Renters and homeowners insurance in Ecuador

Although this doesn't answer your question....

My lifetime of experience in the US with insurance is - that you're required or convinced to carry all these various insurances, but when you make a claim the insurance company will find a thousand ways not to pay.

Roof blown off in a storm? Owner negligence. Bumped into another car? Jack up your car insurance rates well beyond the cost of the damage. Home burglary? Deductible must be paid and the value of the missing goods must be proved. And there is always 'depreciation'.

IMO most insurances are a scam. A grift off your income for years with little in the way of payout.

I think you're better off in most cases putting the would-be insurance payments in a savings account which can be used in case of need. Cut out the middle man.

(I do understand how you feel about your camera equipment)

Home insurance is available and I bought some for a year for my Quito condo.  Then I emailed the agent to verify if I would be covered in case of flooding going forward.   I got no answer back .. and did not re-up.

I agree with Top Cat.  See if you can find another way to protect your gear.  If you were ever to file a claim and it was denied, it's not like you can go to an English-speaking state insurance commission with a complaint.

cccmedia in Quito

Thanks for your input. I had suspected that it wouldn't be worth doing in Ecuador, but thought it was worth asking about.  I personally have had good luck with insurance in the US, but have no great love for them. I bought a rider on my homeowner policy for $50 a year, covers $4000  of camera gear. I don't really worry about it here, but traveling in Ecuador is another story.
In 2014, we spent a few days in Quito, and I couldn't walk out the front of the hotel without someone warning me to be careful with the camera. Then we went to Otavalo and my wife had her bag slashed, so it's made me a little paranoid, I guess. High walls with broken glass and bars on the windows and doors don't instill a great deal of confidence either.
I guess you can't get away from risk, wherever you are, though, so I'll just have to live with it.

Travelon has bags designed to be slash-proof (straps included) Travelon Anti-Theft bags. It won't prevent your camera being snatched out of your hand, but does provide a safer way to carry stuff. I've noticed that I frequently get lazy and fail to secure the zipper tabs when here in the US totally defeating the purpose of having zipper locks. That's a habit I need to break.

Nice looking bags. I'm more concerned with theft from home though. Generally if I have all the gear in my bag, I'm out at a bird lodge, whwre Ibdon't worry about it. If I'm walking around in a city I just take the camera and one lens, and keep a grip on it.

(for some reason I can't find the search bar on this new website redesign? Surely it must be here somewhere.... anybody know where the search feature is?)

But if I could do a search on this website johnplov, one of our long time contributors here, Nards Barley who lives in Cuenca had his condo burglarized.

They got all of his electronic equipment. Post-burglary Nards installed a walled concrete vault in his apartment in which he locks his valuable items when he leaves the apartment. He posted pictures of it here, somewhere in his Official Cuenca Expat thread which runs onto 60+pages.

Eventually I'll probably do something like that, once we find a long term residence.
Not viable if we're moving around, though.

gardener1 wrote:

(for some reason I can't find the search bar on this new website redesign? Surely it must be here somewhere.... anybody know where the search feature is?)

The magnifying glass to the left of the sign in button, or if already signed in is just to the right of where it says forum.

The view of Nard's vault is on page 28, entry #1105 of the "Unofficial web page of the greater Cuenca Community". I had bookmarked that page for its references to Guamote, but I also found his creative secure "hidey hole" interesting. I am bringing a small safe with me to store my passport and other important documents, but I will need to be securely bolted in an inconspicuous area.

Hi John,

Even though I don't live in Ecuador, I have vacationed there and do plan on taking some longer 90 or 180 day stays in the future. I have the same problem that you have with my camera equipment which has about the same value.
I have taken out a rider for my camera equipment using my home insurance as my main policy. It costs me about $80 per year and it covers me when I travel or for any accidental damage like dropping a lens, falling into a lake or just plain theft or fire. I had already made a claim once many years ago on one of my $800 Nikon cameras. The "O" ring failed and salt water got inside while I was on a trip to the Caymans. After I reported it to my insurance (Nationwide) they of course tried to give me the third degree. They wanted to make sure that it was definately an accident and not a manufacturer defect. They did decide in my favor to replace my equipment with a new one.
I do not know how they work for long extended or permanent stays in a country, but I am sure that someone does offer condo or renters insurance.
I would say to try some of the photographer forums since they are also faced with traveling using expensive equipment. If that does not work I would try a few independent insurance reps since they represent many different insurance companies and know that if one does not cover you another may. There is always places like Lloyds of London which have plans for just about everything odd, but can be pricey. Good luck

One more thing that you may want to try to do for your most expensive equipment while it is n a travel case.
There are very inexpensive GPS tracking devices that are the size of a cars keychain remote. They cost as little as $25 and usually require activation by a cell phone provider (small monthly fee). I would hide one of these devices deep within the seam or internally within the case so it can't be found. If your main equipment is stollen or lost through baggage handling you will be able to track it down to within feet of where it is located, even in a foreign country. If it is a thief then the authorities will even get him off the street which will accomplish two birds with one stone.

Five years ago I got robbed in south Quito while carrying a computer bag -- even though there was no computer inside it !

The bag apparently had made me a target.

Nowadays, I typically never take my computer around town unless it's for repairs or if I'm on my way to an out-of-town trip.

The point is:  carry your expensive laptop infrequently .. and when you do, don't make it obvious that you're carrying a bag with a computer inside.   A laptop fits in all kinds of bags, many of which throw the pandilleros off their game.

cccmedia in Quito

I've had bad luck with insurance claims in the past I eventually opted to have a heavy safe installed in my home that is bolted (from the inside) to the cement flooring in the basement. The safe itself is less than three foot by three foot but it weighs several hundred pounds. 
There is no way that a thief is going to be able to get into it or move it without some very serious power tools and some heavy equipment. 
Most large cities usually have a place that sells safes and they usually also have a bunch of older ones stored in the back (since safes last forever) that can also be bought.
I find the older safes are built much much better than the new ones. 
Don't bother with the fancy new electronic keypads, just go with an old tumbler style dial.

I think I got my safe for about what I would have had to pay over a few years in insurance premiums considering the value of what I have stored inside.   Compared to what you are going to be paying in insurance premiums and what you are going to be fighting against if you ever try to make a claim, it makes more sense to me to just get a HEAVY DUTY safe. 

If you can find a store that sells used safes learn the various "burglary classification" ratings that they are categorized under.
(Ignore "fire safes", those are useless).

http://www.amsecusa.com/burglary-ratings-explained/

When visiting Ecuador in Nov. we were told by experienced people who have lived there for many years, to forget insurance. Even if you can get it, you'll never be able to get the company to pay on a claim.  It's money down the drain.  Self-insure if possible.

I totally agree with cccmedia above. I bought a fancy, very expensive, 24-hidden-pocket travel jacket before moving to Cuenca, thinking I was being oh, so clever. After being here about a week, the folly of the idea was clear.

When an evil-doer sees me in such a coat, s/he's likely to do one of two things:

1) Think, "Nice coat."  Then say, "Give it to me."

2) Think, "You're obviously not a local. What touristy goodies are you hiding in that too-fancy-for-here coat."  Then say, "GIve it to me."

I sold the coat. Valuables would be safer in a supermarket grocery bag. How about a diaper bag? Oooh!

Terry

I have lived in Quito for almost seven years.  I was robbed of my cell phone twice and a Nikon D90 once. Lost the phones to groups of young people surrounding me and one grabbing it . I didn' feel them taking it. The camera I lost in a high class hotel to a team of a man and a woman while I was eating with friends in the hotel resaurant and thecamera onn a chair beside me. No problem since. Crime has been reduced. I am now more alert and cautios. I carry a Nikon wirh 2 lenses in a camera case tucked into a woven indigenous bag to camaflouage it. I live in a building with a security guard

It is sad that we can not travel with very expensive equipment. Not only is it difficult to lug around, pass through airport security, storing in overhead bins, etc. Big cameras with all the gear make it harder to enjoy the time in-between camera shoots since you are always watching your equipment or having someone else watch it. You are afraid to leave it in a car, afraid your going to forget it on the bus, afraid that someone will rip it out of your hand and needless to say it makes you stand out in a crowd as a rich Gringo that is ripe for the picking.
I now have to think twice about ever taking bulky and expensive equipment out of the country. I have started thinking more towards the compact Nikons or Sony mirrorless cameras that have the switchable compact lenses. They are small enough and light enough to fit into a fanny pack and a no brainer when taking it as a carry on bag. From what I have seen the quality of the pictures and video are pretty darn good and almost rival the best DSLR of only a couple of years ago. I also have purchased one of the high def video cameras that can also take stills. Everything weight about a pound, fits in a 8 inch lens case that can attach to my belt. Relief!!

IMO, like anywhere in the world, your camera and equipment will be as safe here in Ecuador maybe more so than in PDX   --IF you are careful and not continually showing off your fancy camera, or otherwise your rich status as a North American .  NA are rich here, remember that esp these days when people are losing jobs and having more and more problems feeding their families.
I am currently renting a room in Azuay from an Ecuadorian college grad who was a ps teacher here who lost her job couple of years ago. She works as a mesera and makes minimum wage ($360 USD-2016)to support herself & her adolescent.  Not easy, I can tell you that... mostly beans and rice and more rice.  So if she had a criminal intent, maybe she would plot to steal your camera -- because she really needs the money.

So with respect to buying insurance  I advise keep it simple,  be modest with your fancy possessions, be aware of your surroundings, be respectful of othersand most of the time, it works in Ecuador. Play it cool... and save some money in case...

Our solution was to install a well fortified laptop sized safe in our suite. When we're away we stash stuff in it. It's more about deterrents here than anything (just like the high walls topped with glass etc.) The money we would have spend on insurance goes into savings so we can replace things should the worst happen. To date, (knock on wood) we've had no trouble with crime, but some of our friends haven't been so lucky. As some other respondents have said, you'll face crime almost anywhere in the world. In Canada, we had our car stolen, our house broken into and property damaged by drunk drivers. I've noticed that a lot more locals are toting around iPads and such for picture taking etc. and don't seem to be too worried about getting robbed.