Hi Everyone,
I wanted to post about something a little different today, insurance policies for guitars, and instruments in general. An insurance policy for your instrument is probably not the first thing on the mind of young teenager just starting out, but there are probably some of us who are older adults, have professional jobs, and can afford to buy a nice instrument right from the start. I would have to have my nice new D-28 stolen, stepped on, smashed, or other wise damaged. For the price of a major repair you can probably insure your instrument, and even add multiple instruments to that same policy. Lets take a look.
When i was first looking at instrument insurance i went to my car/renters insurance agent. If you own a home it may be home owners insurance. Some folks had told me about getting their instruments tacked onto their renters or home owners insurance policy, and it was quick and easy. After talking to my agent it seemed ok, but there were a few things that bugged me. First was that such a policy was did not apply to professional musicians. I am not a pro, but i have a website, promote my playing, and am working on a cd. If something happened in the insurance company’s eyes that might be enough to label me a professional and deny my claim, so i did not want to take that risk. Second was determining the value of my instrument, which they did by comparing to other equivalent instruments on the market. Well i own a handmade guitar, the builder only makes a handful a year, and they seem to maintain their value. So we can’t just open a Musicians Friend catalog and figure out the price of my instrument, and how are they going to figure in depreciation if it gets damaged later on down the road? If i have to replace my guitar it may cost me the same or more. It may work for some people, but i did not want to just tack my instruments onto my renters insurance.
After looking around and asking fellow musicians i called up Heritage Insurance. I have no afilliation with them, and dont get any sort of kickback from this post. After a phone call with the rep i faxed in my list of instruments which included my guitar, fiddle, and flute. A few days later i got a call saying i was covered. And i had not even paid my premium yet, he said i would get a bill soon, but that i was covered starting now. Hows that for service. So for $250 a year i can insure as many instruments as i want for up to $10,000, i believe. I have to list the value of my instruments, and that is their replacement value if they are damaged beyond repair. My instruments are covered for almost anything, except i think acts of God or terrorism. Also if they are stolen out of the car i have to show signs of forced entry, so dont leave the car unlocked.
If you have a certain level of musical instrument to me $250 is not much to pay for peace of mind and knowing you can get your instrument fixed or replaced if its damaged. I fly with my guitar often, and would not do so without insurance.
If you own some expensive instruments something like this might be worth it.
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