Idea for a New Groundspeak feature

[+mikehoffman]

After reading a recent thread about a damaged series, an idea (original or not) popped into my head- a company with the goal of insuring geocaches. This could be an off-shoot of Groundspeak or I will start it if they don’t want to. Just think, for a small monthly payment your cache could be protected from natural disasters, acts of God, and most importantly mugglings. That otter-box that got swept down the river because it wasn't secured- replaced for free (well depending on your deductible), that missing film canister (most likely muggled for its street value)- you will receive a check for its value in the mail no questions asked, and the threads on that special container that were stripped due to cacher mis- conduct- they will be repaired as long as the cost of the repair does not equal more than 75% of the value of the container.

 

(edit for spelling I hate this keyboard)

Third Times the charm

Edited November 25, 2012 by mikehoffman

[+mikehoffman]

Sorry, I didn't quite finish that so excuse the possible grammar mistakes. Anyway, I know there may be problems. For one thing, people may try to milk the system. The street value of a bison tube O-ring is only going up so it may tempt people to abuse this service. Therefore, the company would need a claims investigation and fraud detection department. Also not everyone would want this service so we would need to make it pretty cheap and offer other benefits too. But I think it has potential. Any thoughts for a name.

Edit for spelling

Edited November 25, 2012 by mikehoffman

[+Sol seaker]

Well another idea is spelling insurance for that keyboard of yours.

[+The Cheeseheads]

Moving to the Geocaching discussions forum.

[+RIclimber]

My cache containers I get for free. Geocoin insurance on the other hand...

[7rxc]

Let's see... traveling time to and from site, work time, vehicle costs and fuel, per diem or at least meal allowance, materials and similar... this could be costly. Of course there would have to be a basic 'retainer' fee to keep a repair person available in a reasonable time. Some caches would qualify for 'hazard' pay bonuses and other higher pay scales if specific trades are required, originally I was thinking minimum wage stuff, but then I thought about special class caches like SCUBA caches, commercial repairs would demand current trade wages. Not to mention a crew instead of one lone person.

 

That just scratches the surface of the costs. Which to me would leave it uneconomical to actually do!

 

On the other hand if you only want to collect money but not perform the service, you might make a couple of bucks. I would remember that some people have demonstrated a dislike for being scammed on here before. So you might want to add personal life insurance costs to your basic start up costs... and make sure it will cover you for the likely results.

 

Oh, I just did a quick estimate of what a minimum charge would be around here at a guess. I think a minimum of 1 hour drive plus work time say 30 minutes for a minor repair would be about 15 bucks at minimum wage, plus about 20 bucks for gas and another 12 for a meal/drink. That would be 47 bucks for almost nothing... Congrats! That would only be my charge if I was doing nothing else and had the time and the weather was good. And there are not that many caches that close by or that don't involve walking (slower than a drive).

 

Have fun with this idea. Don't forget to factor in a share for Geocaching.com too, since you would have to partner up with them to advertise here.

 

Doug 7rxc

[+The_Incredibles_]

What would be the deductible for a missing film cannister?

[GrandPotentate]

What about the 15 hours it took to get the camouflage just right, would we get reimbursed for that too?

[+wimseyguy]

I wonder how the reviewers will deal with a cache placed on vacation that says 'I have GEOICO' when asked about their maintenance plans?

[Clan Riffster]

- you will receive a check for its value in the mail no questions asked...

The biggest fail point I see here is you are suggesting only covering the cost of the container. I haven't stalked your profile, but this does make me wonder if you've ever actually hidden a cache. From a user perspective, the purpose of insurance is to restore things, (home, car, etc), to where they were prior to calamity striking. Your proposed insurance doesn't come anywhere close to accomplishing this.

 

Take my cache, "Off The Market" as an example:

 

If lost, you would pay me about $20 to cover the replacement cost of my 50 calibre ammo can.

 

Other costs I would need to absorb myself include:

 

Kayak launch & shuttle fee $20

Swag $50

Transportation (fuel, veh maint, etc) $20

8 hours labor $80

 

How much would I have to pay for this?

[Keystone]

I wonder how the reviewers will deal with a cache placed on vacation that says 'I have GEOICO' when asked about their maintenance plans?

Hush, now. The true reason behind the GEICO Gecko travel bug promotion is a secret for Platinum Members only. (Cache insurance coverage is, of course, one of many Platinum Member benefits.)

[+Manville Possum]

I wonder how the reviewers will deal with a cache placed on vacation that says 'I have GEOICO' when asked about their maintenance plans?

Hush, now. The true reason behind the GEICO Gecko travel bug promotion is a secret for Platinum Members only. (Cache insurance coverage is, of course, one of many Platinum Member benefits.)

 

My GEICO Gecko travel bug was stolen from the first geocache I placed it in. I'll just be happy when we get that one more EC find in in another State and become Platinum EarthCache Masters in GSA's program here. Platinum Membership benefits here would be nice too.

Would this Cache insurance coverage cover slip and fall and Snake bites, ect? I may be interested.

[+wimseyguy]

You two are confusing GEICO with GEOICO.

@Clan Riffster-you should have stalked him first. He's got a high terrain traditional hide with over 200 fave points. I think he knows what an involved hide is.

[+Manville Possum]

You two are confusing GEICO with GEOICO.

Are you sure we don't know what we are talking about?

About This Sponsored Trackable:

Helping millions of people save money with GEICO's great insurance rates can be a demanding job for a Gecko. Like many of us, the GEICO Gecko is ready to get out of the office and soak up some sun while experiencing spectacular places around the world (well, rain or shine). You can help the Gecko get a little R&R by aiding his travel from cache to cache. Be sure to show him the great views along the way!

 

This trackable Gecko is provided by GEICO as part of the "Find the Gecko Sweepstakes." Simply fill out the entry form and you could win a Magellan eXplorist GC GPS unit, one of the most popular GPS devices for geocaching! There will be one unit given away each week for 20 weeks. Enter each week to increase your chances!

 

[+wimseyguy]

Yes, I'm sure. I was making an apparently very weak joke by deliberately mis-spelling the name of the well known insurance company with the trackable contest and altering it to GEOICO to reply to the OP's suggestion about a geocaching specific insurance option. I apologize profusely for the poor attempt at typographical humor.

We now return you to the OP discussion.

[+Manville Possum]

OK? But I'm still interested in the slip and fall and snake bite policy coverage. I don't want sued if you trip and fall on a snake and it bites you while seeking one of my geocaches.

[+mikehoffman]

I guess there would just have to be many different levels of coverage. We could have a bottom of the barrel-just covers the container level as well as a top of the line insure all expenses associated with hiding and maintaining a cache plan. As far as the prices go, you can't put a value on piece of mind and a good night's sleep knowing your ammo box is protected in the case of a disaster.

[AZcachemeister]

Will there be Multi-cache discounts?

[+mikehoffman]

That could be another plan- multiple cache discounts. Multi caches would have to have an extra charge based on the number of stages. But just think, this could be balanced out on the low rate you would get on virtual and earth caches. There would probably be a significant discount for power trails because people sometimes replace the containers anyway.

[knowschad]

Will you drop me if I get a CWI?

[+K13]

Can I get a safe-cacher discount? If I combine coverage for various types of caches, do I get a multi-cache discount?

[+mikehoffman]

People with CWI will not be dropped and neither with pre-existing muggled conditions, but there may be an increase in your deductible. Furthermore, I don’t think there should be a discount for multiple types of caches. Also Cache owners under the age of 26 can remain on their parent’s cache insurance plan.

[+wimseyguy]

I've already been bitten by a venomous snake while looking for a cache.

Do I qualify for the 'once bitten twice shy' discount?

I am much more cautious putting my hand where I cannot see now.

[+mikehoffman]

I've already been bitten by a venomous snake while looking for a cache.

Do I qualify for the 'once bitten twice shy' discount?

I am much more cautious putting my hand where I cannot see now.

 

No, take this seriously. This is about providing important financial coverage in the event of the destruction of a geocache. This feature is not for the people it’s for the container. Every day, hundreds of caches are ruined and there is currently no procedure in place to try to restore the financial loss to the owners. This could be it. Never again will geocachers have to worry about financial ruin if their film canister gets lost or stolen. This is about peace of mind; this is about helping the common cacher.

 

This will also solve ALL problems associated with owner maintenance. Because the financial burden is taken care of, all those caches slated for archival and will be fixed promptly by their owners. With wet log protection, you will NEVER have to endure the cost of buying a new log again. With this new proposed feature we can help eliminate probably 3/8 to 9/17 of all current problems associated with geocaching today.

[+The Jester]

<snip>With this new proposed feature we can help eliminate probably 3/8 to 9/17 of all current problems associated with geocaching today.

The rest is finding the blankety-blank thing!

[+Viajero Perdido]

Insurance works when it pays for something you couldn't possibly afford otherwise. Suddenly you need a new house or a new car, yikes, I can't afford that. This is where insurance fills a need.

 

Who can't afford a new ammo can once in a while?

 

Maybe if you tried billing it as a maintenance service for lazy hiders... Lube and shine, fluff the camo, that kind of thing.

 

Good luck.

[+WarNinjas]

I was almost taking this guy seriously but come on. Reading that last post he is obviously kidding. Who would take out insurance on a paper log or film can. He says it right there. I think it is funny but would be interested in maybe some insurance on someone getting hurt going for our caches. We put out some crazy ones and hope cachers that can't do it have some common sense and would stop if they seen it got to hard. Fun thread.

-WarNinjas

[+hzoi]

 

That sure is a nice geocache you got there. It would be a shame if something were to . . . happen to it.

[+mikehoffman]

I was almost taking this guy seriously but come on. Reading that last post he is obviously kidding. Who would take out insurance on a paper log or film can. He says it right there. I think it is funny but would be interested in maybe some insurance on someone getting hurt going for our caches. We put out some crazy ones and hope cachers that can't do it have some common sense and would stop if they seen it got to hard. Fun thread.

-WarNinjas

 

That is true and it was originally started in the off-topic section as kind of a fun joke but maybe it was taken seriously? To be clear, I don't think it would be a good idea to sell insurance on film canister or even ammo boxes. Travel bugs on the other hand...

Or maybe I was just informed it is a platinum member feature and I have been paid off to shut up.

[Clan Riffster]

Would proximity to home be taken into consideration? If I hide a film can a few blocks away, it would cost me very little to replace them. But my "Aunt Edna" has agreed to do maintenance for a power trail of film cans I'm planning to hide in Hawaii, which is about 4600 miles away, as the Crow T. Robot flies. Since I can now purchase insurance for my maintenance woes, I need not bother her with this. When the Hawaii Reviewer asks how I plan to maintain 5000 soggy log film cans strung out across the big island, I can just tell him/her, "I've got GEOICO".

[+mikehoffman]

Would proximity to home be taken into consideration? If I hide a film can a few blocks away, it would cost me very little to replace them. But my "Aunt Edna" has agreed to do maintenance for a power trail of film cans I'm planning to hide in Hawaii, which is about 4600 miles away, as the Crow T. Robot flies. Since I can now purchase insurance for my maintenance woes, I need not bother her with this. When the Hawaii Reviewer asks how I plan to maintain 5000 soggy log film cans strung out across the big island, I can just tell him/her, "I've got GEOICO".

 

Your right! Maybe this idea is feasible after all, Groundspeak could get rid of that silly no vacation cache guideline and as long as you are properly insured, you get a paid trip to Hawaii.