insurance?

  • Thread starter Thread starter hawaiianshirt
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hawaiianshirt

the jerk at the board
This may be the most un-fun question ever posted on this BBS, but...

Anyone have any advice about buying insurance for studio equipment? Is there a good place for me to start some research? Any opinions on whether its even worth it?

Thanks.
 
A lot depends on how you use your equipment. Is it going to be in a home studio and stay there? Is it in a commercial studio and staying there? Or do you use it to gig and move it around a lot?

If it stays in your home, you can get a rider for your homeowner's policy to insure the expensive items beyond what your homeowner's policy covers. If it's in a commercial environment then you need to get a business policy. There are companies that specialize in business insurance. If you're moving it a lot, but it spends time at home, you might still get by with adding it to your homeowner's policy, but be careful, if you're using it professionally and try to claim a loss on your homeowner's insurance, you might be asking for trouble.

On the whole, if you have pieces of gear that are extremely valuable (i.e. a rare guitar or a vintage keyboard) or hard to replace, then insurance makes sense. For most gear, given that it loses its value so quickly, it might not be worth the premiums. Insurance sucks in general! Basically, you're betting against yourself. You only win if you're robbed or a disaster strikes.

Ted
 
I am in the disaster business... I mean I manage grants for disaster victims. I took this job knowing that it was more or less a temp position. If no disasters strike, I'm out of a job, but luckily (for me anyway) my state has had 3 federally declared disasters in less than a years time. That's not normal so I am one who believes in insurance. You hate like you know what to pay the premium, but when the rain comes pouring down, you're glad you were sensible enough to get coverage.
 
hawaiianshirt said:
This may be the most un-fun question ever posted on this BBS, but...
Click to expand...

It might not be a fun question, but it's an extremely important one!

hawaiianshirt said:
Anyone have any advice about buying insurance for studio equipment? Is there a good place for me to start some research? Any opinions on whether its even worth it?
Click to expand...

For a home studio, I imagine you'd already have homeowner's insurance if you own, or renter's insurance if you rent/lease. Either way, your insurance carrier would be more than happy to insure any and all of your gear, for a very reasonable price.

There are two ways to calculate the insured value, one is to use the retail prices, or the prices paid, add it all up, then pay a premium on that amount. Or, I google around and ebay around trying to find prices of the gear I have, then use "replacement value". For example, one of my six TM-D1000 mixers typically sell for about $400 on e-bay, sometimes a little less, but the list price was $1295. I'd rather pay insurance on the $400, because the premiums are less and that's what it would really cost to replace that particular piece of gear.

All my gear, guitars, cabling, patchbays, computers, video and audio monitors, amps et al, are all insured, and adds approximately $131 a year to my existing home-owner's policy. This translates to about $11 a month, which is a mere pittance as compared to what I'd have to lay out to replace everything, should a disaster strike.

If you're running a commercial studio/facility, then there is more types of insurance to look into, and lump together for a better price. Insure the gear, of course, but also insure the business itself. This way should it burn to the ground, you'll be paid while you're out of business either rebuilding, buying something else, or simply moving on. Some insurance companies offer this, some do not. You'd also need to make sure your clients are insured, just in case they drop a banana peel, step on it and split their head open. Their lawyer will convince them, and a jury, that you're an irresponsible nitwit and deserve the gas chamber, so insurance your business as well as incorporating it, protects your personal assets (if done correctly), protecting your significant other, children, and your personal property.
 
Thanks for the info guys.

Getting my home-owner's insurance to cover my equipment would be perfect, except that my set-up will be for live recording... and I don't own a home. So that's right out.

I'd be travelling with a modest $4300 (rough) worth, at list value. Plus another $2000 worth at the apartment (including the computer).

I know that isn't much in this game, but I also know what a gamble it is to gig with your equipment. And in these times of economic woe, and with baby on the way( :) ), I can't afford that $4300 bet.

Does anyone have any experience insuring equipment that travels? Or are my potatoes too small to insure in the first place?
 
hawaiianshirt said:
Getting my home-owner's insurance to cover my equipment would be perfect, except that my set-up will be for live recording... and I don't own a home. So that's right out.
Click to expand...

Let me put this another way. Insurance companies will insure anything you're willing to pay a premium on.

Tina Turner's legs were/are insured, and how absurd is that?

I built a homemade sports car, from absolute scratch (and I mean from scratch), and State Farm had absolutely no problem insuring it. 10 minute phone call, they took four pictures, and handed me an insurance card.

Registering a home-built car (in CT at the time) took me 7 months of aggrevation.

Trust me, you can insure anything. Your girlfriend, your cat, your cat's water dish, a fancy flashlight, and studio gear.

I assume you drive, if you do, contact your car insurance company. More than likely they also insure homes, apartments, and offer life insurance as well. Walk in with a detailed list (preferable typed, rather than handwritten) of your gear, listed by name, followed by the value you'd like to insure it for (replacement or list price), and the serial number.

I bet you'll have insurance within an hour.
 
There are also insurance companies dedicated to covering musical instruments.

Here is one:

http://www.clarionins.com

This one is recommended by ASCAP (our own HixMix uses this insurance):

http://www.musicproinsurance.com

I've been looking at these to cover my gear. I have a fairly valuable guitar rig that I gig with and I often take recording gear to my drummer's house for recording. Therefore, I want coverage that follows my gear. The rates for the Music Pro Insurance (according to Hix) are something like $10 for every $10,000 in coverage per year. That's pretty damn reasonable in my opinion.

Check out this thread:
https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=139295&highlight=insurance
 
thanks!!

Cat insurance, huh? There's probably more money to be made there than there is in recording...

I have a friend who wants to start a church that baptizes pets for a fee. "Your little Muffy should enjoy the comforts of eternal heaven with you, instead of burning in hellfire with the rest of the heathans..."

But that's subject for another thread, perhaps. Thanks for the advice and the links, folks. You've pointed me in the right direction. I'll be insured in no time.
 
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