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The Gear Insurance Thread
- Thread starter TCollins
- Start date
I'm looking to cover my instruments and equipment and received a quote from Clarion for a little over $400 per year!
I waiting to get quotes from American Family and Heritage to compare.
I waiting to get quotes from American Family and Heritage to compare.
I've had Clarion Insurance for over ten years and no claims. Today I received "Notice of Nonrenewal of Insurance" letter because service demands outside the scope of the program. Talked to cust. service rep that means I've submitted too many schedule changes to my acct. Asked her if there is a set number of changes she said no, it's up to the underwriter. Past three months I submitted 4 schedule changes, prior to that maybe 1 couple times a year.
Moral of the story- find out first if they or the under writer have any written info. in the policy regarding this subject. Word of caution- don't take word of mouth get it in writing.
Moral of the story- find out first if they or the under writer have any written info. in the policy regarding this subject. Word of caution- don't take word of mouth get it in writing.
Wow, that’s ridiculous! I have my insurance with Heritage Musical Insurance and I make four or five schedule changes every year without a problem. Ironically, I just paid for my renewal today along with making a couple of changes.
I don’t know much about Clarion, but heritage is a broker who writes their musical instrument policies with different companies. I think there have been three different companies that they’ve used since I’ve been with him. The terms never change, and I get the impression they shop around for the best rate on the terms that they specify. Anyway, as I’ve said elsewhere in this thread, I highly recommend them. No affiliation.
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All… just get a policy on your gear. Not too much $$. Like a policy on jewelry it goes by value. One policy I had covered “everything “ except if you didn’t lock the doors on the truck. $100 deductible and covered the value you place on the gear.
A small price to pay i say.
A small price to pay i say.
which company do the Big Time PROS prefer for their insurance? How long has the company been around? What about the musicians in Nashville -- members of groups, etc. AND, if you can find out, does the company 'got the jack' ? True for any insurance decision. THE BIG ONE -- HOW MUCH BUCKS do I have to pay for WHAT?
I just activated a Clarion Insurance policy on almost all of my gear - over $60k worth of stuff, just for home use. I'm not really gigging anymore, so I guess I'll take my chances in the unlikely event I do. In any case, it was just north of $600 a year. The home insurance company wanted over a grand, and they wanted pictures and appraisals of each piece of gear. With Clarion, I just submitted a list of gear and the value. Clarion was a much better value.
It happened to me too. Used Clarion for many years, no issues, I felt 'covered' as having insurance gave me a peace of mind, but I had never had to deal with a claim. All of the sudden they terminated my policy just like bodollar (see above, same page) due to "many changes in the policy" I could not believe myself, we musicians buy and sell gear all the time and I don't even do it often. I don't scroll mindlessly for gear, don't suffer of GAS, I am happy with what I have and sometimes I had to make changes. I did not look for another company at the time with the beginning of the pandemic, but now is the time to do it again. I will try heritage this time. Hope a couple of changes or updates per year don't affect the policy.
I have a rider on my homeowner's policy that covers my gear and my wife's jewelry. I don't think it's expensive. You might check into your policy to see if you can do that. Mine was super-easy; I did it online.
When shopping for MI insurance, whether through a dedicated policy or a rider on your homeowner’s insurance, I highly recommend finding out the answers to these questions:
1. Who sets the replacement cost value of an instrument (you or the insurance company), and how?
2. Is the gear insured if it’s used it at a paid gig even once? (With many general homeowners policies the answer is “no”).
3. Are there exceptions to the coverage provided for loss or damage? (Some policies exclude thefts from motor vehicles from coverage, and some homeowners policies exclude thefts that occur at a place owned by somebody other than you).
4. Are repair costs covered at all, and are they covered if the damage was accidentally caused by you?
5. Who determines how much will be paid for the repair (your repair shop or the insurance company), and can you choose your own repair shop to do the work?
5. If there is a loss in value caused by a repair is the loss in value covered along with the repair costs?
Insurance policies are contracts. That means each company has their own rules, and if you don’t read the policy, you won’t know the answers to these questions.
Do not assume that you know what your policy covers if you’ve never read it. Once you sign the insurance agreement, you are covered by its terms, whether or not you think they are fair.
Assume nothing. Read the policy.
1. Who sets the replacement cost value of an instrument (you or the insurance company), and how?
2. Is the gear insured if it’s used it at a paid gig even once? (With many general homeowners policies the answer is “no”).
3. Are there exceptions to the coverage provided for loss or damage? (Some policies exclude thefts from motor vehicles from coverage, and some homeowners policies exclude thefts that occur at a place owned by somebody other than you).
4. Are repair costs covered at all, and are they covered if the damage was accidentally caused by you?
5. Who determines how much will be paid for the repair (your repair shop or the insurance company), and can you choose your own repair shop to do the work?
5. If there is a loss in value caused by a repair is the loss in value covered along with the repair costs?
Insurance policies are contracts. That means each company has their own rules, and if you don’t read the policy, you won’t know the answers to these questions.
Do not assume that you know what your policy covers if you’ve never read it. Once you sign the insurance agreement, you are covered by its terms, whether or not you think they are fair.
Assume nothing. Read the policy.
I’m an insurance agent and I will chime in that while many homeowners policies have built in coverage for instruments, it will have a sub limit that is waaaay less than your policy, like $1000 or something like that. So you will want to declare to value to your agent and give the instrument description to get the correct coverage.
I’ve got an inland marine policy through The Hartford, $200 per year for about $18k in gear.
Not a musicians specific policy, but more of a personal property while being used outside the residence policy which covers damage as well as theft from an unattended vehicle.
This was a stopgap until I found something better, so I’ll probably look into the “musician’s” policies referenced above- I’m wondering if they’re simply inland marine policies being branded as “musicians” policies.
Not a musicians specific policy, but more of a personal property while being used outside the residence policy which covers damage as well as theft from an unattended vehicle.
This was a stopgap until I found something better, so I’ll probably look into the “musician’s” policies referenced above- I’m wondering if they’re simply inland marine policies being branded as “musicians” policies.
This all x100.
I’ve worked in commercial and personal insurance for about 11 years- these are all excellent questions that will be answered in your policy provisions. You’ll only know IF YOU READ YOUR POLICY.
Replacement cost coverage vs actual cash value, how is said value determined, what the exclusions to coverage are, do you need to specifically schedule (itemize) the gear you want covered, proof of ownership, etc.
My inland marine policy for example has a provision where coverage for theft is excluded if there is no sign of forced entry into the vehicle from which the covered gear is stolen. This has me wanting to put a note on my gear if it’s ever left locked but unattended (rare, and when it is I use a car cover to hide everything) that if someone breaks into my car and steals my stuff, please smash a window on the way out so there’s evidence of forced entry and hence, coverage.
I have used Heritage Insurance for years, and recommended them highly. Heritage Insurance | Musical Instruments & Equipment | Free QuoteThey specialize in MI insurance. Great customer service, and I really like that they let the customer set the replacement value of the instrument (within reason). They also cover loss or damage during shipping and at paid gigs, and also depreciation due to damage.
When shopping for MI insurance, whether through a dedicated policy or a rider on your homeowner’s insurance, I highly recommend finding out the answers to these questions:
1. Who sets the replacement cost value of an instrument (you or the insurance company), and how?
2. Is the gear insured if it’s used it at a paid gig even once? (With many general homeowners policies the answer is “no”).
3. Are there exceptions to the coverage provided for loss or damage? (Some policies exclude thefts from motor vehicles from coverage, and some homeowners policies exclude thefts that occur at a place owned by somebody other than you).
4. Are repair costs covered at all, and are they covered if the damage was accidentally caused by you?
5. Who determines how much will be paid for the repair (your repair shop or the insurance company), and can you choose your own repair shop to do the work?
5. If there is a loss in value caused by a repair is the loss in value covered along with the repair costs?
Insurance policies are contracts. That means each company has their own rules, and if you don’t read the policy, you won’t know the answers to these questions.
Do not assume that you know what your policy covers if you’ve never read it. Once you sign the insurance agreement, you are covered by its terms, whether or not you think they are fair.
Assume nothing. Read the policy.
Look here for more info:
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/the-gear-insurance-thread.193818/
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/the-gear-insurance-thread.193818/
When shopping for MI insurance, whether through a dedicated policy or a rider on your homeowner’s insurance, I highly recommend finding out the answers to these questions:
1. Who sets the replacement cost value of an instrument (you or the insurance company), and how?
2. Is the gear insured if it’s used it at a paid gig even once? (With many general homeowners policies the answer is “no”).
3. Are there exceptions to the coverage provided for loss or damage? (Some policies exclude thefts from motor vehicles from coverage, and some homeowners policies exclude thefts that occur at a place owned by somebody other than you).
4. Are repair costs covered at all, and are they covered if the damage was accidentally caused by you?
5. Who determines how much will be paid for the repair (your repair shop or the insurance company), and can you choose your own repair shop to do the work?
5. If there is a loss in value caused by a repair is the loss in value covered along with the repair costs?
Insurance policies are contracts. That means each company has their own rules, and if you don’t read the policy, you won’t know the answers to these questions.
Do not assume that you know what your policy covers if you’ve never read it. Once you sign the insurance agreement, you are covered by its terms, whether or not you think they are fair.
Assume nothing. Read the policy.
Look here for more info:
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/the-gear-insurance-thread.193818/
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/the-gear-insurance-thread.193818/
