hawaiianshirt said:
This may be the most un-fun question ever posted on this BBS, but...
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?
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.