Gear Insurance - contents cover recommendation.

[G-bitch]

Right, I've just taken out contents insurance for the first time (no longer in either shared house or at home so sole policy holder for first time). Now I'm sure that a lot of you pay out for Musicguard or similar insurance as I have done in the past.

Finding a contents quote was a real ball ache for two reason - 1. the gear 2. the bicycles. Try getting a home insurance quote online for anything but the most rudimentary cover and you'll see what I mean; you really need to speak to someone who knows their policies inside and out.

Quote on musicguard for the gear (c.£7k cover) was for £244, similar specialist cycle insurance (c.£3k cover) was quoted at £322.

So after seeking recommendations from fellow cyclists I ended up speaking on the phone to Marks and Spencers. Their quote came in at a whopping £350 annual premium for contents only (£80 more than the best I'd had up to that point)... but.... and this is a big f***ing but!

Cover is [b]unlimited[/b] it is impossible to be under-insured
Cover includes [b]all contents away from home[/b] including worldwide cover
Cover includes [b]accidental damage[/b]
Items only need to be listed on the policy if they are worth £4k or more
New for old replacement (this is not defacto standard for the bikes)

It basically provides the full level of cover that the two specialist quotes did but in one hassle free package - the policy document is the thinnest and has the least small print of any policy I've seen. Anecdotally, claims are apparently processed very quickly and efficiently.

Now this, as far as I'm aware, is not going to cover you if you take an income from your band/musical activities but invaluable for those of us who are just weekend warriors lucky enough to get petrol money.

Edited November 6, 2007 by G-bitch

[Machines]

Interesting... so basically they charge you the earth but you can claim fairly easily on pretty much anything..

[G-bitch]

Yes - although TBH, with the 'specialist items' that most insurers just whack the premiums up and make you list every item down to the chain lube, it's a bargain. The extra £80 for infinitely better cover was a no-brainer for me.

[JayX]

I work in the industry (claims side rather than policy, so I can't help much on that) and whilst I've looked into claims involving instruments as I always take an interest in things I know more about than the other handlers, I've never declined anything for damage/theft to instruments if the policyholder was obviously a normal person and wasn't getting the gear free via sponsers etc. I've covered a fair few claims with expensive gear, and claims where I've found the bands the clients have been in on the web, but I can justify making the payout so it doesn't bother me. I find most people in the industry will pay out rather than not if its something they don't tend to understand and don't have anyone to turn to as it generates more work and generally won't be overturned anyway. Just don't take the piss

[cheddatom]

Some companies pay their assessors more, based on more failed claims. As in, performance-related pay so that our claims fail.

I know this is a bit off topic, but, does anyone know what the deal is with a shared house? We had a contents policy at my old house, but they wont cover my house-mate's gear, only mine (we had a break-in). At the time, my dad organised the policy, and they said we'd both be covered, but, it looks like in the small print that they're right.

[Ba55me15ter]

I also have the M&S cover, funnily enough I also have expensive mountain bikes!
The standard cover was comparable with other insurers (house+contents), and the 'away from home' addition (the important bit) was an extra 80 quid I think. Miles cheaper than specialist music / bike insurance.
I haven't had to claim (and hope never to!), but so far I think it's a great deal.

[JayX]

[quote name='cheddatom' post='84438' date='Nov 6 2007, 02:53 PM']I know this is a bit off topic, but, does anyone know what the deal is with a shared house? We had a contents policy at my old house, but they wont cover my house-mate's gear, only mine (we had a break-in). At the time, my dad organised the policy, and they said we'd both be covered, but, it looks like in the small print that they're right.[/quote]

Yeah alas that seems fairly standard on policies for let properties, its the same deal I'm on and it is a pain as I can't really expect my flatmate to contribute much towards the cost (we have to have a policy in place to cover £2k of the landlords fittings, pain!) but I can't moan too much as 90% of the expensive gear in the flat is mine so it's not fair for him to stump up the cash to cover it.. even if he is constantly playing Halo3 on my HDTV...

[Tinman]

Does the M+S policy cover your gear if it's damaged in a road accident or if it's stolen from a vehicle? Just interested.
Also mechanical breakdown is another point along with public liability.

[P-T-P]

At what point do you stop being a hobbyist and start being a semi-pro? Our house insurance is due up in a month or two and this seems very attractive but I gig and get paid for it once or twice a week?

[nig]

[quote name='P-T-P' post='84833' date='Nov 7 2007, 11:24 AM']At what point do you stop being a hobbyist and start being a semi-pro? Our house insurance is due up in a month or two and this seems very attractive but I gig and get paid for it once or twice a week?[/quote]

+1 there... however, didnt joining the M.U. give you insurance cover automatically, I was a member for years and public liability too. anyone confirm this.

[G-bitch]

[quote name='Tinman' post='84732' date='Nov 7 2007, 06:39 AM']Does the M+S policy cover your gear if it's damaged in a road accident or if it's stolen from a vehicle? Just interested.
Also mechanical breakdown is another point along with public liability.[/quote]

I checked this. Accident would be covered by accidental damage. Any time it's stolen away from the property you just have to make all effort to secure the item, i.e. somewhere under lock and key - theft from vehicle would probably be fine if it was in the boot. Anyone leaving a vehicle unattended with gear on display probably wouldn't get a pay-out, but you'd have to be pretty bloody stupid to do that.

Musicguard have such a bloody ludicrous range of demands it's unreal - that policy is written to open up as many loopholes as possible through which to avoid a payout IMO.

[G-bitch]

[quote name='P-T-P' post='84833' date='Nov 7 2007, 11:24 AM']At what point do you stop being a hobbyist and start being a semi-pro? Our house insurance is due up in a month or two and this seems very attractive but I gig and get paid for it once or twice a week?[/quote]

I doubt there's any hard and fast rules but I should imagine that the moment you start declaring your income from gigs and have to list your profession or second-job as 'musician' then you are going to have to get professional cover. On the plus side, it goes down as deductable expenses in that case!

[jakenewmanbass]

[quote name='nig' post='84837' date='Nov 7 2007, 11:31 AM']+1 there... however, didnt joining the M.U. give you insurance cover automatically, I was a member for years and public liability too. anyone confirm this.[/quote]
Yes indeed, there is a free (i think??? £1000) of gear cover which can be extended to the appropriate value, and the Public Liability insurance (invaluable if you are pro) is £10,000,000. The premium for that I think would be up to £600-£800 a year if bought in the open market.
Jake

[jakenewmanbass]

[quote name='P-T-P' post='84833' date='Nov 7 2007, 11:24 AM']At what point do you stop being a hobbyist and start being a semi-pro? Our house insurance is due up in a month or two and this seems very attractive but I gig and get paid for it once or twice a week?[/quote]
If you earn money from playing, a keen assessor will see this as professional conduct whether you are pro, semi or anywhere between.
Jake

[7string]

I've made a note of this for when my contents cover comes up for renewal !!

[Bilbo]

I have a slight downer on insurance for reasons I will explain.

If you add all the insurance you pay (house contents, buildings, car, pets, musical instruments, extended cover on goods purchased, utilities repairs etc), it can come in at hundreds of pounds a month (mine is well over 20% of my nett income ). If you put that away every month over the lifetime of insuring instead of giving it to insurance companies, you would almost inevitably come in £1,000s in the black.

Now, I know of several musicians who have sought to claim on their insurance and have been frustrated by dubious 'rules' - one was refused a claim because, despite having left her stuff at home behind locked doors, she was 'not insured' (despite the company taking her money) because she didn't have the right locks fitted to her doors. They didn't tell her this when she took out the insurance. I know several musical instrument insurers that cover everything except the gear being stolen when it is unattended - i.e at the only time it will be stolen. In a nutshell, if we didn't pay insurance but saved the money instead - loads more gear!!

I know this argument doesn't hold up to close inspection but I think the insurance industry makes a LOT of money on the basis of what might but rarely ever happens.

I lost an SWR cab and a GK MB112 combo from a car once (someone was in it - I'm not that stupid) and was gutted but, if I had paid instrument insurance for the 28 years I have been playing, I would have bought that gear at least 5 times over. I still have no insurance on my gear - (over and above MU insurance) - its just not a good use of money. I am just VERY careful about how I move it around.

[G-bitch]

Good point on just being vigilant but if you're spending literally hundreds a month on insurance I suggest you pay this site a visit:

www.moneysavingexpert.com

That or sell the Ferrari

[Mottlefeeder]

[quote name='G-bitch' post='84912' date='Nov 7 2007, 01:55 PM']I doubt there's any hard and fast rules but I should imagine that the moment you start declaring your income from gigs and have to list your profession or second-job as 'musician' then you are going to have to get professional cover. On the plus side, it goes down as deductable expenses in that case![/quote]
I play in a church worship band, and do not (yet) play anywhere for money. When I asked my insurers about covering all my gear while it was being transported, they said - no problem, just list your second occupation as musician, to justify having the gear in the car.

[Telebass]

+1 for the MU basics!