All of you with EXPENSIVE custom guitars :) do you insure?

[yukonkornelius]

Originally Posted by drplayer

You are correct...whenever I ship a guitar, I contact Heritage and let them know when it's shipping, as well as provide them the ship-from & ship-to address. They confirm it's covered (usually within 1/2 hour or so), and off it goes. They then bill me for whatever the cost was--which is FAR less expensive than UPS's "declared value" charges. So, I both save $ and have the comfort that the guitar is fully insured for full value.

This is a home run. To me, I see no better way.

[justonwo]

1) Necessity of insurance is entirely depending on your level of comfort with risk. Having been robbed 3 or 4 times in my adult life, I feel that it's worth the premium.

2) I happen to like insurance, as it offers me peace of mind in a world fraught with risk. I insure my guitars. I insure my road bike. I insure any big accident I might have on my road bike. My business is insured up the wazoo. My life is insured.

3) I believe Heritage offers a great policy, considering the breadth of their coverage. I'm a big fan of getting insurance policies that are specific to the thing you are trying to insure rather than letting umbrella policies try to capture everything.

[Cocobolo Kid]

I have a valuable personal property rider through the insurance company I use for my homeowner's insurance for all my hand-built acoustic guitars. I pay about $4.42 per year for each $1,000 of coverage.

[6L6]

I have my instruments insured with USAA. Good for peace of mind.

[brad4d8]

Originally Posted by Haasome

I've got "new" replacement value through homeowners.

Unless specified in the policy, homeowners insurance usually doesn't cover instruments used professionally. They also have a broad interpretation of professional. For example, if you perform (for free) at charity function that charges admission that you don't pay, it's often considered professional.

My most expensive guitars are old, not custom, but I guess the answer is the same. Yes, I have a policy through Heritage.

I've never liked the description of insurance as a gamble. It is a legal contract that shifts risk and liability. As a licensed Professional Engineer, I can't work without insurance. While what I personally do is relatively low risk, my clients wouldn't hire me if I couldn't show the ability to pay off on a $5 million claim. Working without insurance would be the real gamble - hoping, betting nothing goes wrong. Buying insurance lowers my exposure to loss to a more comfortable level for me and my clients.

Back to guitars, there are several advantages to an inland marine policy designed for musical instrument coverage. One seldom mentioned, but to me is at the top of the list, is diminished value. While a homeowner's policy might pay for repair or even total loss on a valuable guitar, I have never seen one where diminished value was covered. For example, a headstock break on a $10,000 guitar might cost $500 or less to repair, but could lower the value by $3,000 or more. A policy designed for musical instruments would pay the $500 repair plus the $3,000 drop in value.

[dreamincolor]

I also have a policy with Heritage. Peace of mind is a good thing.

[Mooh]

We have a home-owners policy and a business policy, same address as I work from home. Since it's a music business, instruments are insured under the business policy. The insurance company, their agent, and their broker were all good when a tornado ripped through the place in 2011. I'm not sure off the top of my head what the policy amount is, roughly $50,000, mostly for instruments, gear and computers.

[markallen]

Yup, I have a policy with Heritage to cover my instruments from evildoers outside or inside my home. In the big scheme of things it's not that expensive and it helps me get a good nights sleep.

Cheers,
Mark