Insuring gear when flying?

[Deepshax]

For you guys that fly for hunts, what do you do to keep your investments safe? Do you insure your gear for the trip? If you do what avenues did you go down to get it done? I'm thinking about how long it took to get the capital to fund top shelf optics, bows, clothes, sleeping gear, packs, electronics, etc; I would probably have a heart attack if it were lost or stolen in transit. I should probably have an excel sheet with pics/serial numbers/receipts of documentation purposes...maybe Ill do that on one of these snowy winter days. My apologies if this seems obvious but I love road tripping and usually try to drive anywhere/everywhere so my flying experience is limited and may be forced to fly this coming season.

 

[nflesher]

I have flown a lot in general and highly recommend calling a insurance company to get insurance. Avoid the airlines insurance crap like the plague. It is a total waste of time, money, and effort fighting with them. Call the guy/girl you use for auto/home/life and tell them what you need.

 

[elkguide]

Home owners insurance add on. I drive every time that I can but when I have to fly, I call my local agent.

 

[Deepshax]

Ahh ok ill look into getting a guy, dont have one at the moment.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Worth it to check your credit card. Some have a built in policy if you pay for airfare with them. Coverage is usually limited to what is lost or pilfered in a flight. I had one experience that was reasonable a few years back with a pilferage issue. Challenge was remembering what was in the bag (it had been looted while in transit) and documenting replacement value. I have a friend that is a firm believer in wearing or carrying on the basics - boots, clothes, optics, etc - so that he could at least borrow a gun and try to salvage the hunt.

 

[nflesher]

Worth it to check your credit card. Some have a built in policy if you pay for airfare with them. Coverage is usually limited to what is lost or pilfered in a flight. I had one experience that was reasonable a few years back with a pilferage issue. Challenge was remembering what was in the bag (it had been looted while in transit) and documenting replacement value. I have a friend that is a firm believer in wearing or carrying on the basics - boots, clothes, optics, etc - so that he could at least borrow a gun and try to salvage the hunt.

I carry on my optics, hunting clothes, and wear my boots. I also ship things to my destination as well. UPS stores are the cat's meow for shipping things to and picking them up when you get there. If I could ship my gun to an FFL I would, but my pelican case can take a lot as long as it get's to its destination. Some jerks in San Francisco did their best to destroy a hunting partners case a few years ago.

 

[KJH]

I have flown many times to hunt/shoot and took all my gear checked on the plane. I would not pay extra to have my gear insured... even if I did not have a rider for certain goods (shooting gear) that is part of my homeowners insurance. I would (and do) pack well and take pictures of the items packed as proof they were in there.

I have lost gear on a airline on a flight home, including a hardcase with two scoped rifles in it... the suitcase never showed up but the rifles made it home week later. The suitcase I lost was reimbursed (less depreciation unless you have the receipt) for what I had in there. I turned out a little ahead money wise which made up for the inconvenience. I now do a much better job of keeping track of what was in each bag. Gun prices are not going to depreciate much, if any, so the airline will make it right- eventually.

When I go to Alaska, I ship my camp and hunt gear up a month early via the post office and require a signature by the transporter who picks them up. I still take my guns and optics with me and have never worried about losing them. If I ever arrived without my gun or bow, I could still hunt if I could find a replacement. I suspect I could find a "rifle" if I ever needed to for a small fee.

 

[elkyinzer]

You should be able to get a rider on your homeowners/renters to cover specialized gear. I did for less than $5 month for all my fishing and hunting gear with a $500 deductible covering any loss or theft. Take a good inventory with pics/serial numbers just in case. When you fly, carry-on all the valuables you can plus enough clothes to get by. I wear my boots as that would be about the most devastating thing to lose.

 

[Tex68w]

Good info, I need to keep this in mind.

 

[Deepshax]

Yea I figured I could take all my electronics/optics/cameras with me as carry-on. I could easily replace sleeping/camping gear on the fly but not so much a bow. Would definitely be wearing my boots, they would take up too much space in a bag

 

[BKhunter]

Not to high jack this thread, but for those who have shipped gear, can you please give a run down on how you did it as far as packing and shipping and what the rough cost was? Did you do it by UPS or regular mail?

 

[Ross]

As noted call your insurance agent to find out what coverage you have, i.e. Replacement cost or actual cash value, do you have any gun limits, your deductible, what documentation may you need if you need to file a claim.

 

[Beendare]

I've never bothered.....and I've had my bowcase lost in 2 consecutive years when hunting whitetails in Kansas....both times it was on the doorstep of a remote ranch the next morning. I pack my Swaros and RF in my carry on but losing a custom Recurve would hurt as it would be tough to replace being a lefty with the bowyer retired.

That HO insurance tip is a good one.

 

[Flashmo]

Ahh ok ill look into getting a guy, dont have one at the moment.

Think about this.

It seems that right now, your gear is not insured at home 365 days a year, and you are worried about a short trip.

Get homeowners\renters insurance on your valuables. When flying, put the most valuables you can in carry-on and count on insurance for the rest.

Bad shit happens...to good people. You probably saw a story in whatever local paper you have this winter about a house or appartment fire, yours could be next and may be statistically more likely than an airplane incident...insure your valuables to your limit of risk vs cost, year round.

Cost per year to insure ALL of you personal property valuables will be less than a new gun with optics or bow with all accessories. If it costs more, then you can probably afford to not insure them....(not counting insurance on real property, only personal property).