Lost baggage of scuba gears, but Amex says sports equipment are excluded?

[scubafanatic]

Some update on the situation.

Canjet finally responded to confirm it was "lost". They don't cover electronics so the UWatec hoseless computer and transmitter is not covered. They also applied "depreciation" and said they'll issue a cheque to cover some amounts.

Amex said they don't cover sports equipment. That leaves my house insurance. Well there is a $500 deductable, and not only will I lose the 15% claimfree discount, my premium will go up. So it's sounding like it's not worth it trying to claim the rest through house insurance.

So yes, I can be laughed for checking those gears in luggage, but at least I had learned an expensive lesson. For the amount of vacation diving I do, and the cost of checking in luggage or weight of carrying them, it's becoming less and less practical to buy and bring own dive gears to trips. Renting gears is looking like the better option.

You may well be right about the logic of renting going forward. I always carry my regs/computers/lights on carry-on, those things are the most theft prone because they are small/portable and look quite expensive, so attractive to thieves. I always have a nagging worry about my checked luggage getting lost/stolen, moreover most of my scuba gear is VERY customized/expensive and cannot be replaced at ANY price (meaning I would personally have to rebuild everything) so it's not just a money issue, but a huge amount of time/effort/labor to replace things on my part. I'm too picky about my gear to really want to rent anything, but I can see how that would make sense for some people. About replacing gear I would suggest shopping E-Bay/Scubaboard for good used gear at a fraction of the price of new gear so at least you don't have the financial pain of losing brand new gear if you ever lose gear again.

[vladimir]

I have checked my scuba gear on over a hundred flights, many times in bags that had Stahlsac or US Divers emblazoned between the fin pockets. I check regulators, strobes, a computer, and an expensive dome port for my camera. None of it was ever stolen. You got unlucky, that's all--there was nothing naive about checking your equipment. Paying to specifically insure your equipment? That is probably naive.

[DT]

Either way the air line security in the US is pathetic and your property should be protected from the staff that choose to loot luggage.

[vladimir]

no matter how many times I explained it to them it wasn't until a White English speaking security manager came by and said cool rebreather no problem have a good dive and away I went.

Is White English a dialect that I'm unfamiliar with, or is the security manager's race somehow relevant?

[Torontonian]

Either way the air line security in the US is pathetic and your property should be protected from the staff that choose to loot luggage.

In this case it's either Cuban or Canadian baggage handlers. Not US.

[Jungho Kim]

That's too bad... Doesn't insurance companies suck? I always carry on my computer, regulator, camera and even my masks... They all fit very nicely into my backpack... The only thing I check-in are my wetsuit, BC and fins...