View Full Version : Instrument Insurance Help
Pittsburgh Bill
Jan-30-2019, 1:17pm
I am trying to obtain insurance for my instruments and wondering if anyone has suggestions for a less complicated process.
I was told I need an INLAND MARINE POLICY. Quoted a price of $64.00 per year which I found reasonable.
Now the complicated part. The STATE FARM underwriters want me to provide written appraisals on all instruments valued over $1,000.00 This happens to be all of my instruments with exception to my campfire mandolins. I have already provided make, models, serial numbers, years of build, condition, extras, etc.
Has this been the experience of others? If not, would you provide me with insurance companies easier to work and specialize in instrument insurance or other options?
I have only had to provide written appraisals on one instrument, my daughter's cello. It needed a special rider as its value was $20,000. My AAA homeowner's covers all instruments under $5000, provided they are not used professionally. If I were gigging a lot, I'd get specialized coverage for those instruments.
Both daughters gig with big dollar instruments so insure with the companies that service the pro musician. Valuations are needed there, but a sales receipt suffices.
EvanElk
Jan-30-2019, 1:38pm
These guys (Heritage Musicians Insurance) are good. https://musicins.com/
Jim Franey
Jan-30-2019, 2:00pm
Herstige the best !!!
Jim Franey
Jan-30-2019, 2:02pm
Talk to Colleen at Heritage!
The best !
Pittsburgh Bill
Jan-30-2019, 2:33pm
These guys (Heritage Musicians Insurance) are good. https://musicins.com/
I just made contact with Heritage. Sounds like great coverage but also sounds like they insure much higher value instruments than mine. Their minimum is $200.00 per year. $50 dollars a year more than my renters insurance for 40K.
Ryk Loske
Jan-30-2019, 2:42pm
I just made contact with Heritage. Sounds like great coverage but also sounds like they insure much higher value instruments than mine. Their minimum is $200.00 per year. $50 dollars a year more than my renters insurance for 40K.
Heritage is much less hassle setting up a policy and i've been told by others ... MUCH ... less hassle if you should need to make a claim. Great people to deal with.
Ryk
Byron Pope
Jan-30-2019, 2:55pm
I use Clarion. http://clarionins.com/
darylcrisp
Jan-30-2019, 8:33pm
another praise, high praise, for Heritage. They keep it simply and provide excellent coverage. They cover your instrument no matter where you go, in a car, on a plane, if you ship it somewhere-no hassle. Be sure to know what you policy covers and how much it covers based on the instruments whereabouts when damaged/stolen/etc. I shipped a guitar once that was damaged in transit, it was an exceptional claim, and Heritage treated me very fair.
Had them now for a couple years.
d
I use Heritage and like the company and process. I may be wrong but I believe many homeowner's rider policies will not cover you if instrument is stolen at a gig.
Also I belive Heritage also covers damage during shipping of instrument which is a big plus for thoseof that like to buy and sell. No need to buy the overpriced UPS insurance.
Heritage customers please correct me if I am wrong.
EvanElk
Jan-30-2019, 11:03pm
yes they do. If you do a little horse trading it pays for itself in the shipping insurance savings
pops1
Jan-30-2019, 11:56pm
The inland marine police under my homeowners insurance, when I had it, covered my instruments cheaply. The only thing not covered was stolen from an unlocked vehicle. If it was locked it was covered.
Pittsburgh Bill
Jan-31-2019, 9:27am
The inland marine police under my homeowners insurance, when I had it, covered my instruments cheaply. The only thing not covered was stolen from an unlocked vehicle. If it was locked it was covered.
My research has found this to be true for my insurance company as well and at a much more reasonable cost than Heritage or Clarion. I cannot attest to how effectively claims would be settled by my carrier and damage would not be covered. BUT, $64.00 per year vs. $200.00+ per year. This is a strong consideration considering I do not own high end mandolins. Downside is finding someone qualified to prepare certified appraisals as my carrier requires.
I contacted three retailers in my area to be told by two of them that they are not familiar enough to perform these appraisals. One retailer told me they are able to provide me with three instrument appraisals, but not one of them. But, a huge inconvenience and they were unable to provide me with an estmated cost until they have done the appraisals. This leads me to believe it may be a costly experience.
Perhaps someone has had experiece with on-line appraisals they can comment on.
Thank you for all the suggestions I have received thus far.
Charlie Bernstein
Jan-31-2019, 9:32am
Hm. I think my homeowner's policy covers 'em. Now that you bring it up, I'm going to check.
Dale Ludewig
Jan-31-2019, 12:15pm
I use Heritage. I've had them for at least 10 years- maybe 15. My experiences with them have been great. I've not had a claim but have heard only good things about their handling of such. The coverage isn't cheap, or is it? If I ship a couple of fairly expensive instruments a year, the insurance is paid for by not having to buy the shipper's coverage. Heritage concentrates, it would seem, on people who have good instruments and who don't want to ever have a claim. As far as the homeowner's policies go, even with the inland marine riders, I'd be real careful. I had that with my homeowner's policy and right before I went to Heritage I was told by the secretary at my agent's office that my instruments weren't covered and really had never been because I play out in public. It didn't matter if I was getting paid or not. It didn't matter if the damage or thievery was done at a job, at my home, in the car. The very fact that I played out (and the company knew this from the beginning) voided any coverage, period. When I asked why they hadn't told me this before, when they knew from the start that I played out in public, they said "you never asked". Needless to say, all business with them was off at that point. It is one of my missions to warn others whenever this topic comes up.
pops1
Jan-31-2019, 12:43pm
I use Heritage. I've had them for at least 10 years- maybe 15. My experiences with them have been great. I've not had a claim but have heard only good things about their handling of such. The coverage isn't cheap, or is it? If I ship a couple of fairly expensive instruments a year, the insurance is paid for by not having to buy the shipper's coverage. Heritage concentrates, it would seem, on people who have good instruments and who don't want to ever have a claim. As far as the homeowner's policies go, even with the inland marine riders, I'd be real careful. I had that with my homeowner's policy and right before I went to Heritage I was told by the secretary at my agent's office that my instruments weren't covered and really had never been because I play out in public. It didn't matter if I was getting paid or not. It didn't matter if the damage or thievery was done at a job, at my home, in the car. The very fact that I played out (and the company knew this from the beginning) voided any coverage, period. When I asked why they hadn't told me this before, when they knew from the start that I played out in public, they said "you never asked". Needless to say, all business with them was off at that point. It is one of my missions to warn others whenever this topic comes up.
That is interesting Dale, I bought mine because I played out and had the entire PA, mics and instruments covered. That was a long time ago and it may have changed, everything else has.
fatt-dad
Jan-31-2019, 1:31pm
I have a personal article floater (PAF) on my homeowner's policy. If you own a house, you can likely get a floater. Now you get to decide if that's the coverage you want.
f-d
darylcrisp
Jan-31-2019, 5:23pm
yep, I forgot about mentioning Heritage covers insurance during shipping-so, I don't have to purchase extra coverage from say USPS or worry about damage done by FedEx and then struggling thru a battle. I will typically ship 2-4 instruments per year, that alone pays for about 3/4 of my Heritage policy.
when I dug into my Statefarm homeowners, it only covered $500 and that was in the event of a fire. Did not cover while any instrument was in a vehicle. There was a rider I could purchase, but coverage only went up to $1000, and was well over what the heritage policy costs-and still only covered in house fire. Did not cover for theft or any other damage, or outside of the house.
d
djweiss
Jan-31-2019, 6:16pm
Another vote for Heritage....just had my first claim and it couldn't have been easier. I have not had to provide any appraisals for my coverage.
fatt-dad
Feb-01-2019, 12:44pm
My PAF covers shipping too.
f-d
You are much more likely to have a claim due to a stolen or damaged instrument then a fire, flood, or burglary to your home. If you keep your instruments under your homeowners policy, and you have to file a claim, your policy premiums could be raised, or your policy dropped altogether. Either way, it’s a claim against the “big” policy. That could end up being quite pricey.
IMO that is the main reason for maintaining a separate policy for instruments. Another thumbs up for Heritage.
Jeff Mando
Feb-01-2019, 3:23pm
The only thing not covered was stolen from an unlocked vehicle. If it was locked it was covered.
That reminds me of when I totaled my 66 Mustang on an icy overpass bridge..........to add insult to injury, the officer said, "how fast were you going?" Just 55, sir! ;)
JeffD
Feb-01-2019, 11:06pm
The inland marine police under my homeowners insurance, when I had it, covered my instruments cheaply. The only thing not covered was stolen from an unlocked vehicle. If it was locked it was covered.
Are you covered if you make money playing music? Some homeowners insurance policies exclude "tools" which includes musical instruments for the use of which you have been compensated, even a little bit, even gas money, even playing music for a free meal that others had to pay for.
pops1
Feb-01-2019, 11:27pm
Yes Jeff then I was. It was a long time ago, but the inland marine policy off my house insurance covered anything but an unlocked vehicle. I don't have it now, still playing, but not as much as then.
Thread bump......
Am shopping around for instrument insurance. I know Heritage is the premium company but their minimum annual cost is 200. I have submitted a request for quote to Anderson Instrument Insurance. Does anyone have experience with them?
Thanks, Tony
BrianWilliam
Dec-15-2019, 8:35am
Heritage was super easy to set up. No appraisals required (just serial numbers). I have not had to file a claim.
Sherry Cadenhead
Mar-13-2021, 8:52am
Excellent thread, as I consider insuring my new (to me) Weber Gallatin. Looks like Heritage is the way to go. Any recent experience to add to the conversation?
Pittsburgh Bill
Mar-13-2021, 9:09am
I found Heritage to offer a good policy but got my carrier (State Farm) for other insurance to write me a policy almost as good as Heritage for less than half the cost.
Dale Ludewig
Mar-13-2021, 9:28am
I've had Heritage for years. I've never needed to make a claim but I've heard nothing but good stuff about them. I'm pretty sure they have a minimum premium that would making insuring just a modestly priced instrument or two a bit on the expensive side. One the other hand, they cover you in almost any situation. A word of caution about getting a "rider" of some sort with a normal home owner's policy is this: Some (at least) insurance companies will not cover your instrument in you ever, getting paid or not, play out of your home. I found this out some years ago from the insurance company I was using at the time when I needed to really increase my coverage. The agent told me that I hadn't been really covered for the many years I'd paid the premiums because I played in public. And they knew that when I'd taken the policy out years before. When I asked why they hadn't made that clear, the agent said that was because I hadn't asked. They wouldn't cover damage or theft of the instruments, even at my house, because I played in public and that added to their risk. I cancelled all my insurance with that company, including car, home, and business in just a couple days. I told them I would do everything I could in the future to make sure no one else was duped. I'm keeping my word.
Ask about an "inland marine" addition to your homeowners insurance. When I had that years ago I played out and it was covered everyplace except an unlocked car. It was very reasonably priced.
Perry
Mar-13-2021, 11:08am
Long term Heritage customer. I never had to make a claim but the customer service is always top notch when adding and instrument or removing one. Which seems to happen a lot ;). I just e-mail them and they get right back to me with a confirm and mail out an updated "inventory" list.
Heritage covers shipping mishaps (please correct me if I am wrong) so that comes in handy when selling your instruments as you don't have to pay for useless carrier insurance.
As Dale states above you mus be careful with homeowner riders.
acinva
Mar-13-2021, 11:58am
I have been using Anderson: https://www.anderson-group.com/. I am happy with them, but have not had to file any claims. When I first got instrument insurance, I got quotes from Anderson and Heritage and both were willing to lower their original quotes to get the business. Alan
Louise NM
Mar-13-2021, 1:10pm
With any of these companies, does a $200/year policy cover any number of instruments up to a certain value? For example, is the cost similar to insure 10 instruments with a combined value of $50K as to cover a single $50K violin? I have a number of wood-and-wire instruments around the house. No single one is terribly expensive, but the total cost for the bunch, plus cases and bows, would add up fast.
Pappyrich
Mar-13-2021, 2:51pm
I have a Valuable Property policy with my home owner's policy with USAA. I have about $10,000 worth of instruments insured for less than $30/yr. They are covered against all possible loss types, everywhere, and no appraisals are required. I set the value for each instrument, and they insure it for that value and charge accordingly. It is a simple as it gets.
Pappyrich
Mar-13-2021, 2:52pm
duplicate post
I have Mercury Insurance. My agent said that my homeonwer's policy covers all my instruments for loss or theft up to $60,000, without the need to buy any riders on my policy. Unless you are a professional, there may not be a need to buy any additional insurance. If you are a professional musician, then you would need to buy a policy from Heritage or Anderson.
That is my understanding. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.
mandroid
Mar-13-2021, 11:09pm
Professionalism puts you in a different category getting paid to play ..
having things more exposed.. more often..
never happened to me .. :disbelief:
Heard AFof M has member deals for insurance.
If you put it on homeowners or renters............read your policy. Carefully and for comprehension. They do slide some caveats in. Do not trust your insurance broker when he tells you "Yep....is covered!". His words mean absolutely nothing.
Ask about an "inland marine" addition to your homeowners insurance. When I had that years ago I played out and it was covered everyplace except an unlocked car. It was very reasonably priced.
An 'inland marine' addition is a rider on your homeowners insurance. I don't think all companies offer it, but it covered me gigging. I did not have to put in a claim so can't say how that would have went, but the only stipulation on the policy was " not covered in an unlocked vehicle" a locked vehicle was covered, as was performing venues. You have to provide serial numbers and value of each instrument/amplifier insured. I think then the cost was $10 for each $1,000 of valuation.
Inland marine policies tailored to musical instruments and offered by specialized agents have several advantages. They don't typically require written appraisals for instruments that are easy to value, meaning instruments that have a reasonably clear record of market value. Shipping is covered either on the policy or by additional fee per shipment. Professional usage is covered. Diminished value is covered. It's easy to have a $500 repair bill, such as a broken headstock, where the after-repair-value is thousands of dollars lower than before the damage. Unless your policy specifically addresses diminished value, it's not likely to be covered.
I have used Heritage for years, had one claim and zero issues getting that squared away.
walter carter
Mar-14-2021, 9:59am
Inland marine policies tailored to musical instruments and offered by specialized agents...
I have only one personal experience with a claim on a homeowner's policy, and it was a nightmare. My stepson had a break-in at his home, and all his instruments and gear were stolen. After providing a detailed list, he had to deal with an adjuster who had no clue about musical instruments. For example, "I see new Les Pauls online for $1500. Why are you trying to claim that your used Les Paul from the 1970s is worth twice that much?" After several weeks of this, the company offered around half of the value as a settlement, but then they brought in a second "examiner" who found an exception for musical instrument buried deep in the small print. There was a liability limitation of $1000 on instruments, and the policy had a $1000 deductible. They paid zero. So, if you want to rely on your homeowners policy, read every line of the fine print very carefully.
Even if you can get an inland marine rider on your homeowner's policy, you're still dealing with a company that is unfamiliar with musical instruments. Heritage, Clarion and Anderson specialize in musical instruments. That says it all.
djweiss
Mar-14-2021, 7:52pm
I've had one claim on on Heritage Insurance policy for some water damage. They covered the repair as well as loss of value. It was any easy transaction, and made the policy worth it.
Pete Martin
Mar-20-2021, 4:00pm
Don't know if it still applies, but I've had friends unfortunately surprised by their homeowners policies coverage not working if they had ever made anything from playing music. Before you purchase any coverage see where it applies and the exceptions.
In all my years I've used Clarion, had 2 cases where damage happened, I needed reimbursement, and had a check in my hands within a week.
Sherry Cadenhead
Mar-20-2021, 4:26pm
Friday morning I looked online at Clarion, Heritage and Anderson. Clarion says it doesn't insure anything under $3K. Heritage has a very detailed questionnaire to get a quote, which I completed and submitted. Haven't yet heard back. Anderson has a short questionnaire, which I submitted and received a quote almost instantly. In the afternoon I received an email from Anderson, asking me to complete the purchase.
I had checked with my homeowners insurer and was told an appraisal is required to separately schedule my mandolin.
I need to read back over this thread for experience with Anderson, whose quote I find reasonable. Not going the homeowners route.
bigskygirl
Mar-20-2021, 6:53pm
Sherry, see if your insurance offers a personal property policy - for high dollar items like jewelry, instruments, etc.
dscullin
Mar-20-2021, 8:04pm
Regarding USAA... I am a USAA member and went to their website re: valuable personal property insurance. In regard to musical instruments, it says “ for personal use only.” Therefore if you are gigging even a little bit, it would likely not cover you if you had a mishap or stolen instrument when performing.
Sue Rieter
Mar-02-2022, 1:31pm
Bumping this thread, because I have decided to start this process. After reading through all the previous replies, I'll be calling my homeowner's (Amica) first.
Sherry, I am wondering what you ended up doing?
Bill McCall
Mar-02-2022, 1:45pm
Interesting bump. We just went through and inventoried, recorded serial numbers, and photographed our instruments. We had added to our inventory (you know how it goes) and wanted to verify for insurance.
Sue Rieter
Mar-02-2022, 5:48pm
I called Amica and talked to them about the "Personal Article Floater". It all sounded pretty good, and the estimated cost was low, like $30/year. The deductible does not apply. They said you'd be covered anywhere, whether you were getting paid or not (not that anyone is likely to pay me to play a mandolin ;) ) I got a copy of the fine print and I'm reading it. The big thing is, the agent suggested that to ensure "reasonable replacement value" that I should have appraisals of antique and other one of a kind instruments. For more easily replaced items (my KM200S, for instance), a photograph would suffice.
Where does one go for appraisals? Is it expensive?
Jake should be able to do that for you. Cost is a percentage of the estimate. Some say to get a high estimate so as the years go by and your stash appreciates you won't have to get new estimates all the time.
tjmangum
Mar-09-2022, 11:52pm
I have a rider on my State Farm policy for instruments and jewelry. Recently I updated my musical instrument list and values. Created a spread sheet with a picture of each one along with info and value. Took this to the local music store (I know the owner) and asked if he would look over the list and write me a cover sheet on his letterhead saying he has reviewed the values and they are reflective of the present market. Gave him a nice gift certificate.
I pay about $5 per thousand of value a year.
JeffD
Mar-09-2022, 11:55pm
I have Mercury Insurance. My agent said that my homeonwer's policy covers all my instruments for loss or theft up to $60,000, without the need to buy any riders on my policy. Unless you are a professional, there may not be a need to buy any additional insurance. If you are a professional musician, then you would need to buy a policy from Heritage or Anderson.
That is my understanding. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.
Some policies consider you a professional if you ever took any money for playing. Even a free meal.
Sue Rieter
Mar-10-2022, 7:03am
Some policies consider you a professional if you ever took any money for playing. Even a free meal.
Amica says this is not an issue. I'm reading the fine print. It's fine, and I'm old with bad eyes, so it's taking awhile.
Mandobar
Mar-10-2022, 7:24am
Sue make sure that there is no depreciation on the coverage. As for appraisals, Jake would be able to give you a valuation, in writing for the vintage pieces, but reasonable replacement value on the Kentucky would be the current market price for a new one.
Keep an eye on the market so that you make sure to update your coverage every year.
Denis Kearns
Mar-11-2022, 4:17pm
I also have my car and house insured by USAA and talked with their representative yesterday. Although the website says everything must have an appraisal, he indicated that, for items under $15K, this is not initially necessary; HOWEVER, after a reported loss you need to supply the following: 1) An appraisal or bill of sale to establish value and 2) proof of ownership (such as a photo with you in it). It also seemed that they might have a little difficulty with instruments that are no longer in production, i.e., no easy replacement or in other words, all those wonderful Gibsons, Regals, Nationals, Harmonys, and (now) even Webers. I plan to get a Heritage policy. USAA has been excellent and very responsive to our family’s needs, but I think that Hertiage will afford me less potential hassle and more peace of mind.
they want an appraissal so you dont try and rip them off ..... also you should keep detailed pictures of all your instuments along with serial #'s ..the year it was made ,
just the usual stuff so if something does happen ...at least you will be compensated...... its the smart way to go.
musicofanatic
May-13-2022, 10:40am
Thanks to all who posted their knowledge and experience here. What I took from this is that Heritage, Clarion and Andersen are the big three. I got quotes from all three and, not surprisingly, Heritage had the best coverage for my needs (professional, doing some travel) and the lowest premium. Just posting this in case anyone else is considering going through the same process and hoping I can save you the trouble!
I have Mercury Insurance. My agent said that my homeonwer's policy covers all my instruments for loss or theft up to $60,000, without the need to buy any riders on my policy. Unless you are a professional, there may not be a need to buy any additional insurance. If you are a professional musician, then you would need to buy a policy from Heritage or Anderson..
Thing is the definition of "professional". This has gotten two friends of mine in trouble. And how they talk before you buy the insurance may be at odds with how they talk when you have to make a claim.
If you play a gig for money, a percentage of the house, or even pass the hat, you just might be a professional.
If you play a gig for reimbursed expenses, gas money, even for a charity, you just might be a professional.
If you get a free meal that the audience members had to pay for, you just might be a professional.
And when trying to make a claim for a lost, stolen, or broken instrument, I am usually not in the mood to play "have you ever".
Richard500
May-13-2022, 5:18pm
I don’t itemize household possessions, which could bite me sometime, but-
I discovered something interesting when the local power company was interested in eminent domaining my property. Having a mortgage, in this state the lien holder, that is, the bank, has sole authority to be the ‘owner’ in any legal proceedings. That is, a mortgage holder is not the owner! The ‘property’ seems to include anything on it. In this case, the bank was not interested in making a few bucks, and I was able to pay off the mortgage the same day, and therefore go to court. And, the conditions of our false ownership of a house include mandatory insurance coverage — to protect the bank.
Two years ago, a couple of really big oaks decided to crush part of my neighbor’s house: The profitable thing for the insurance company is not to fix the house, as it is old and modest, and not ‘worth’ the repairs, and the bank would rather own a valuable empty lot, so… my neighbors are still renting an apartment.