I think the question would be how do you tell an insurer what the value is?

Generally the maximum you can insure something for is a 'tangible value' -
either what it would cost to replace it if it were lost, or what your
losses would be if you could not replace it.  An example is Troy Polamalu's
hair, which is insured for $1,000, 000
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5513644  If he were to lose it,
he would lose the revenue from commercial, etc, etc... and so Lloyd's of
London issued a policy to Head and Shoulders.

But the premiums are based on the level of risk the insurer sees- the
higher the risk of an incident requiring them to pay off the policy, the
higher the premium... just like craps, you get longer odds on the toughest
point to score.

In your case, it would be tough to determine if the risk was higher while
the film was in transit, or while it was at rest or during conversion by
the service bureau?  What if they have a fire overnight, or an accidental
discharge of a sprinkler system that damages your film, or some other
mishap while processing the images/scans?  Do you have any insurance that
protects them while they are there?

You could probably hand-transport them from your location to the service
bureau for less than the cost of insuring them, but there's no guarantee a
meteor won't fall on your car mid-transit (that was a cooler scenario to
pose than getting in a fiery wreck, I thought).

If these are one-offs and you have no second copy or backup, someone has to
bite the bullet and make a decision.  If I were transferring them, I'd buy
a Turtle Case or some such enclosure and then decide what the safest
transportation option was, then I'd discuss with the service provider how
THEY intend to protect them while in their custody.

Larry
[log in to unmask]

On Fri, Sep 28, 2012 at 12:42 PM, Spencer, Beth <[log in to unmask]
> wrote:

> Good afternoon,
>
> I am getting ready to ship out some of our company's microfilm drawings to
> a company in another state  for conversion to PDF. I am trying to figure
> out if/how to "insure" them-I saw that FedEx does not offer insurance, but
> UPS offers liability coverage up to $50,000 (which would cost $400). I'm
> not sure what to do because if these are lost in shipment, even $50,000
> won't replace them-however, the thought of just sending them out there with
> no coverage doesn't sound appealing, either. Does anyone have any
> suggestions for shipping these to best prevent loss of any records?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Beth Spencer
> [log in to unmask]
>    Information Resource Specialist
>     100 South Wacker Drive Suite 1400
>     Chicago, Illinois 60606
>     Phone: 312-578-2461
>     http://www.greeley-hansen.com/
>


-- 
*Lawrence J. Medina
Danville, CA
RIM Professional since 1972*

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