Camera Insurance: What Home Contents Insurance Doesn't Cover

Yes, at home your camera is covered by home contents insurance against burglary, robbery and fire. No, not on the go: simple theft, drop and breakage damage, and commercial use are typical gaps that a dedicated camera insurance closes.

What home contents insurance really covers for your camera

Yes, at home the camera is usually covered by home contents insurance, but only against certain perils and only within the home. Burglary is present when the perpetrator overcomes an obstacle and enters a locked room, for example a forced door lock or a smashed window. Home contents insurance replaces household property destroyed or damaged by fire, lightning strike, explosion, burglary, storm from wind force 8, hail, tap water or power surge.^[1] Anyone who leaves windows and doors open or tilted, however, risks the insurer reducing the payout due to gross negligence.^[1]

The crucial catch: the protection applies to the home, not to photography. The camera counts as ordinary household property, not as valuables: valuables with their own compensation limits include cash, jewellery, furs, hand-knotted carpets and antiques, while computers and other electronic devices fall under ordinary household property.^[1] That sounds good at first, because it means no additional compensation limit. But it does not change the covered perils — and that is exactly where the gap lies.

• Covered at home: burglary, fire, lightning strike, storm, hail, tap water and power surges.^[1]
• Not covered: simple theft, i.e. taking something without breaking in and without force.^[2] Only items taken from a locked room or a secured container are replaced.
• Not covered, even at home: drop and breakage damage as well as damage caused by operating errors and improper handling. They do not appear in the perils catalogue of home contents insurance at all.^[1]

So if you only drop the camera off the table at home or knock the lens against the door, you are left with the costs despite home contents insurance. And anyone who takes photos usually does not do so at home. Precisely where the camera is actually in use, home contents insurance coverage typically ends.

On the go and on holiday: the four typical coverage gaps

Away from home, home contents insurance only applies to a limited extent. So-called external insurance applies when home contents are temporarily outside the home, worldwide, but always for a limited period: the deadline varies by provider and ranges from a few weeks to six months.^[2] It also only pays for the same perils as at home, for example burglary from your hotel room or a broken-open locker, but not for simple theft.^[2] Robbery only applies when someone uses force or credibly threatens to use force.^[3] These four gaps regularly remain uncovered:

• Simple theft on the go: If someone takes the camera from the chair while you are sitting in the ice cream parlour, that is simple theft and therefore not insured.^[2]
• Theft from a vehicle or tent: According to the German Insurance Association (Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft) and case law, a motor home is not considered a separate room, so external insurance generally does not apply to theft from caravans, motor homes, awnings or tents.^[2]
• Drops, breakage, sand and liquids: These damages appear in no perils catalogue of home contents insurance, whether at the beach, at a festival or at home.^[1]
• Time limit: External insurance coverage is limited in time, depending on the provider to a few weeks up to six months. For longer stays or storage, it expires while your equipment is still out of the house.^[2]

One example makes it concrete: You place the camera next to you on the bench, and while you briefly pop to the kiosk, it disappears. Because no obstacle was overcome and no force was used, this does not count as burglary or robbery, but as simple theft — and that is generally not insured under home contents insurance.^[3] Yet situations like these — markets, festivals, street photography — are the normal case of photography outside your own four walls.

Commercial use: when private policies end

The clear rule is: private policies and home contents insurance are geared towards private household belongings. For commissioned work and commercial use, they do not apply. This is the most common misconception on this topic. If you earn money with your camera, you need your own solution, because a private policy does not cover commercial risks as a matter of principle.

The distinction that decides the case lies in paid use. Occasional photos for your own blog are one thing; paid commissioned work is another. As soon as a fee flows, a client accepts the results or the photos serve advertising purposes, the use is paid and therefore commercial. Even at home, private protection ends at this boundary: a home office recognised for tax purposes generally no longer falls under the home contents policy and requires separate cover.^[1] For commercial use, dedicated electronics or photography insurance for business customers is intended, covering equipment, studio inventory and assignments abroad.

Whether your case falls under this cannot be answered in general terms. It depends on how often you take paid photos, to what extent and with what equipment. This is exactly where an assessment through independent advice pays off — before a claim is denied because the use was not private.

What camera insurance covers instead (market status 2026)

A dedicated camera insurance policy closes exactly the gaps that home contents insurance leaves open. Typical scope of cover on the market in 2026: worldwide protection against drop, breakage, sand and liquid damage, short circuit and vandalism, while theft usually comes as an optional module.^[4] Unlike home contents insurance, such a tariff does not work with a short list of perils, but explicitly lists which types of damage are excluded.

The camera insurance brokered via nextsure (the risk carrier is Hiscox SA, Niederlassung für Deutschland) covers cameras and camera equipment including original accessories worldwide.^[4] Both new and used devices are insured, provided they are clearly identified in the insurance certificate by their serial number.

• Included in the basic cover: drop, breakage, sand and liquid damage, mechanical impact, fire, overvoltage, short circuit, vandalism as well as operating errors and improper handling.^[4]
• Optional as a theft module: theft while being carried securely within sight or body contact, burglary theft from a locked car or locked room, as well as robbery and looting.^[4]
• Not insured: loss through leaving behind, forgetting or losing the device, damage covered by the manufacturer's warranty, grossly negligent or intentional acts.^[4]
• Reporting obligations: report a claim online within 14 days; in case of theft, robbery or vandalism, report to the police within 24 hours.^[4]

The premium is based on the replacement value of the equipment, the chosen deductible — that is, the share you bear yourself in the event of a claim — and the sum insured. The amount of the sum insured is not quantified in the product data sheet; it results from the insurance certificate.^[4] Whether a tariff is accepted in an individual case and what the specific cover looks like is always decided by the insurer based on its acceptance decision and the contract documents. A general article cannot promise cover or acceptance.

Documenting your equipment: serial numbers, values, a worked example

Regardless of whether you take out your own policy, clean documentation pays off. In the insurance certificate, each device is identified by its serial number or its IMEI, the globally unique identifier of mobile devices. Without this number, a device cannot be insured.^[4] Keep your purchase receipts and photograph your equipment — in the event of a claim, this makes it easier to prove what you had and what it was worth.^[1]

The basis for the sum insured and the premium is the replacement value of the entire equipment, i.e. camera body, lenses and original accessories added together. The higher this replacement value and the lower the deductible, the higher the premium. To do this, go through your equipment position by position:

Higher sums insured and lower deductibles increase the premium. Which tariff ultimately fits depends on these criteria. A general article cannot decide this or designate any tariff as the best.

Conclusion: well protected at home, usually not on the go

The general rule in one sentence: home contents insurance covers your camera at home against burglary, robbery and fire, but not the risks of photography itself. Simple theft while out and about, drop and breakage damage, and commercial use remain uncovered. If you only photograph at home, you usually need nothing extra. If you work on the go or take on assignments, you need your own solution.

Which cover suits you depends on how you use your equipment, its value and the risks you want to bear yourself. Tariffs and conditions change constantly, so it is worth taking a look at the current market before every policy purchase.

If you would like to know whether a dedicated tariff makes sense for your usage, you can book a consultation and go through your equipment position by position together.