darkandrew Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Hi, my insurers want valuations of my basses. Does anyone know of any music shops in Kent that would be able to do this? Ideally somewhere with parking - I don't want to leave "X" thousand pounds of uninsured basses and guitars in a car while I walk the others one by one across town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4stringslow Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 (edited) I've never really understood this valuation thing. It seems like a scam really, as you'll have to pay for an 'official' valuation and it will likely be on the high side meaning that the insurance premium will be higher than necessary. Why does the 'real' value actually matter anyway? If I want to insure something for, say, £1000 then that's the risk value I want the insurance company to underwrite and I understand it will cost £x. If the item is stolen/destroyed then I'd expect the insurance policy to pay up £1000. If the 'real' value of the item is more or less than this then I lose or gain, but it's my responsibility. What I don't want is an argument with the insurance company when it comes to making a claim. 'Agreed value' policies are available for things such as classic cars so I'm not sure why this principle is not more widely available. Edited July 18, 2016 by 4stringslow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubsonicSimpleton Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Probably to discourage fraud - otherwise you could slap together a bitsa with a period correct fender logo and hardware and take some pictures to verify your ownership(but not be able to accurately verify the authenticity of the instrument), agree a value as if it was a pre-CBS genuine Fender and then let it get stolen - as long as it never resurfaced, it's authenticity could never be disproved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4stringslow Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Well, fraud is a whole other ball game. Even with an independent valuation, a crook could 'let it be stolen' and as long as it never resurfaced you get to keep the item and the claim money. Plus 'agreed valuations' seem to work for classic cars so why not other items? But we're veering off the topic a little. The OP's insurance company requires an independent valuation so that's that. Personally, I'd be looking for another insurer who didn't require me to go to all that trouble - but then I don't bother insuring my bass gear in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkandrew Posted July 19, 2016 Author Share Posted July 19, 2016 I had assumed that they were covered in my home contents insurance but it turns out that any item over £1000 needs either the original receipt or a valuation, and since most of my gear has been bought from here or similar places, I don't have many original receipts and so need to get valuations. It was only when I was reading the "small print" that I noticed this and hve phoned them to confirm it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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