Something i found.
The subject of insuring your fishing tackle is one of the most commonly raised subject on the Forum and gets diverse answers and opinions. Many users have grown frustrated at just what is and what isn’t covered under their policies. Basically there are 2 ways to insure your gear, via a specialist tackle insurer or via your household insurance.
The following is a guide as to what you should be looking for and also possible pit-falls and “grey areas” with both types of policy. It is not meant as a definitive guide as there are numerous insurers each with their own policy wordings however it will give a “broad brush” of what you should be looking for.
Household Cover
Starting with household insurance this is the cheapest way to cover your gear and if done correctly is pretty comprehensive. The core cover you would have to start with is contents cover for your normal household possessions. This would cover your tackle but only whilst in the confines of your home, you would have a small amount of cover whilst the tackle was in your car but nothing on the bank or in use.
Most insurers offer the optional extension of a personal belongings or personal possessions section. This is designed to extend the cover of your standard household policy out of the home and is normally written on a world-wide basis. You must specify an amount to be insured, the minimum is usually £2,000 and you will be covered for any loss or damage to your property whilst away from home. Obviously restrictions apply and the ones to be wary of are:
Theft from an unattended motor – standard policy limits are usually low, maximum £1,000 and only if the items were in a locked boot. Some insurers, (Norwich Union for example) offer a sports package extension which will increase the limit to £2,500 anywhere in the car.
Loss or damage whilst in use – Some insurers simply say, “excludes loss or damage to sports equipment whilst in use” I could honestly see an insurer stating that for the period you were on the bank your tackle would be “in use” therefore cover would not apply. Other insurers are more specific and say “excludes loss or damage to racquets, sticks, bats and clubs whilst in play” This would therefore allow full cover for your tackle. This area DEFINITELY should be checked.
Loss or damage whilst asleep – grey area! This is of most concern to the majority of anglers, waking up to find your pod and the £2,000 worth of gear that was sat on it have gone. As far as I am concerned unfortunately on a household policy there is no definitive answer. There are no specific exclusions to leaving stuff in the open whilst asleep BUT there is a duty of care to take reasonable precautions to prevent a theft and insurers may see a person being fast asleep whilst leaving £2,000 worth of gear in the open as not taking reasonable care. If you are beaten up though or woken up and threatened that is a different matter altogether and I would expect most insurers to pay for stolen tackle in this instance.
All in all a household policy will adequately cover you for most situations and the cost is cheap.
Specialist Tackle Insurers
For no other reason than they are the best known I will use Tackleguard in this instance.
First off it is expensive! £5,000 worth of cover will cost over £200 to include up to 30 days abroad, theft from a vehicle and night fishing.
10% policy excess, if you were wiped out of £5,000 worth of tackle you would have to pay the first £500. A standard household policy is £50 excess.
Items over £300 need to be specified, on a typical household policy this is £1,500.
If you have over £3500 worth of tackle in your motor the car must be protected with a Thatcham Category 1 or 2 alarm in order for cover to apply.
No cover for items over 10 years old.
If at the time of any claim you have any other insurance or guarantee which covers the same theft, accidental damage, loss, or damage they will only pay a rateable share of the claim. If you have a household policy in force they would expect a contribution from them, claims will get very messy!
You must take all reasonable care to prevent any Accidental Damage, Theft or Irrecoverable Loss and keep Your Property Insured and the Insured Location in a good state of repair and condition. This like the household version is very grey!
Tackleguard do provide cover overnight but you must be within 5 metres of your rods and use bite alarms. I would however expect them to make full use of the “reasonable care” wording in such circumstances!
For what it’s worth I insure my tackle under a household policy and I am perfectly happy that in 99% of cases I will be adequately covered.
Like I said this is not meant to be a definitive guide to insuring your tackle but hopefully it will have been useful.
I would only be able to replace a rod with £56 . So its money well spent, and i have peace of mind. 
