Need Music Insurance?
Musician, or run a music company? Imagine it. You are due to perform at a concert or a gig but your instrument or equipment has been damaged. Worse still, it has been stolen or destroyed. Time to panic?
British Insurance Brokers Association
No, not if you are properly insured. You would then have the peace of mind of knowing that if disaster struck you or your company could recover quickly and not suffer financially.
There is a huge variety of musical instruments and so insuring them is a highly specialised field. It is a competitive market though so bargains are there to be had!
Cover is usually available for:
- String instruments - violin, cello, banjo, double bass, guitar, harp, ulelele, mandolin, viola
- Woodwind instruments - flute, piccolo, oboe, English horn, clarinet, bassoon, English horn, saxaphone, bagpipes
- Brass instruments - trumpet, cornet, French horn, trombone, tuba
- Percussion instuments - xylephone, vibraphone, marimba, glockenspiel, cymbals, triangle
- Drums - snare, bass, tambourine, maracas, chimes, celesta, castanets
- Keyboard instruments - accordian, piano, celesta, organ, dulcitone, harmonium, harpsichord, spinet
- Electrical items including guitars, keyboard, PA equipment, DJ and electronica etc.
A good musical instrument insurance policy should cover your instruments as well as any equipment you need for your work, such as speakers, turntables, microphones and laptops. You should also have the options of:
- Cover for loss of earnings
- Payment for repairs caused by accidental damage or vandalism
- New for old cover if your equipment is lost, stolen or destroyed
- Cover whilst you are performing abroad
- Reimbursement of hire costs whilst your equipment is being replaced
- Public liability cover whilst you are performing in public.
A few thoughts:
Many musicians grossly underestimate the value of their instruments and equipment, particularly if these have been collected over a long period of time.
A disc jockey for instance not only can accumulate mixers, turntables, speakers, controllers, headphones and all manner of electrical equipment but also hard to replace collection of music on vinyl or CD. Then again perhaps you specialise playing ancient music. Have you ever tried getting repairs to a crumhorn, lyre, sackbut, lute or hurdy gurdy? Your insurance could cover all these and more
Many musicians underestimate their potential poublic liability. Using electrical equipent for public events can cause shocks or fires, people can trip over trailing leads, equiment can fall, damaging people or property.
Many musicians or musical companies borrow or lease equipment or instruments. Some policies will cover these, too.
