Owner's insurance for India

I was wondering if anybody has experience with a good company that will

cover both theft and mysterious disappearance while I am working in India

next year. (Technically, this is a non-paid assignment, so it might count as

travel and not as work.) I will be taking a Canon Elan 7 with two lenses, a

Contax 645 with two lenses, and a Canon XL1S (MiniDV) with two lenses.

(Also, a Mac Powerbook G4 for video editing and a Calumet 4x5 which I don't

think anybody is going to steal, so I might not get that covered.) Also, tripods,

etc. So maybe $10,000 or $12000 would cover it. My homeowner's insurance

(State Farm) has pretty big deductibles ($500), so I'm wondering if there's

something I can add on or just get separately that will cover me sufficiently.

Travelers insurance policies will not come anywhere close to covering that amount of gear. Also, homeowners policy riders for photo gear do not cover you overseas, and you risk losing your coverage for your house if you have have a claim. You will need a commercial business policy for photographers. If you are located in the US, let me know and I can you the number of an agent to contact for a policy quote.

Most homeowner insurance compainies will sell you a "personal articles policy" if they have a homeowners or renters policy with them. In a personal articles policy you can list the specific items to be insured and select a lower deductible than on your homeowners policy. The items can usually only be personal use (non-professional) on this type of policy, it does include coverage internationally and also for theft and mysterious disappearance.