[nirofo]

I have a large slide library, over 60,000 slides taken over many years, some if not all are irreplaceable. A few years ago I sent a batch of 20 slides off to a publisher, (I'd sent slides to this publisher many times previously), they went missing, never recovered. After waiting for the Post Office to declare they were lost, (not their fault??), I did a quick total estimate of the value of the slides, (20 x £50 = £1000) and put in a claim to my insurance company, this was an all risks photographic policy incidentally. I waited approx 3 weeks without hearing anything and then decided to contact them, the response was your claim has been assessed invalid. The reasoning behind this was that because the slides had never been published before it was impossible to set a figure on their value other than the replacement cost of materials, (same old get out). I argued with them for several months with no effect, eventually I had to get the Bureau of Freelance Photographers involved in my claim, (I was a member then), they contacted the insurance company on my behalf and eventually they agreed to pay me £300 plus 20 new films. A long way from the true value of the slides, but at least I got something back. The moral of this story is, even if you think your insurance policy covers you in the event of lost material, it doesn't necessarily mean that you are covered, make sure you get it in writing exactly what you are insured for.

nirofo.