Double Bass Instrument insurance

[Bill Amatneek]

A few years ago I went with Merz-Hubler to insure my basses. They have a package price of a $300/year premium to insure up to $36,000 worth of instruments. Above that and you pay $0.83/$100 for coverage. (That is what the $300/$36,000 works out to as well.) Additionally, one must belong to the ISB (at $60/year) to get this package deal. One could argue that it therefore costs $360 for the $36k of insurance. PLUS, there's a deductible.

I called my home insurer, AAA. They would charge me $0.65/$100 for instrument insurance on my home insurance. They said that I would be covered if I played bass for a living, and the instruments would be covered if I took them out of the house and they were stolen/damaged there, on a gig, say. There is no deductible.

So my question is: Why don't I put all my instruments on my AAA homeowner policy? Is there a downside I'm not seeing?

Best regards to all,
Bill Amatneek

 

[Zoey Page]

Hi there,

I use Clarion and they are a music instrument insurance company. I find them friendly, attentive and reasonably priced. They even paid my claim very quickly-no hassels. The coverage is world wide for professional or amauter play as well.

 

[drurb]

+1 on Clarion. I insure with them and am very happy. You might very well be missing something with regard to scheduling instruments on your homeowner's policy. Did you see in writing that they will provide coverage if you use your instruments to make a living and/or they are out of the house? Whenever I've examined the contract language on a homeowner's policy I've found it lacking compared to that of dedicated instrument insurers like Clarion. I'm a nighttime/weekend warrior (I have a day job) and still I use Clarion. Claims experience is extremely important. Zoey's experience jibes with what I've heard from others. Clarion pays claims swiftly and without hassle. That's crucial for me because, if I ever need them, I want them to be there for me.

 

[neilG]

Read the policy before you buy it, making sure that it really does provide the coverage you need. If it does, buy it. It's my understanding that not all home policies cover instruments used professionally.
Having said that, I can't imagine that your company has a lot of experience with instrument claims, and making one could be a hassle. As Zoey suggests above, a specialist company knows the process, and it might be worth the extra money.
BTW, I just switched to Total Dollar and don't have to belong to ISB any more.

 

[MostlyBass]

I switched from State Farm to Clarion as Clarion covered much more. Both had 0 deductible.

 

[Tom Lane]

I went the other way. When I re-evaluated my instrument insurance needs, I found that 3 musical instrument insurance firms had riders that excluded airline travel coverage. Clarion was one of the firms and I've used them before. Coverage during airline travel was the biggest aspect for me and only one firm offered an addendum at additional cost. I found out that my home owner's policy already covered my basses with a deductible. So, when I last traveled, I asked my agent to temporarily lower my deductible and then raise it again once I got back home. The additional cost was negligible. Another possibility for you.

 

[Hqubed]

I use Musicpro. Coverage is $0.50/$100, $100 min, $100 deductable. No airline exclusion. The policy also covers borrowed and newly aquired. The borrowed coverage was a great benefit when my son was recently auditioning bows. I checked and they were covered while in our possession and while in shipment back to the loaning shop.