What insurance do you all have to protect your valuable DIY investments?

[ENS Audio]

I'm planning on dumping even more money into my DIY habit and would like to insure my current DIY assets before I go any further.  God forbid anything happens to my precious.  :'(

What type of insurance do you all have to protect your DIY or even non DIY recording equipment??

 

[warpie]

;D

 

[thermionic]

I seem to recall reading that RFIDs had been made that were smaller than a pin-head. The idea being that you could sprinkle a few inside an enclosure and it would be tricky for a thief to get all of them removed. Has anyone else picked up on this?

Here's an example: http://thefutureofthings.com/3221-hitachi-develops-worlds-smallest-rfid-chip/

The only concern I have is that the 'cable guys' will claim a unit that doesn't have the RFIDs 'sounds better'  :

 

[JohnRoberts]

I wouldn't steal my own DIY gear, let alone someone else's.

Being DIY should be insurance enough.

Merry Christmas...

JR

[edit- I still have a DIY power amp I built in the early '70s . The transformer alone weighted 25# total well over 100#. I joked if a saw a crook running down the street carrying that I'd applaud.  8) [/edit]

 

[dmp]

It depends on where and how you are using you equipment.
In any case, you want to have a spreadsheet and pictures to document the items and value. 
If you have it at your home and are a hobbyist, you can check if it is covered by your homeowner's insurance (it probably is - up to some $$ amount). If you use it at a rented space, but have homeowner's, check - it still might be covered.
If you use it for a business, it most likely wouldn't be covered by homeowner's or renter's insurance, and you would need property insurance along with business liability insurance.
I rent a space (not a business) and have the typical liability insurance for renting plus a property insurance policy to cover all my gear (DIY and vintage).  I had to send the insurance company a spreadsheet with descriptions and values, and some pictures for them to attach to the policy application. 

 

[Gold]

I use The Recording Studio Insurance Program. The guy who administers it is at AES every year. He understands the audio business and by all reports claims are paid quickly. It's commercial insurance and is probably overkill if you don't have a business. Plain old renters insurance should cover any losses as long as you document what you have.

 

[kambo]

I use The Recording Studio Insurance Program. The guy who administers it is at AES every year. He understands the audio business and by all reports claims are paid quickly. It's commercial insurance and is probably overkill if you don't have a business. Plain old renters insurance should cover any losses as long as you document what you have.

link ?

 

[ENS Audio]

Thanks for your replies everyone! 

I rent a room from somebody so I'll see if renters insurance will cover everything.

 

[bruno2000]

I use The Recording Studio Insurance Program. The guy who administers it is at AES every year. He understands the audio business and by all reports claims are paid quickly. It's commercial insurance and is probably overkill if you don't have a business. Plain old renters insurance should cover any losses as long as you document what you have.

link ?

More info.  Look at the bottom of article.  We use them.

http://www.spars.com/products/insurance/

Best,
Bruno2000

 

[beatnik]

interesting discussion as i decided to insure all my music gear

i got myself a bit confused over one point

in case of theft, accident, etc. if the item is currently produced, the insurance company will provide with a brand new replacement of the same model

in case the item is vintage or custom made, i got told that i need to have those items valued by an external company, a retailer for example

do you think this is a standard procedure or is better to ask for a different policy ?

 

[PRR]

> i need to have those items valued by an external company

That's usually how it has to be.

If they know what it is, they know what it is worth (and they can probably get it less than you paid).

If they do not know *exactly* what it is, and it is destroyed or stolen, how can they know what to pay-off?

Old cars face the same problem. The "1939 Hudson" in my neighbor's garage may be worth $400 (scrap value of a rusty corpse) or $40,000 (concours quality restoration). Pictures would help, but don't tell the whole story; and owner-supplied pictures could be of a different (better) car. There's guys you call who come look at the car, know the market, document the condition and serial numbers, set an appraised value, and are nominally professional (won't take small bribes for high appraisals).

In cars there is also "Agreed Value". You pick a value. If the company agrees the number is not absurd, they will offer a rate based on that value. Actually a higher rate than if the car were Appraised: you could high-ball the value, pay for a year, then have your buddy steal the car. Same as homeowner insurance usually won't be written for much more than the house/land is worth (in the company's opinion)-- it tempts you to have a loss and recover more than was lost. (This made insuring my 1837 house interesting: boulders and logs are not modern materials, they don't know the cost to-rebuild, it could not be re-built as-new, even the foundation which would not burn could not be rebuilt upon under modern Code-- we finally agreed on a same-size new-stick house plus minimal new foundation.)

So: you could try to get an "Agreed Value" that your 2003 Sam Ash Student Special is worth $9,000. Since the insurer has some idea what a Sam Ash is, they may decline. If they accept, they may want nearly $9,000 for the first year, because $9,000 coverage on a $90 axe is really begging for fire/flood/theft ASAP. (Maybe you are honest but insurers see the worst in people.)

Any large town has a used-guitar shop and the guys in there can ballpark the value of almost any guitar. You will have to pay for this... not just for their time, but because their main racket is low-pricing guitars they buy; they need strong motivation before saying a fair price. Exotic guitars in a small town, you should find a larger city.

 

[JohnRoberts]

interesting discussion as i decided to insure all my music gear

i got myself a bit confused over one point

in case of theft, accident, etc. if the item is currently produced, the insurance company will provide with a brand new replacement of the same model

Standard insurance is for replacement value, so not a brand new unit, but what another used unit would cost.  DIY gear is a whole nother can of worms, you don't want your insurance agent asking me what it's worth. (I used to run a kit company so I am intimately familiar with DIY solder skills). 

Of course if you want to pay for extra insurance coverage, for more than you stuff is worth (if you tried to sell it), the insurance agent will give you a wet kiss each christmas. While saying a clone XYZ is worth a new real XYZ is fraud. 

In the US there are some current TV ads making a big deal about the difference between replacement and getting a new car as if there shouldn't be a difference (kind of rewards crashing your car periodically). Low information customers don't realize they're actually being sold extra insurance (which of course must cost more).

in case the item is vintage or custom made, i got told that i need to have those items valued by an external company, a retailer for example

do you think this is a standard procedure or is better to ask for a different policy ?

You are very wise to ask these questions up front. and not later after you have a claim.

My only serious insurance claim for a car involved my '93 mustang (cobra), that I totaled in a rain storm with only 22,000 miles on it...  Since it was still almost new, and a limited production model (<4,500 built), the insurance company literally could not find a single used one for sale anywhere to get a comparable price from. They ended up paying me about 80% of what I paid new, which was fair, but I would prefer to still have the car, I'd still have it and it would be a collectors item today.

  JR

 

[beatnik]

i follow you, yes the procedure was making sense but that is what i was worried about

the merchants who value the items always tend to price lower ! that's their job usually ! also the insurance company can decide wether or not to agree on their value. so this makes me worry about my items not getting the value they should get

but diy equipment i  see even more problematic ! your usual retailer has no clue how much parts could cost, not even telling tell about hours of labour

also, my equipment is changing continuously, so if every time i build a new piece of gear or a vintage bit I must pay someone to value it and wait to see if the insurance company agrees with the price....  i can't see how this process could go smoothly and in the end i'm worrying i'll en up wasting a lot of money.

maybe would be better investing it in some good security system instead ?

 

[JohnRoberts]

i follow you, yes the procedure was making sense but that is what i was worried about

the merchants who value the items always tend to price lower ! that's their job usually ! also the insurance company can decide wether or not to agree on their value. so this makes me worry about my items not getting the value they should get

but diy equipment i  see even more problematic ! your usual retailer has no clue how much parts could cost, not even telling tell about hours of labour

Just to be clear, the parts cost and labor hours have nothing to do with it. The bottom line is what can you sell the unit for¿ What will somebody actually pay you for it?

also, my equipment is changing continuously, so if every time i build a new piece of gear or a vintage bit I must pay someone to value it and wait to see if the insurance company agrees with the price....  i can't see how this process could go smoothly and in the end i'm worrying i'll en up wasting a lot of money.

maybe would be better investing it in some good security system instead ?

Indeed .... The best solution is always avoiding the loss, but stuff happens so insurance is not crazy if you have a lot of valuable (?) gear that somebody would like to steal, or get water damage from a leaky roof, or whatever.


JR

 

[PRR]

> merchants who value the items always tend to price lower !

You can find high-ball appraisers. This is commonly done for art and jewelry, specifically for insurance purpose.

Guitar and audio-gear appraisal is much less of a thing, and it may be harder to find a "fair value" appraiser who the insurance company will accept.

> some good security system instead ?

In 35 years of managing audio gear for a school, I had maybe 0.5% loss for fire/flood, 2% by theft, of which 1% was recovered by the cops from the pawn-shop (always file police reports).

This in buildings with no security and a lot of strange folk wandering around day and night. I could go into an empty classroom with drill and prybar, take speakers down, and nobody ever questioned that.

I did whenever possible lock-up solid. Half-inch bolts and chains on more valuable speakers in classrooms. Rack shelves with screws so long it really wanted a power-drill to unscrew. Equipment cages with padlocks.

The one "big" theft was odd. Cage of studs too close for the average size person to squeeze through, chicken-wire over. I found the wire cut. When the thieves were caught, I learned it was a big guy and a small young person. Little one squeezed in and handed stuff out. That's when I added the "video camera". (This was so long ago that real cameras were extravagant, but I had a dud camera and wired the tally light to blink.)

I realize that in a studio, your strange folk will take a lot more interest in your gear than the average music/dance student. Still and all, even habitual thieves are discouraged by good locks and bars on the windows, also cameras and security stickers (even if bogus). Don't be the easiest target in town. If they wanted to work for it, they could get a real job and get paid regular.

Don't let druggies in. That theft above may have been to buy drugs (police hinted but prosecutor would not confirm). "ALL" the thefts in my area up here recently have been about drugs; nobody steals to feed their kids. While I know that musicians use drugs, if you think someone may be that out of control then you should banish them from your studio.

Was it Nashville recently? Studios probably had good locks, but they had a spell of wicked weather. Water came up and blessed a lot of gear with mud. Stories from there may be interesting.

 

[john12ax7]

Look into companies that specifically handle music equipment. Clarion and Heritage are two options. Most places have declared value of the gear. So paying lots for professional appraisers is not always necessary. Just document everything and have a reasonable way of determining the value.

Valuing DIY gear is more difficult. If they are common kits then you should have a history of sold prices. For unique items you can at the very least start with a BOM cost and then try and extrapolate to comparable gear in the marketplace.

If you have something truly unique, rare, and valuable, then a professional appraisal would be best.

For insurance pricing, expect to pay about 1% per year of the declared value.