Protecting your investment(s) - Homeowners Ins.

[mr51]

This really doesn't have anything to do with mandolins, but it is good advise for those of you who may own valuable instruments or a collection of several instruments.

After reading a post about the theft of a members mandolin, it brought to mind some things that everyone needs to do in order to protect themselves in case of fire/theft/flood etc..

Make several pictures of anything (instruments, artwork, jewerly, firearms, stamp/coin collections) of great value that you may own. Record the serial numbers, model numbers, and original purchase price for each item. If you have antique items, have them appraised and keep a copy of the appraisal with the pictures. All of the above information should be kept in a fire proof safe or a safety deposit box at your local bank.

If you own a video camera, stand in the middle of each room of your home and made a complete 360 degree video of the room. This will allow you to show your insurance agent or Police Department where things such as artwork, electronic equipment and furnishing were located. It will also serve to refresh your memory of the contents of the room in the event of a total or complete loss of contents. Again, store this video in a safe place. Update it every couple of years or sooner if you make a lot of changes to your room and it's contnets.

Contact your home owners insurance agent and make sure that you have sufficent coverage for your collection. You may be in for a Big suprise. Many insurance companies will require you to purchase a rider (depending on the overall value), or list the more valuable items specificly on your policy. Better to find out now than later.

[ShaneJ]

For valuable instruments (and other stuff), a personal articles policy might be in your best interest. Rather than the typical "named peril" coverage provided for personal property under a homeowners policy, a PAP will usually cover the insured property with "all risk" coverage. In other words, rather than just having damage or loss ONLY covered if it is the result of a short list of things like fire, theft, water damage, tornado, etc., "all risk" means it's covered for anything that comes along unless the loss is the result of something on the list of excluded losses. Things like normal wear and tear, intentional destruction, nuclear war, etc. won't be covered.

[Steven Stone]

If you travel with your instrument or regularly ship instruments you may want to "up your game" and get specific instrument insurance.

I have a policy with Heritage that runs less than $400 a year and covers over $100K of instruments against everything except theft from a motor vehicle (their only exclusion.)

IMHO it is MUCH better than homeowners or UPS and Fed ex insurance on packages.

[swampstomper]

"Things like normal wear and tear, intentional destruction, nuclear war, etc. won't be covered. ".... hey if there's a nuclear war the only thing I want to be left with is my mando so I can write my masterpiece "Nuclear Destruction Done Got My Family and Most of My Skin plus My Eyeballs but I'm Still Picking Blues". #Of course it might be hard finding a dealer or builder where I could take my insurance money to buy a replacement mando...

Sorry... a bit of dark humour here...