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Location: Jet City | The "What would you grab" post got me thinking insurance again, and instead of taking the thread off topic I thought I'd start a new post.
I had a talk earlier this year about Mosrite with the insurance folks. I'll need an addendum for it. I also have to go see a friend of mine who estimates values on vintage gear (He does a bunch of appraisal stuff for Vintage Guitar Magazine) and get an expert appraisal stating it's worth as there aren't really any others to compare to other than Deke Dickerson's '63 which is up for sale on jayrosen.com for around $10k
Now just because someone has a price tag on the web for something doesn't necessarily mean it's worth that much or will ever sell. For that matter, just because an Adamas slothead pops up on eBay with a BIN of $250, doesn't mean that's all it's worth either.
The PF-22 isn't replaceable either. I don't even know where to start placing a value on it. I doubt Val would be any help estimating that one.
Has anyone suggestions on this topic? |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Every time I check with my agent, they tell me that everything is covered under my homeowners. Even when I tell him some of it is valuable he says it is covered.
I have never said the items were "collectibles" since most could be replaced with an identical or at least similar item.
I wonder if I should be worried? |
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Location: big island | yes, stephen. if everything is simply "covered" with no questions asked, the agent must be charging you too much for your homeowners! ;) |
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Location: Carle Place, NY | Most homeowners' policies have a value set for the house based on the cost of a complete re-build with an additional 70% coverage for contents. The problem arises when the value of the contents exceeds 70% of the re-build cost of the home. Most of the time it won't, however pricey jewelry, collectibles, musical instruments can easily make the value of the contents exceed the 70% particularly if you own a small house that won't cost that much to re-build. Insurance brokers don't alway give the right advice. If you have a few guitars and other musical equipment that's worth less than $5K total, there's not much to worry about. If you've got stuff that exceeds $10K, you need "rider" coverage where each item is listed with its appraised value and separately covered.
It costs extra (duh!) but if you want to be safe you need it.
Most people don't take the time to READ the policy. All terms, coverages and exclusions are required to be stated in plain language. Therefore, take the time to read the policy and see what kind of coverage you have. |
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Location: Jet City | That's what I was told too, originally, but then they said, "We'll give you what it would cost to replace it". How do you replace a hand made custom '63 Mosrite doubleneck Joe Maphis Model in an original blue sparkle, a finish that wasn't offered back then, and one of the first sparkles he did?
So how much does the impossible cost to replace? |
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Location: Jet City | oops, I posted before I saw Mitch's response, but yeah. He said it much better too. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | There are a few different "standard" homeowner's policies, and then there may be 50 different variations, depending on what your state requirements are. Now that Mitch mentioned the $10,000 amount, I'll have to go back and check ours, because I might have exceeded that amount since we checked last.
I read insurance policies all the time, but they still aren't easy to figure out. Talk to your agent about what you have and make sure you're covered adequately. It's the agent's job, but the agent won't have any way of knowing you have an expensive toy that needs special coverage unless you tell him or her. |
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Location: Carle Place, NY | Mark is correct. Insurance laws vary from state to state. Another thing to consider if you have some really valuable guitars is that the rider will cover the listed item for virtually any kind of loss, fire, theft, flood, etc., unless there is an express exclusion.
Once again, don't rely on the broker/agent. READ the policy. It's worth your time and effort and can save you from some serious unexpected aggravation. |
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Posts: 777
Location: East Wenatchee, WA | I pay a little extra for a special rider at "replacement cost". I basically state the value and replacement cost, update it annually, then pay for what I am insuring value wise. Kind of like a "stated insured value" scenario.
Doesn't cost much, maybe $15-25 more per year. Which reminds me....need to get the 08C on the list. |
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Location: Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey | I went over this with my agent at length and my content insurance more than covers my equipment. It's also covered if it is stolen or damaged while in my car or at a gig. |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Also, check out your deductable. But I'd agree with Mitchrex, less than 5K's worth of gear, you probably don't need a rider. More than 10K, yes definitely.
You need an appraisal from someone. You'd be suprised what you can value. Insurance company's have appraisals for all kinds of things. Recently I was in a bike accident and they sent out a "bicycle adjuster!" and apparently they have catalogs of info on all kinds of stuff.
As to how to get an appraisal, I guess you just go to someone you trust who deals in music gear and get an estimate in writing. |
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Location: big island | we don't own our home but i know renter's insurance is available and fairly inexpensive. i need to talk to the gecko. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Heritage insurance.
They are in Feasterville Pa I think. Near Philly. I have a separate policy and it comes to about $.55/1000 value. Damon, send me an email and I'll give you more details. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | You can get an appraisal if you want, but if you appraise a guitar now and it's destroyed by fire 5 years from now and you have a replacement cost policy, the appraisal won't be much good. The biggest problem may be keeping track of all your crap in some records that don't get destroyed in the fire. That may be another reason why people were evacuating with their computers. |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Bill, I think I would like that information emailed to me also. Thanks! |
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Location: Warren,Pa. | I have some personal experience with this. May I speak?...
Back in '02 our house was gutted by fire. The shell was barely standing, and everything inside just disappeared. Up in smoke. I remember staring at the spot in our livingroom where my '81 CL 12 had stood on it's stand. All gone. In all, I had about $10k in musical instruments lost.
My instruments were covered by insurance, but that turned out to be little comfort. Here's the catch: My limit for "contents" coverage was $80k. That included EVERY item in the house...including musical instruments.
What we had to do was make a list of everything in the house from memory (this took DAYS in the February cold), then come up with a replacement price for each item. If the total came to under $80k, we got a check for the total. If the total was OVER our limit (which it was by about $40k!) we got a check for our limit of $80k.
So if you seperate out your musical instruments on a seperate rider policy, they are not included with the rest of your belongings. Moreover, the items on the rider are covered in ways that your regular homeowners policy don't give you.
For instance: on a rider, my guitars are covered against theft WHEREVER I TAKE THEM. So I took my '82 Adamas 1885 on a mission trip to NYC with a bunch of teens. I played it in Times Square, i played it in the subway, in homeless shelters...everywhere. If my guitar had a "mysterious disappearance" where I turned my head away then look back and it's gone, I report the loss and it's covered.
Riders are important! You are "covered" under your homeowners, but not in the same way.
John <>{ |
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Location: East Tennessee | Originally posted by Mark in Boise:
That may be another reason why people were evacuating with their computers. I bought a portable hard drive and periodically update it. It is stored in a fireproof/waterproof safe.
I have a friend who has an all original 1959 Stratocaster. It is worth about a third of what his house would cost. I think he has a rider on his policy. |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Y'know... Y'all got me thinking... And I Hate Thinking! :mad:
I'm on unemployment, I live is an damn studio apartment...
In round numbers, I got about $6K worth of Guitars and Amps... (Not counting all my other crap!)
and that is what I paid for them, not what there are worth.
[I am a sucker for a bargain!]
Now y'all got me thinking about renters' insurance.
Why y'all wanna make me think so Much?
|edit-- Naw, I just looked at my own sig... More than that! :eek: | |
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Location: Jet City | Somewhere $10/month would probably cover renter's insurance for somewhere around $20k of loss. |
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Location: Marlton, NJ | John - I had a similar experience with a basement flood. The insurance company sent out the adjuster and we had to make a list of everything that was damaged or lost. He encouraged me to include EVERYTHING. Books, games, hand tools - whatever. Every single item has a replacement value in their "book". He returned to me the list with replacement values next to everything and the total amount that I would be reimbursed. It was actually not a bad experience (the insurance claim).
I do have to look into a rider for the guitars though... Beal - can you send me that info as well? |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | In the morning |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | email sent
Crimson, need your email |
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Location: Marlton, NJ | I replied to your email Bill. It should be in your inbox. |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Got it. Thanks for the info Beal! |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | One of the guys whose house burned down had a safe. He said it melted. I'll bet ours isn't really fireproof either.
As BB said, doing an inventory from memory and coming up with a value is tough. When video cameras came out there were guys that would offer to video everything in the house and sell you the tape to put in your safety deposit box. Probably would be a good idea. Trader Jim could just keep the camera running in his guitar room. |
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Insuring your highly valuable guitars
