Insurance for instruments and equipment

digitaldrummer · Post by **digitaldrummer** » Tue May 15, 2012 7:38 pm

I have a separate policy attached to my homeowners insurance (my studio is on the same property as my house). its also supposed to cover instruments if I take them to gigs although luckily I have not had to test that yet. for the policy, I have to list every single piece of equipment and then they came up with a cost.

my studio is not really a full commercial studio - I record only those I accept and when I want to, and I use it to record drum tracks. so your situation may be different.

Mike

Osumosan · Post by **Osumosan** » Wed May 16, 2012 6:24 am

Check with your insurance co. Most likely if you're not fully commercial, you're good to go. A few jobs here and there most likely won't affect your being covered. But as I said, give your agent a call.

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Wed May 16, 2012 6:56 am

"Yes and No" (see above)...

You have several possibilities/levels for "exposure," as they call it. First, is your own gear and instruments, which in their own place would/should be covered by homeowner's/renter's or business insurance (for contents against catastrophic loss, theft, etc.). Then you have the fact that you take them (or some of them) off premises, and use them for off-premises business purposes (live instruments and remote gear are often covered separately). Finally, if you are "commercial" in any way (full-time or part-time or even once-in-awhile recording outside clients), you have liability exposure, meaning if someone falls and breaks their leg or their neck or whatever on your property while recording with you, you could be liable and you could be sued. "But it's not my property; why should I worry about that? That's the landlord's problem, right?" Not necessarily. We live in a very litigious society, and it doesn't matter whether you are actually liable or at fault; if you're there when somethinmg happens, plan on being named in a suit. Also, does your landlord know that you're running a (even a very part-time) business on his property? Your lease may prevent that, and also if he or she knew, they might require liability/indemnity insurance for anywhere from $100,000 to $500,000 (this is a standard business renter's lease clause).

So, for all of those reasons and more, you should talk to your insurance agent (find someone who handles personal as well as business/commercial), and probably an attorney (and maybe an accountant). But for sure, a good insurance agent.

My partner and I are insured for $25,000 on contents (I always wonder if it's enough), and $250,000 (if I remember correctly) liability, through a company called Preferred Mutual. As to instruments and personal gear, I know the AFM has programs that not only cover instruments, but I believe other musical/audio gear that will be used on gigs/remotely/on-the-road. You might want to look into that...

GJ

PS-- I am not an attorney or a licensed insurance agent, and the previous should not be consider professional advice in any way.

Osumosan · Post by **Osumosan** » Wed May 16, 2012 7:07 am

Thanks for clarifying!

joelpatterson · Post by **joelpatterson** » Wed May 16, 2012 7:17 am

Gregg Juke wrote:... and $250,000 (if I remember correctly) liability...

Ouch! I think that reading this lengthy post in a tiny font just hurt my eyesight, aside from offending my sensibilities and damaging my schedule for today. I might be willing to settle... except that the pain and suffering may well render me non compos mentis even more than usual. And look, now it's starting to rain! This is all your fault!!!

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Wed May 16, 2012 9:11 am

Send me an invoice. I'll file it appropriately.

GJ

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Wed May 16, 2012 2:34 pm

Keep in mind that certain types of insurance have requirements you must fulfill to keep your end of the contract; failure to do so lets them out of coverage.

Be aware of things like business licenses, replacement vs. appraised value, documentation of assets, declarations and exclusions, etc.

dgrieser · Post by **dgrieser** » Thu May 17, 2012 12:59 pm

I have my instruments covered by Heritage Insurance who specializes in insuring musical instruments. www.musicins.com

Not sure if they cover studios but they might.

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Thu May 17, 2012 7:36 pm

CLARION INSURANCE in west Hempstead LI. Call them and tell them Brian from Memphis sent you. At last check, insurance was 3 cents on a dollar for total replacement insurance, no questions asked, and I've had to use mine.
You can't beat the price, they are really nice, and the price is very fair.

Your homeowners will go sky high if you use them. The agent will talk about getting a "floater". If you ever use it they will cancel you.

Use musical instruments insurance.
You can't beat 3 cents on a dollar for annual coverage that's actually going to work.

PLUS they insure your stuff anywhere you may have your gear including on gigs which homeowners does NOT.[/u]

Randyman... · Post by **Randyman...** » Fri Jun 22, 2012 6:41 pm

Does any one else have any input on Clarion Insurance? I'm about to get in touch with an agent soon, and just wanted some real-world feedback from anyone that has/had a policy with them. Good, bad, indifferent? Any "got'cha's" to be aware of?

And on the topic - How does coverage for DIY gear generally get handled? I have two full racks of Seventh Circle Preamps - and those are pretty easy to get a price on (can setup a cart with a final price, can even include "labor" in the online cart, etc). But then I have other DIY stuff like a pair of Hairball 1176's and a D-LA2A (amung others) that aren't so easy to document a "Total Parts" price list for. And then all 3 PC's in the Studio are also DIY - but I can inventory the individual components fairly easily. Thoughts?

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Fri Jun 22, 2012 8:21 pm

Randyman... wrote:Does any one else have any input on Clarion Insurance? I'm about to get in touch with an agent soon, and just wanted some real-world feedback from anyone that has/had a policy with them. Good, bad, indifferent? Any "got'cha's" to be aware of?

And on the topic - How does coverage for DIY gear generally get handled? I have two full racks of Seventh Circle Preamps - and those are pretty easy to get a price on (can setup a cart with a final price, can even include "labor" in the online cart, etc). But then I have other DIY stuff like a pair of Hairball 1176's and a D-LA2A (amung others) that aren't so easy to document a "Total Parts" price list for. And then all 3 PC's in the Studio are also DIY - but I can inventory the individual components fairly easily. Thoughts?

You just do your best with the hairball, it's an 1176 so price it as one because if anything happens they cover 100% and you can either buy or build a new one.
I lost over $7k in gear and they had no problem covering me at all.

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 10:10 pm

Another note: document everything you insure with receipts, notes, photos, dates, etc. ...

Be aware of "replacement cost" vs. "actual cash value", "market value", etc. (See here.)

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 6:47 am

vvv wrote:Another note: document everything you insure with receipts, notes, photos, dates, etc. ...

Be aware of "replacement cost" vs. "actual cash value", "market value", etc. (See here.)

It is a good idea to have some basis to do your cost, but, mainly what you need is a complete inventory sheet.
I insure around $65k worth of gear and I use an excel spreadsheet with automated calculations and it feeds a much larger projects sheet that gives me all the numbers I need to run my business quickly.

It's not "required" with musician's insurance. They know how much things are worth but, I'm sure they would appreciate you sending it in so they know how much it actually cost you to replace your gear.

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 8:30 am

Brian wrote:
It's not "required" with musician's insurance.

Not until you make a claim ...

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:29 am

vvv wrote:
Brian wrote:
It's not "required" with musician's insurance.

Not until you make a claim ...

When I made my last claim it was not required at all. I could have submitted an update to the price if it had increased an they would have taken it.

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Insurance for instruments and equipment

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