Re: Fire Hazard From Plastic Domes?

Herb has a ligament concern. But I see all materials have a problem of one kind or another. Metal and fiberglass both dent and break from impact of hail, base balls, and golf balls. Both will melt and or burn in a forest fire. Metal will rust leak at the seams, and attract lightning. Plastic will not dent or break from any of the above. In fact I hit mine with a baseball bat to show this feature. It will burn. It will melt in temps above 450. Other than this I can find no other downfall with this kind of dome. Weighing all factors, my scope is safer in plastic than either of the others. Fire tends to be the least factor in my considerations and I have yet to find an insurance company that will insure my observatory anywhere other than in my yard for anything.

The PAF term seems to be used by some companies and not by others.

When I was insured by Chubb, they called it a PAF. OneBeacon doesn't.

A more generic term is "inland marine schedule". Both companies categorized my Astro stuff as "photographic equipment".

If your equipment includes desirable items that are out of production or with collector or historical value, you should probably make sure the company you're using will cover it at an "agreed value" instead of at a "stated amount".

Stated amount means if your item is stolen, they can shop around for something they think is comparable at a lower price. They won't pay more than the stated amount, but they could pay less.

Agreed value means if your item is stolen, they send you a check for the amount of coverage you had.

The issue with insurance comes when they find out I may pull it to a remote mountain site and leave it there. Something about it not being attended and not being on my property. They get a little paranoid about these things.
Clear Dark Skies
Magic Man
SSMO