Vintage Musical Instrument Insurance

Discussion of vintage Jazzmasters, Jaguars, Bass VIs, Electric XIIs and any other offset-waist instruments.
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Embenny
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Re: Vintage Musical Instrument Insurance

Post by Embenny » Sat Jul 24, 2021 8:58 am

Maggieo wrote:
Sat Jul 24, 2021 8:42 am
mbene085 wrote:
Tue Jun 29, 2021 4:47 pm

But my homeowners' insurance doesn't cover an instrument that's being used to perform for money - it does cover it if you're traveling with it, taking it to a friend's house, etc, but once you go to gig with it, it's no longer a personal effect and isn't covered.
I wonder how that would apply to guys who play in church? I assume those aren't paid gigs.
I'm not sure how many people do that in Canada, but I imagine they have a clear stance on it. It probably counts as "professional use" since you're performing in a venue with a large number of people (and therefore a high risk of theft), whereas taking it to a friend or relative's house wouldn't carry that risk.

The essence of the policy is that you have to buy separate insurance for the tools of your trade, and if your trade is music, the actuaries know you travel more and have a much higher risk of theft.

Interesting question, though. My solution was always to just gig with inexpensive gear and not worry about it. Things like my luthier-built acoustics and vintage Fenders sat at home and my indestructible, folding $800 carbon fiber acoustic and '93 CIJ Jag are what I'd gig with.
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JamesSGBrown
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Re: Vintage Musical Instrument Insurance

Post by JamesSGBrown » Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:25 am

Hypothetical- I'm in the UK

I will only be taking 2 guitars to a gig at a time. To be sensible and not indulge myself, it'll be my TVL Jazzmaster and JM Jag with my band, pedalboard and amp, and then my Ric 360/12, pedalboard and AV30HW with the other band.

As I don't leave ANY of my guitars in my lockup overnight, is there any way I could insure my guitars as part of home content insurance, as just insure them temporarily when on tour? I got a quote for all my gear from Allianz, it came to just shy of £40 a month, which is ridiculous as I'm not touring full-time. Whereas the contents insurance came to just over £10 a month (first floor, multiple locks etc).

OR is there a way to ensure home contents insurance might cover select pieces of gear when playing out?

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JSett
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Re: Vintage Musical Instrument Insurance

Post by JSett » Thu Jul 29, 2021 11:37 am

JamesSGBrown wrote:
Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:25 am
Hypothetical- I'm in the UK

I will only be taking 2 guitars to a gig at a time. To be sensible and not indulge myself, it'll be my TVL Jazzmaster and JM Jag with my band, pedalboard and amp, and then my Ric 360/12, pedalboard and AV30HW with the other band.

As I don't leave ANY of my guitars in my lockup overnight, is there any way I could insure my guitars as part of home content insurance, as just insure them temporarily when on tour? I got a quote for all my gear from Allianz, it came to just shy of £40 a month, which is ridiculous as I'm not touring full-time. Whereas the contents insurance came to just over £10 a month (first floor, multiple locks etc).

OR is there a way to ensure home contents insurance might cover select pieces of gear when playing out?
My home insurance (UK) had the option to cover them away from home. Most do from what I know...you just have to adjust the policy.
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Re: Vintage Musical Instrument Insurance

Post by estranged » Wed Oct 06, 2021 12:59 pm

homeowners ain't gonna cut it....i've talked my agent at length. If State Farm can prove in ANY way, shape or form that you made money with your gear (trades aside) - but buying/selling or playing out even a LITTLE - they will not honor the claim.

Especially true if it's a higher end ($4K + instrument)

I've been using MusicPro for a few year now (never had a claim) but have no complaints and they seem reasonable for the amount i have insured.

just my $.02

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Re: Vintage Musical Instrument Insurance

Post by JSett » Mon Apr 25, 2022 8:11 am

Now I'm back gigging after the pandemic I just now took out a new policy to cover my gear while playing out. I insured my '64 Jag for 6k, '64 Mustang for 2k, '67 Bassman & cab for 2.2k and my pedalboard for £400. So about £10.5k of equipment.

The total premium was £251 for the year.

This was with Allianz (who I also use for my tattoo practitioners insurance). Covered for all of the UK including in Unattended Vehicle.
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Re: Vintage Musical Instrument Insurance

Post by TriosMelad » Mon Jul 31, 2023 9:09 am

So glad to hear you're back gigging after the pandemic! It's awesome that you got your vintage musical instruments insured. Safety first, right? Your gear sounds amazing - that '64 Jag, '64 Mustang, '67 Bassman & cab, and the pedalboard, all total up to quite a collection!

Seems like you got a sweet deal with Allianz, especially considering the coverage for the UK, including unattended vehicles. That's crucial for peace of mind during gigs. And it's interesting that you also use them for your tattoo practitioners insurance - double the trust!

By the way, your setup must be turning some heads. If I ever get a chance, I'll swing by the music store to check out your gear in action!
Last edited by TriosMelad on Fri Aug 04, 2023 12:13 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Vintage Musical Instrument Insurance

Post by simonhpieman » Tue Aug 01, 2023 6:36 am

JSett wrote:
Thu Jun 24, 2021 10:14 am
I renewed my home and contents insurance just this week. It's obviously different depending on agent but mine covers anything up to an individual value of not more than £3000 without nomination. Anything over that needs to be specified individually. My last insurer wanted anything over £1000 listed individually. There is a cap of £17500 total for large value items. I upped this to £30k

All they told me to do was to take a picture of anything of high value to prove ownership in case of a claim. I just keep a file in the cloud with a list of the guitars/amps/etc along with pictures of them & their serial numbers. It took me less than an hour to do the lot.

Doing all this only added an extra £54 to my yearly premium cost.
Aha, a nice UK based example. Did they specify that things used for business use are not covered? Mine are covered under home insurance but because I use them for work I think it might all be voided if I actually needed to claim and they found out I'm a musician... *Goes and changes occupation to singer - that'll show em!*

EDIT: should have read the whole thread first!

I had Allianz before but my premium for the year was £250+ pre covid. And that's only really covering my PA gear that gets left covered up in the boot of my car as I bring my guitars in, I never leave them unattended in the car, though I did have that cover option.

They were also a bit crap when my guitar case got squished on a plane (the guitar inside was fine). It was an American Standard Strat which we all know comes with a case as standard. Sadly, because I didn't explicitly list the case separately they wouldn't allow me to claim for it.

I should really do it again but I'd be a grand down at this point. That's enough to replace all my PA gear if it got nicked.

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Re: Vintage Musical Instrument Insurance

Post by UlricvonCatalyst » Wed Aug 02, 2023 12:56 am

JamesSGBrown wrote:
Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:25 am
Hypothetical- I'm in the UK

I will only be taking 2 guitars to a gig at a time. To be sensible and not indulge myself, it'll be my TVL Jazzmaster and JM Jag with my band, pedalboard and amp, and then my Ric 360/12, pedalboard and AV30HW with the other band.

As I don't leave ANY of my guitars in my lockup overnight, is there any way I could insure my guitars as part of home content insurance, as just insure them temporarily when on tour? I got a quote for all my gear from Allianz, it came to just shy of £40 a month, which is ridiculous as I'm not touring full-time. Whereas the contents insurance came to just over £10 a month (first floor, multiple locks etc).

OR is there a way to ensure home contents insurance might cover select pieces of gear when playing out?
As far as I recall - and with the caveat that I've never been a member myself - membership of the Musician's Union comes with access to their bespoke insurance service which is very much tailored to gigging musicians, many of whom (especially in the case of Stradivarius-touting classical players) wouldn't be best served by home contents insurance.

I've heard MU membership described as "the most expensive diary money can buy", but in this instance it could be money well spent as a gateway to insurers who understand such niche clientele.

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