Is your gear insured?

[k5koy]

The other day I got to adding up the value of all my gear & instruments, and was surprised when I got a look at the total. About $70 shy of 20 Grand! I had no idea that I had amassed that kind of inventory. So then, I got to looking at my homeowners policy. According to what I found out about my policy, it contains a personal property clause that will pay up to $40,000 but only in the event of fire, tornado, etc, in the event of a total loss. In the event of theft, or breakage, etc, it only pays up to $5000. on musical instruments, and only after I satisfy a $750. deductable. This is not satisfactory to me, so I got to looking around.. CHECK YOUR HOMEOWNERS POLICY! You may not have adequate coverage either.
I found that here in Texas, State Farm offers a stand alone scheduled policy that fit my bill. I found alot of places that would sell me a scheduled policy on my gear, but only if they provide my Homeowners policy. Not State Farm! Still going to look into it a bit more, but it sure looks good, so thought I would pass this along.
You can buy as much as you need and it will cost you 50 cents per hundred dollar evaluation, so in my case, $20,000 coverage will cost about $100 per year, It pays replacement cost based on the appraisal you submit, and the best part...No deductable! You are covered at home or at a gig, or anywhere! You will have to do some work though. You have to prove what you got and what its worth. I made a MS Word document with photos and links to internet stores. I dont know about where you live, but in Texas, that was a good enough appraisal. You will also have to provide model & serial numbers with detailed photos & descriptions. In the event of theft or damage, you will also have to prove that by submitting a police report/repair bill.
I am fortunate enough to be good friends with my State Farm agent, so she was very willing to explain it to me in great detail. Just make sure you ask alot of questions, and get it all in writing, as many of you know, insurance companies will take advantage of you. To me, this is a no-brainer, but I did my homework.

I feel much better knowing that my gear is protected.


Koy Carson
West Texas


**Fender American Deluxe P-Bass
**Fender FSR Silver Sparkle Bass
**Fender Geddy Lee Signature Bass
**Rickenbacker 4003 Jetglo Bass
**Warwick Corvette 4 Standard Hybrid
**Tradition Fretless Bass
**Takamine Hollow body Bass
**Carvin AC175 Thinline Acoustic
**Ibanez EW20ZW Electric/Acoustic
**Arbor AJ145CR Jazz

Texas Bassist Club #66
Fender Jazz Bass Club #328

"You're Gonna Miss Me" By Carson-Blevins Blues Project
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http://www.myspace.com/k5koy

[weary hobo]

This is something I've been thinking a lot about too--especially lately, as the economy continues to tank and the burglary rate goes up--but I have yet to do anything to recover my losses should my gear be stolen. Thanks for the great information--it's just the motivation I need.

One additional word of advice: if you're going to store information about your gear digitally, you should make a copy of the file(s) and put the data somewhere safe. Chances are if the burglar is going to pinch your gear, he's going to steal your computer, too.

[Baryonyx]

I don't have my gear insured. I only have a small collection atm, 2 basses and and amp, worth about £1000 in current prices. And if I ever take my gear out, it never leaves me sight.

[-Kramer-]

A very important point the the OP that I wanted to emphasize is REPLACEMENT COST. Even if your HO policy covers instruments, it probably pays a depreciated amount based on age. This also applies to just about everything covered by your HO policy BTW, unless, of course, you have replacement cost coverage.

[mothmonsterman]

Home owners, and it covers things at today value for a new comparable item.

[Dave Muscato]

Yes, of course.

[Bruce Lindfield]

I have specialist musical instrument insurance.

I was warned that homeowners policies generally only cover things like instruments if they are specifically and individually named/stated in the policy and that pushes up the premium!!

I have also seen stats showing that most thefts are from unattended vehicles and this is specifically ruled out of most policies - as I know, from losing a very expensive cab from the back of my parked car!!

[Baird6869]

Based on cost, I decided NOT to buy specific "instrument" insurance. So basically, if any of my gear is stolen at a gig, I am SOL. This is ok as I generally bring a good bass and a beater to my gigs and an Ampeg SVT-CL and heavy 4x10 cab. My amp and cab are both 85lbs each and I never let my bass out of my sight. Also, the way my band unloads/loads, theft is basically impossible.

Having said that, if anything is stolen from my car, jam spaces or home, I am completely covered.

[JazznFunk]

Yep, I insured most of my gear in mid to late 2007. Allstate also offers scheduling for 'professional' and 'non-professional' musical instrument coverage as well. Be sure to specifically request PROFESSIONAL scheduling, otherwise your gear isn't covered on a gig! This coverage is more expensive (naturally), but your gear is covered anywhere, anytime, anywhere in the world. I'm still neurotic about my gear and taking care of it, but it's nice to know it's protected anyway.

[SoonerMatt]

You'd better believe I do after that fire last summer.

[Phalex]

At home it's insured, at the club, it's not. It doesn't really make me too awful nervous. In about 20 years worth of gigging, I have never had any problem at all. I have known people that have had stuff ripped off, but I take all the small, easy to carry off items home with me.

[Skarekrough]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

I have also seen stats showing that most thefts are from unattended vehicles and this is specifically ruled out of most policies - as I know, from losing a very expensive cab from the back of my parked car!!

....which is why when I see a musicians vehicle that's plastered in stickers for gear companies it always makes me shake my head.

At that point you might as well just leave the keys for them so you wont have to deal with the discomfort of driving home in the Winter without the window.

[Baird6869]

Originally Posted by JazznFunk

Allstate also offers scheduling for 'professional' and 'non-professional' musical instrument coverage as well. Be sure to specifically request PROFESSIONAL scheduling, otherwise your gear isn't covered on a gig! This coverage is more expensive (naturally), but your gear is covered anywhere, anytime, anywhere in the world.

Important point.

Also, If you want to avoid the costly "professional" coverage (basically saying that you earn $$$ by using the gear), DON'T tell your agent that you make $$$ gigging with ALL of your gear. I made this mistake and State Farm wouldn't insure ANY of my gear until I politely explained that I honestly don't gig with all 13 of my basses and 6 guitars! Pick a couple you tend to gig with as "professional" and call the rest a part of your "collection". This will save you lots of $$$.

[WoodyG3]

I asked about this a couple of years back, and while I could have gotten special coverage on my home owners policy for my instruments, it still wouldn't cover the time the instruments were at a venue, only at home or in the car. My insurance agent is a good guy, and did let me know that there were other insurance companies that offered special "professional" coverage, but State Farm does not, or at least didn't when I spoke with him.

[spade2you]

Mine is covered under my homeowner's policy. I'm not actively playing shows any more, so I don't have musician's insurance. One thing to remember is that homeowner's insurance won't cover your gear if it gets ripped off at a show.

[JazznFunk]

Originally Posted by Baird6869

Important point.

Also, If you want to avoid the costly "professional" coverage (basically saying that you earn $$$ by using the gear), DON'T tell your agent that you make $$$ gigging with ALL of your gear. I made this mistake and State Farm wouldn't insure ANY of my gear until I politely explained that I honestly don't gig with all 13 of my basses and 6 guitars! Pick a couple you tend to gig with as "professional" and call the rest a part of your "collection". This will save you lots of $$$.

That's a good point... I have a very small collection, so I chose to insure them all. At some point, they all get played on gigs; some more than others. What would stink though is if you, hypothetically, decided to play that uninsured vintage '62 Jazz on a gig on that one rare occasion.... and something happened to it... eek! I personally would choose to not insure a beater or 'regular' gigging bass if it were something I could fairly easily replace out of pocket. Would I insure a Squier, OLP, etc.? Probably not. All of my Laklands are insured though, even my 'regulars' since they're just outside of the easily-replaced-out-of-pocket range. It gets more involved than some might think when deciding what to insure!

[akaTRENT]

Wow. I never thought about it like that. Im going to looking into this.

[zachbass02]

if you're a gigging musician..I'm of the opinion that you're a fool if you don't have insurance on your gear and if something happens and you don't have insurance...hate that for you. for only $100 a year, I have almost $20000 worth of gear covered. if some clutz trips on my bass, my guitar, my mac, whatever...and breaks it, i'm covered for replacement and/or repair. plus, if I need to rent a piece of gear cause mine got broke, that's paid for too. if something walks away, I'm covered. A signed act just had their van and trailer stolen with about $100,000 worth of gear in it. No insurance. shame on them cause now they're SOL. The cost for peace of mind is priceless IMO. If my stuff is jacked, whatever...I'll get a new one cause I'm covered. Also, the cost of insurance for a working musician is deductable on your taxes.

http://musicproinsurance.com/

[naturalkinds]

Anyone from Canada here? I'm moving back in a few months, and found professional instrument insurance very hard to find when I used to live there. In the US, there are a number of places; but I had to stick with homeowners' insurance when I was in Canada before, which, obviously, isn't very ideal.

[Mr. Mig]

I know this band that just left the car parked with all the gear in it. Why not just put up a sign that say: "Help yourself!!! We're Stupid!!""