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john of MT
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Joined: 10/08/09
Posts: 1,527
john of MT
Full Access
Joined: 10/08/09
Posts: 1,527
08/31/2013 5:01 pm
I think most home owners' insurance would cover loss of instruments due to fire, theft, etc. Renters' insurance often does not offer the same wide range of risk coverage. Get to know your policy and look at the exceptions, e.g., flood. There is also a big 'however', however. High-value items are/can be an issue...whether they be instruments, pieces of art, jewelry, collections, etc.

Such items must be documented (pics, serial numbers, manufacturers' certificates...) and should be appraised. Once that is done all items with exceptional value (or risk) can be added onto standard homeowner policies with a rider.

In a Bing search I found bunches of companies out there that insure instruments...and I hadn't heard of any of 'em. But that might just be me. I'm not a professional musician and have never looked for a company that specializes in insuring musical instruments. Still, if you have insurance with a reputable company...one you like and trust...I'd check out their riders first. My brother did that with his computers (and had two replaced) and my camera rider paid off when I walked down the trail leaving a camera hanging on a tree. :rolleyes:

Which reminds me...I gotta get my guitars on a rider...or at least documented with my insurance company. The problem with all of that is NO insurance is going to cover what you and your guitar have accomplished together. That is, the improvement of a guitar's sound that results from years of play cannot be recovered should you lose that instrument.

All we can do is be very, very careful, don't take risks, keep them secure and 'treat 'em like a lady.'
"It takes a lot of devotion and work, or maybe I should say play, because if you love it, that's what it amounts to. I haven't found any shortcuts, and I've been looking for a long time."
-- Chet Atkins