Musicians are incomplete without their musical instruments. Whether they play it as a hobby or earn from it, even a little scratch on the equipment is a big deal for them. Therefore, most people protect their musical gear as their tots.
Are your musical instruments well-protected?
Are you a musician or someone who deals with musical instruments? Well! You must be very particular about your items. Right? So, you go the extra mile to ensure the safety and security of your musical arms.
You clean them after every use. You take them for regular servicing. And perhaps, you have also included them in your homeowner's insurance policy. Isn't it? A great move. However, in a world full of uncertainties, is your home or personal property insurance enough to provide the required coverage?
Read on to find out if your home coverage will suffice or if your musical paraphernalia needs something more - something as crucial as a comprehensive Music Gear Insurance plan from a reputed insurance service provider.
How does your musical instrument insurance work in general?
When you cover your musical instruments in your personal property insurance (policies made for protecting personal belongings from covered perils), and unfortunately, a covered risk happens, for example - damage or loss of your gear, your insurance provider will pay for the repair or whatever needs only up to your policy limits.
Also, many insurance companies have a sub-limit for some categories of personal belongings, such as music gear. Now what are sub-limits? You may define sub-limit as a clause applicable for high-risk or valuable items. Having that said, if your musical instrument suffers damage or loss, your insurer is more likely to pay only a specific amount.
Here is an example for you:
Your home insurance policy offers a $2500 sub-limit on musical equipment. Misfortune hits! Your place is robbed or vandalized, and your darling string goes missing. However, you still have some peace of mind left because you know that your string instrument is covered under your home insurance. Here comes the twist.
If the cost of your guitar is $5000, your insurance provider will pay no more than $2,500 minus the deductible. Does the rest amount? It will be out of pocket. The reason - is the preset sub-limit for musical equipment. Always remember! It may not be an all-encompassing cover.
Now that you have an example in front of you, you may get a sense of how important a separate musical instrument insurance policy is. Moreover, industry experts emphasize buying a separate Music Gear Insurance plan for your beloved instruments.
What if you pay an additional premium by adding a rider?
With most home insurance policies, there is a provision for adding a rider to up your insurance coverage to adequately protect your gears. You can always do that. However, did you know - your home insurance is less likely to extend a shield to your musical instrument if something happens to it outside the insured property, i.e., - your home? Yes, that's true.
So, if you are sure that you will play your gear only inside your home or you will never ever play it for professional purposes, you may stick to your home insurance policy and the ride. Otherwise, it is highly advisable to buy a dedicated insurance plan for musical instruments.
Dear reader, a musical instrument, irrespective of its type, without separate and comprehensive insurance protection is an unprotected investment. Most importantly, it may make you pay more than you imagine should something unfortunate happen to your gears.
Some words of wisdom
Do you buy a car and include it in your home insurance plan? No. Right? It is because car insurance is mandatory for many good reasons. Although buying a musical instrument insurance plan may not be compulsory on most fronts, it guards your interests. Therefore, make it a point to buy it when buying your musical gear.
No comments:
Post a Comment