Instrument Insurance

jdsalas · Post by **jdsalas** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 7:13 am

How many of you have instrument insurance? Has anyone gone through clairion? and Is it worth it?
Thanks
J.D.

scottw · Post by **scottw** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 8:03 am

Well, you have a horn worth, what, $1000., 2000.,9000.,14,000.? Wouldn't you assume it's worth insuring something worth that amount of money? Mine is insured as a rider on my homeowners policy, and covers the horn wherever it is when lost or damaged and costs less than $50. a year.

WoodSheddin · Post by **WoodSheddin** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 10:06 am

Jon Meyer wrote:You can get a rider on any policy that is a homeowner or renter's insurance policy. It is SUPER cheap. Just contact your agent. If you have specific questions, please email me privately. My wife deals in this on a daily basis.

That is what we do. State Farm calls them Personal Article policies. We added Professional Usage on ours. Total cost is VERY low.

IkeH · Post by **IkeH** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 11:11 am

Sean, is this a new development with State Farm? I've been with them for years and asked about pro coverage, they advised me to go elsewhere. This was a couple of years ago.

docpugh · Post by **docpugh** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 12:55 pm

I've been covered with renter's insurance at my apartment the past four years, and AllState gave me a rider to cover my instruments. Like Sean said, these can be cheap. I can't remember the exact price, but I believe I pay 10-20$ per year. A good investment in my opinion.

docpugh · Post by **docpugh** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 12:56 pm

I've been covered with renter's insurance at my apartment the past four years, and AllState gave me a rider to cover my instruments. Like Sean said, these can be cheap. I can't remember the exact price, but I believe I pay 10-20$ per year. A good investment in my opinion.

jdsalas · Post by **jdsalas** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 12:58 pm

What if you don't have renters insurance? I'm moving out of the country so there's no need to get some now. Do state farm or other insurance agencies insure instruments only?

WoodSheddin · Post by **WoodSheddin** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 3:21 pm

IkeH wrote:Sean, is this a new development with State Farm? I've been with them for years and asked about pro coverage, they advised me to go elsewhere. This was a couple of years ago.

We have used State Farm for our instruments for about 7 years now. We added the professional usage part when we got jobs and started to gig more.

funkcicle · Post by **funkcicle** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 6:35 pm

I have insurance through Clarion. Your annual premium is based on the total value of your insured instruments, divided by 40. Their exemptions are very straight forward... I think you're covered in all scenarios except for acts of war/terrorism, and theft from a vehicle unless the theft occured during the loading/unloading process. They will also cover your computer which is very handy for those who travel with one.

MENC and AFM members receive a substantial discount(the premium I quoted is probably post-discount, now that I think about it). Fortunately I've never had to file a claim with them, but I know some who have done so with no signnificant difficulty. If you email or call Clarion they will send you a copy of their insurance contract.

cheers!

WoodSheddin · Post by **WoodSheddin** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 7:33 pm

I forgot to add that with State Farm you can insure almost anything individually on Personal Article policies. I have insured our mountain bikes, instruments, gig bags, and flight cases. You could probably even insure things like CD collections, sheet music collections, etc.

Check your homeowners/renters policies sometimes to see what they cover on contents of the house. You might be surprised how little is actually coverred. They usually set fairly low, at least in terms of 10's of thousands of dollars which instruments cost, coverage on individual categories. They divide things into categories and set those limits.

So if your house goes up in flames, you will most likely not be fully reimbursed for all your sheet music because you will max out that category, whichever one it happens to fall into. This is where Personal Article policies really help out. They cover the full replacement value of the individual article being insured, like the sheet music collection or the tuba or whatever.

Talk to your insurance agent and ask questions. They are usually very willing to discuss ways to collect more premiums from ya.

Mark E. Chachich · Post by **Mark E. Chachich** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 5:20 pm

Check inland marine policies offered
(if it is offered) in the country that you will reside.

I have had my tubas insured with this type of policy
for a number of years, make sure that the use of
the tuba is listed as professional.

best of luck,
Mark

UTTuba_09 · Post by **UTTuba_09** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 6:55 pm

Insurance is a low cost way of having a bit of peace of mind. I have insured both of my horns up to 7,500, and it's about $6 a month. I believe that its well worth it...

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