Insurance policy for musical instruments

Buco · January 2018

@pickitjohn suggested to start a thread about getting your instruments covered, good idea. I mentioned it a few times in the forum but having a separate thread will probably make it more visible.

Basically I do it through Allstate as an added package to our renters insurance. They asked to take pictures of everything making sure the serial number is visible and send it to them. My GJ guitar doesn't have a serial number so they said to take pictures of anything that might be more unique about it.
My agent at the time assured me it's insured for the stated replacement value. Also, she said it would still be covered if it were stolen outside of our home, like in a bar during a gig.

Maybe it was because we already had renters insurance policy with them but I was pleasantly surprised how small the added premium was to get everything covered, 4 guitars and three amps. It's about 1.5% every six months of it's replacement value.

To me it was a no brainier. Of course I plan on never filing a claim but it's a good feeling knowing it's there in case it happened.

Come to think of it, should I add my picks to it!?!

constantine · January 2018

I did something similar, I added a $5,000 rider to my homeowners insurance policy for about $100. It was far less expensive than specific "musical instrument" insurance.

Russell Letson · January 2018

Check the small print to make sure that an instrument used professionally (whatever that might mean for that policy) is covered. When I went through this process a few years back, the homeowner's rider excluded pro contexts. For that, the answer was a policy designed for professional musicians, offered by specialized carriers--more comprehensive but also more expensive. I settled for the rider because the hazards I was most worried about were associated with flying to festivals and workshops, where my status was non-pro. (Well, that's my status anyway, but in those cases it's unambiguous.)