Insurance

  • Thread starter Thread starter mikeh
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mikeh

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I did a search and saw very little discussion on this issue.

Do any of you home recordists insure your gear? If not, it is important that you understand that your home owners (or renters) insurance does not provide coverage for "business use".

Business use is very broad. If you make $50, the equipment may not be covered. If you send out demos trying to get a recording contract, even if you don't generate profit, that may be considered business use.

I someone steals your gear, or it is lost in a fire it may not be covered. If someone trips coming into your basement studio and breaks thier neck, you may not be covered.

If you do not use the gear in any business capacity you may be covered, subject to the limits of your policy. Keep in mind that most homeowner policies only provide property coverage for 50% of the value of the house. So is the house is worth $100,000 (not counting the land) personnal property is only covered to $50,000 but that includes everything, (your clothing, your furniture, ect. )that may not leave much left for the gear. In addition, there are often limits to electronic and computer equipment.

I'm sure many of you have a lot of $$$ tied up in gear (I know I do) and it could be a serious blow to lose everything. It would take me a long time to come up with the $40,000 that I think it would take to replace everything.

So, does anyone insure thier gear???
 
I don't insure my gear but I don't use it for business either. I had a fire in a storage shed on my property about 15 years ago and I had all my gear stored in there while I remodeled a room. The insurance company paid for all the gear replacement.

I have had no problems with my homeowner’s insurance covering gear.


Very good thread!
 
I have business coverage on the gear... personal liability insurance for clients....

Extra cost, sure.... but I consider it a protection of my investment, as well as the cost of doing business!
 
Blue Bear,

I agree business insurance is a cost that makes sense, however I suspect there are many people with small studios who record local bands/songwriters, etc. who have no idea how at risk they may be.

Naturally, the scope of your studio (nice studio by the way) and the number of projects you do exceeds what most of us on this site do (we all worship at the feet of Blue Bear) :D Candidly, the majority of my music income comes from gigging vs. recording. But big studio or small - risk is risk you can still get sued if someone is hurt and you can still have a fire (isn't 30 plugs in a single wall outlet a fire hazard???).

If you don't mind me asking, about what do you pay per $1,000 of gear??? I've been pricing coverage to make sure my current pricing is reasonable (turns out it is).

Basic property only (replacement value) seems to run $6-$8 per $1,000, add in general liability and it ranges $10-$15 and if you add in copyright infringment, etc. it can run as high as $25 per $1,000. Creative use of excess policies that sit over the primary coverage can keep premium costs down - but all in all whatever the cost it makes sense.
 
I don't have a legal business so my renters insurance will cover up to $30K worth of losses on electronics gear. I made sure that it covers instruments and such.
 
I am a member of the Federation of Musicians. The main reason that I pay my dues to the Union is to get access to coverage by their instrument insurance plan. I pay like $200/year for about $20,000 of gear. Union dues are close to $150/year. It is excellent insurance that covers a broad range hazards. I have had to use it before. It was slow, but they did pay.
 
darwin,

I believe the AFM use to offer coverage through MusicPro (which is the same coverage offered through ASCAP) - is that still who writes the coverage for AFM? If so you can actually get at MusicPro direct (and save the union dues) - naturally there are some other benefits to being an AFM member (I carried a card for many years when I played the Vegas/Reno circuit).

However keep in mind that with the $150 in dues on top of the $200 premium you are paying about $17 per $1,000 for what I suspect is property coverage with maybe $1,000 deductable and no liability. That may be a little steep. I pay $200 for $40,000 (but I spent a fair amount of time doing my research). I applaud you for having the savvy to carry the coverage.

TexRoadKill,

You don't need a "legal business" to be denied under renters coverage. If you get paid (under the table or any other way) it's business. Naturally the insurance company has to prove it is business use (I'm sure you wouldn't admit if it was) but insurance companies find alot of ways to deny coverage. They give you coverage in one paragraph and then take it away in the next 20 paragraphs!!!

However, as long as you have talked to your agent, and he will go to bat for you all should be well. I also applaud you for having the savvy to carry renters coverage.
 
Mikeh,

I beleive the rates you mentioned for per-$1000-gear are about the same -- it's the extras that get tacked-on that bring the cost up. Location, building structure, security, etc....

My rates went up this year, and so I decided to get some estimates from others -- best I could get from other places was $500 more per year than my current increased rate from State Farm!

So naturally, I stuck with them...!
 
mikeh said:
darwin,

However keep in mind that with the $150 in dues on top of the $200 premium you are paying about $17 per $1,000 for what I suspect is property coverage with maybe $1,000 deductable and no liability. That may be a little steep. I pay $200 for $40,000 (but I spent a fair amount of time doing my research). I applaud you for having the savvy to carry the coverage.
Click to expand...

I don't think that there is liability, but the deductible is $100. I stay in the union for other benefits too though.
 
mikeh said:
TexRoadKill,

You don't need a "legal business" to be denied under renters coverage. If you get paid (under the table or any other way) it's business. Naturally the insurance company has to prove it is business use (I'm sure you wouldn't admit if it was) but insurance companies find alot of ways to deny coverage. They give you coverage in one paragraph and then take it away in the next 20 paragraphs!!!

However, as long as you have talked to your agent, and he will go to bat for you all should be well. I also applaud you for having the savvy to carry renters coverage.
Click to expand...

yeah, by legal I meant traceable ;)

They seemed to be pretty cool. I mentioned over and over how I have a lot of very expensive hobby musical gear and they said it would be no problem. Of course you never know until you have to use it.
 
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