Insurance for bass guitars...

[Evil Undead]

Long boring story...

I had my musical instruments insured with my contents policy, but when I started using them for paying gigs they said they would be covered at home, and at band practice etc, but not if anything happens to them at a venue where I’m getting paid (at gigs). So I got a policy to cover them with another company to make sure they were covered properly.

But I spoke to them yesterday about something unrelated and they mentioned that I would need proof of purchase to make any claim. But I buy my gear second-hand always, and don’t have proof of ownership or purchase. So they said that I need a professional certificate of valuation for each instrument, and the nearest place I have found that can do that is in London, and I can’t get there with my gear when I haven’t got a car! So that’s a no can do. So although I’ve paid the £50 or whatever for the cover, they in fact aren’t covered at all!

So I call my home insurance company and ask them to put them back on the policy as I figured it’s better to have them covered at home and everywhere else except at gigs, and then they tell me that if they are used for paying gigs, they’re not covered at all even if they’re not damaged or stolen from the gig (i.e. stolen from home or damaged at home).

So my most two most valuable material possessions (both sentimentally and monetarily) aren’t covered at all. Which makes me very anxious.

Any suggestions of a good company that covers in the UK and won't give me so much hassle?