Allstate Scheduled Personal Property** The endorsement is unpublished. The base homeowners form pays actual cash value if you do not replace, then allows 180 days to claim the difference
  - **Published:** "Actual Cash Value. If you do not repair or replace the damaged, destroyed or stolen property, payment will be on an actual cash value basis. This means there may be a deduction for depreciation." (Allstate standard homeowners form AP1, Conditions 5. How We Pay For A Loss, filed as a specimen with the Nevada Division of Insurance. This is the base form, not the scheduled personal property endorsement, which Allstate does not publish: https://docs.nv.gov/doi/documents/home_policies/AllStateForms/AP1.pdf)
  - **Reported:** "about a month or two before the storm I took my old, unused D1x off the policy - and saved a whole $50 a year. If I had kept it insured, Allstate would have paid it's full purchase price." (A Nikon owner describing a Superstorm Sandy claim paid by Allstate, DPReview: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/threads/seeking-recommendations-for-photography-equipment-insurance.4802828/)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/allstate-scheduled-personal-property-camera-coverage

Not read yet on this clause: Travelers Personal Articles Floater.

## Mysterious disappearance

**If the gear is simply gone and nobody can say how, is that covered?**

This is the clause that decides a loss with no witness and no broken lock, which is how a great deal of camera gear actually goes missing. It is a standard exclusion in inland marine all risk policies, and most dedicated camera policies are inland marine policies, so the all risk label settles nothing. The two forms read here answer it in opposite directions, and the specialist is the narrower of the two.

- **Full Frame** Excluded, and the wording reaches further than the industry definition. Gear left unattended is out even when it is stolen
  - **Published:** "Mysterious disappearances are not covered. So, if your gear is left unattended or unsecured and it is stolen, it's not typically covered." (Full Frame camera equipment insurance page, coverage and exclusions: https://www.fullframeinsurance.com/camera-equipment-insurance)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/mysterious-disappearance-camera-insurance-unattended-gear
- **USAA Valuable Personal Property** No exclusion for it anywhere in the contract. The only disappearance excluded is of unscheduled stamps and coins, and no forced entry is required
  - **Published:** "disappearance of individual stamps, coins or other related articles unless the item is: (1) scheduled; or (2) mounted in a volume and the page to which it is attached is also lost." (USAA Valuable Personal Property contract, form VPPFCSA (01-26), the single disappearance exclusion, scoped to stamp and coin collections: https://static.usaa.com/content/dam/digital/documents/pdf/pc/pc-vpp-contract-eusa.pdf)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/mysterious-disappearance-camera-insurance-unattended-gear

Not read yet on this clause: State Farm Personal Articles Policy, Travelers Valuable Items Plus (HA-61-B), Travelers Personal Articles Floater, Allstate Scheduled Personal Property, Hill & Usher Package Choice, PPA PhotoCare.

## Theft from a vehicle

**Gear taken from a parked car. Does the policy pay, and does it need a broken window?**

Three incompatible tests are in use for the same loss. One excludes gear left unattended in a vehicle however the thief got in, one pays only on proof of forced entry, and one drops that condition by covering mysterious disappearance. Relay attacks and the KARR vulnerability make the middle test harder to satisfy every year, because a car opened over Bluetooth looks exactly like a car left unlocked. One photographer was quoted about $600 a year to have the condition removed.

- **Full Frame** Excluded outright. The test is whether the gear was unattended, not whether there was forced entry, so a smashed window does not rescue the claim
  - **Published:** "theft of unattended equipment, or equipment left unattended in vehicles or trailers is not covered." (Full Frame Insurance FAQ, inland marine exclusions: https://www.fullframeinsurance.com/faq)
  - **Reported:** "I called this insurance company and was informed they do not cover for car break ins." (FredMiranda member davidsee, on the answer he got before buying: https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1956862/)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/camera-stolen-from-vehicle-forced-entry-clause
- **PPA PhotoCare** The base tier pays on proof of forced entry, per a policyholder. Mysterious disappearance is listed only on PhotoCare Plus, and the published pages never mention vehicles either way
  - **Published:** "mysterious disappearance (when the cause of the loss cannot be sufficiently explained)" (PPA Insurance Solutions tier comparison, listed for PhotoCare Plus and absent from base PhotoCare. Neither page mentions vehicles: https://insuranceforppa.com/photocare-versus-photocare-plus/)
  - **Reported:** "PPA requires that theft from a vehicle proof of forced entry." (FredMiranda member dienliv, describing the base tier while comparing quotes: https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1941626/)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/camera-stolen-from-vehicle-forced-entry-clause
- **Hill & Usher Package Choice** Covered without forced entry, because the program covers mysterious disappearance. The same underwriter quoted direct carried the forced entry condition instead
  - **Reported:** "They'll cover theft or any kind of "Mysterious Disappearance" as they define it. Meaning a vehicle does not need to show signs of forced entry." (FredMiranda member popbysayhi, on the Hartford underwritten Package Choice program: https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1956862/)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/camera-stolen-from-vehicle-forced-entry-clause
- **USAA Valuable Personal Property** No vehicle condition at all. The contract is open perils and attaches no forced entry requirement, so a car theft is read like any other loss
  - **Published:** "We insure against risks of direct, physical loss to covered property unless the cause of loss is not covered by this policy. The phrase "forced entry" does not appear anywhere in the seven page contract, and no exclusion is scoped to vehicles." (USAA Valuable Personal Property contract, form VPPFCSA (01-26), causes of loss covered and the full exclusions list: https://static.usaa.com/content/dam/digital/documents/pdf/pc/pc-vpp-contract-eusa.pdf)
  - How we read it: https://www.getcameraguard.com/blog/camera-stolen-from-vehicle-forced-entry-clause

Not read yet on this clause: State Farm Personal Articles Policy, Travelers Valuable Items Plus (HA-61-B), Travelers Personal Articles Floater, Allstate Scheduled Personal Property.

## Corrections

If you can point at a filed form we have misread, https://www.getcameraguard.com/contact.