I said, "can you please be careful with that? It's a $3,000 lens..."
The person cut me off and flatly stated: "Excuse me sir, I know what I'm doing..."
The great thing is that if the person had dropped it, they would've faced zero consequences and I would be out a lens which was central to my need to travel.
But I am curious:
Can objects like expensive precision optics be insured against damage from the TSA? Is that a thing that regular people can easily find coverage for?
However, that wouldn't help OP if they needed the lens for their trip, suddenly need to find another one, and needed to float the cash until insurance pays out.
Of course you would need an accountant to run the real numbers for each case. Most people would find a $3000 lens breakage something they cannot easially cover out of pocket, which is why many will even if in the long run it isn't the best use of money.
A specific policy can still be cheap however; mine comes in at about 311$ of replacement value per dollar of premium a month, if you're traveling a lot or shooting at places where stuff can come up missing it's not the worst peace of mind.
The problem is, it's not something you can just pick up at Best Buy, so the trip would've been a total loss (it was for business).
Yeah, Best Buy is right out. So are most local camera shops (if you can even find one where you're going), since many won't stock a $3k lens.
But there are camera shops in the world that will deliver things very fast -- for a price.
Might there be insurance available that softens that kind of blow to an adequate level? Maybe not erasing your loss, but making it able to be absorbed and still get some work done in 16-24 hours or something?
They do. A group of them play in the local co-ed sports leagues, including one in upper management. I had an issue at a different airport, filed a minor claim, and when I next saw them mentioned it wondering if it will just get filed away in the bin. They said I most likely just got someone fired. Later I heard that manager mentioned the story in a meeting reminding them of diligence and professionalism. Though, I've never had issues at my home airport where they work -- and they take issue with agents at airports like the other one that make their job more difficult/unpleasant. They take a lot of abuse.
For instance, Many insurers offer something akin to 'Valuable Property Insurance' (At least that's what mine is called) and for personal use it covers drop/breaks as well as theft.
You typically need proof of ownership; my insurer lets me upload that, so I usually make a point to upload a copy of the invoice/receipt as well as the camera/lens and closeup of the serial number (even better if the invoice has the S/N present!). That's more important for high dollar items typically.
-HOWEVER-
That's for personal use. A while back I actually hit a coverage threshold where my insurer sent me a letter basically saying "Hey, just so you know, you are not covered for business use". (I don't use for business, I just figured it was a cheaper hobby than a boat)
Edited to add:
FWIW the VPP policy is separate from a homeowners policy, however insurers may or may not (depending on state law etc) be able to use a claim on a different policy to impact rates/etc.
"You may file a claim if you are injured or your property is lost or damaged during the screening process."
It takes ~6 months or so, and you need to be very thorough and provide as much info as you can (like receipts to prove the cost). And they do actually investigate, even for minor claims and will send a check if they were at fault (ie, not the airline losing your stuff).
That said, yeah you would have been hosed for that lens, but I'm pretty sure they could still face consequences and you'd at least eventually get some reimbursement (less the time dealing with the process)