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Double Bass Insurance

M

musicman5string

Inactive
Jan 17, 2006
1,188
17
#1
What do you guys use for insurance on your basses? The ISB offers insurance through a company called Merz-Huber, but their rates have gone up alot; the minimum annual premium is now $300. That seems like alot to me. Anyone with anything better?
 
#4
My bass is on my parents homeowners insurance. As well as my bow, and my flight case. I don't remember how much they said they pay a year for those things but it wasn't 300. I looked into getting a seperate premium at one point at their estimate was about $150 for just my bass. So I figure around $250 for my instrument, case and bow which is a total value of around 9k.
 
#5
Hi,
I have both of my upright basses and electric basses insured. If you are a member of the International Society of Bassists you can get a group rate from this company called Merz-Huber. It is 75 cents to the hundred dollars. The catch is that there is a 300 dollar a year minimun payment. That was the best deal I could find. I am still looking for a place that will insure my amps though.
 
#6
joel kelsey said:
Hi,
I have both of my upright basses and electric basses insured. If you are a member of the International Society of Bassists you can get a group rate from this company called Merz-Huber. It is 75 cents to the hundred dollars. The catch is that there is a 300 dollar a year minimun payment. That was the best deal I could find. I am still looking for a place that will insure my amps though.
Click to expand...


Joel-
Thanks for your reply. Right, I joined the ISB just so I could get the insurance...because let's face it: I wouldn't have joined just to get their crappy black and white magazine twice a year....
Anyways...right, $300 for the year, which means at 75 cents to the $100 you'd have to have a $30,000 bass to make sense, which I don't, so I included the case, bow, strings, amp...anything I could think of to make it seem fair.
Now, I also have renters insurance (because I rent an apartment, don't own a house) but as far as I understand, that only covers the bass if it's damaged in or stolen from the apartment, not if I drop it down a flight of concrete stairs by accident at my next gig.
My point being: if any of you guys have a bass that's worth over 8 or 9 grand, it's worth insuring. If it's totaled somehow you'll be kicking yourself for not having it. The question is: What is the cheapest and best insurance out there?
 
#7
I think insurance is a must have. If you add up one night all the stuff you take to and from a gig you may just choke. Many of us haul as much stuff that if you add up the replacement value it's the same as a small house in a lousy neighborhood.

All my stuff is covered on a separate professional inland/marine policy designed to cover all my stuff as is where is with no exclusions. If it gets stolen out of the van or off the bandstand or somebody kicks a hole in it etc. Rates are reasonable I think. $1 per every $250 per year. $250 deductible. To make it work I have to keep a comprehensive list of everything with minute detail and submit a list with replacement cost dollar values each half year. The policy does provide for repair vs. replacement if restoration is possible. I don't think it provides for diminished asset value for broken and repaired stuff but it could be argued with the repair bill I'd think.

My stuff is insured through Auto Owners administered by my local independant insurance salesguy. Check with your insurance agent to see what's available where you live.

If you are a professional musician on your taxes (IRS claiming income and taking deductions) you have to have a policy separate from your homeowners/renters as it is professional stuff not hobby equipment.

I can't speak to the policies mentioned. I'd guess that claims to high dollar masterbuilt instruments may be easier to negotiate through a company that specializes in it. The low hassle thing may be worth more in the long run. Insurance claims for 5 plus figures and up can be a real time killer and a huge pain in the ass.

Insure your stuff. Now. Don't wait till something bad happens. If you can't afford to insure it you can't afford to own it. In that case you sure can't afford to repair or replace it on your own.
 
#8
I'm using Merz-Huber through the ISB. I researched insurance about 5 years ago and found Merz to be reasonable but probably not the cheapest. Things could have changed since then. Remember two things: If you make any money on music, even only 10 bucks a year, most homeowner and renter insurance policies won't cover your instruments, even as a rider. Also, when you list your music equipment, be sure to include EVERYTHING you use, such as amps, stands, cables, tuner, piano in the parlor, whatever. Cover all that stuff under your music policy. Merz was very cool about that.
 
#10
Thanks to MM5string for starting this thread. This is something I've put off but need to take care of. Does anyone have any experience with [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] insurance? This is appealing since they advertise a minimum premium of $100 per policyholder and a deductible of $100 per loss. If you had a claim, how were they about settling?
 
#11
musicman5string said:
Joel-

Anyways...right, $300 for the year, which means at 75 cents to the $100 you'd have to have a $30,000 bass to make sense,
Click to expand...

Not quite. If you have a bass that you can't afford to repair/replace, but you can afford the premium $300 (=$6/wk), in this case, then insurance makes sense. In fact, you can't afford not to. But you should check with your homeowners/renters insurance, because it may be possible to get coverage for specific items that goes beyond in-your-home usage.

Jim

[Edit: Acutually your math is wrong. At 75 cents per $100, it would be a $40k bass.]
 
#14
relacey said:
Thanks to MM5string for starting this thread. This is something I've put off but need to take care of. Does anyone have any experience with [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] insurance? This is appealing since they advertise a minimum premium of $100 per policyholder and a deductible of $100 per loss. If you had a claim, how were they about settling?
Click to expand...


Interesting; I'll have to check that out......Thanks for the heads up.
 
#15
What is the deductible for Merz Huber currently ? I insured with them for many years, but the deductible seemed to double every year in the early years of this millenium. I dropped it. Now I am uninsured. I suppose I really ought to look into a new policy. I think the insurance companies would do more business if they were more flexible about how they write their policies and what they cover. For example: my previous policy covered theft from a parked car. That just seems excessive. If I agree not to leave my bass so vulnerable, should I have to pay the same premium as those who are that irresponsible?
Robobass
 
#17
robobass said:
What is the deductible for Merz Huber currently ? I insured with them for many years, but the deductible seemed to double every year in the early years of this millenium. I dropped it. Now I am uninsured. I suppose I really ought to look into a new policy. I think the insurance companies would do more business if they were more flexible about how they write their policies and what they cover. For example: my previous policy covered theft from a parked car. That just seems excessive. If I agree not to leave my bass so vulnerable, should I have to pay the same premium as those who are that irresponsible?
Robobass
Click to expand...


The deductable is $500 with merz huber.
 
#18
I have a policy through Merz-Huber that I've had for several years. I paid a $250 annual premium for about $25K worth of equipment (carved German factory bass, Kay, a few slabs, amps, recording equipment, my wife's cello, etc) in April of 06. My deductible is $100. I don't know if my deductible is somehow grandfathered in or I still get it because I have a favorable claim history (none so far, knock on wood). Who knows, if it's like automobile policies, my rate and deductible may depend on my credit score!
 

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