Musical Instrument Insurance (Orchestral) - where best?

lemonstar

Allianz have a division that specialises in musical instrument insurance - I've had a policy with them for 3 years to cover a flute (~£2,250) and violin((~£1250) - this covered accidental damage anywhere in the world and the renewal cost is £67.13.

My household contents insurance with eSure covers items up to £1500 outside the house so they say the violin is already covered and that the flute, if named as an item, will be covered for an additional £9, however, they won't cover the instrument if it is being used, e.g. if they drop it while playing it. I can see this being a grey area if the instrument is out of the case and I sit on it while it's on a sofa or something equally daft. Some of the other policies I looked at were cheaper but, unlike the Allianz one, they don't seem to want to insure you unless the instruments are kept in such a way (under lock and key at all unsupervised times) that there is absolutely no chance of them being stolen, lost or damaged. One area that Allianz covers that other policies do not cover, e.g. policy from https://www.jltonline.co.uk (orchestralguard http://www.orchestralguard4schools.co.uk/?affid=79670) is when the children (who own the instruments) take the to school and put them in a the "instrument cupboard" in the morning; no one marshals the instruments in and out of this cupboard even though it is locked until the instruments are needed. What's the best way to insure these instruments against accidental loss or damage, including times when they are using them or when they are not secured (e.g. waiting in an airport lounge)? Esure cover times when the instruments are in transit, e.g. going to rehearsals and cover times when vehicle is unattented, e.g. visit a service station. I really want to make sure we're covered - it looks like the Allianz is the only option.

cheers
Neil

just_thrifty

Hi, my husband is a professional musician- playing and teaching. He's used Allianz to cover his own instruments for years and always recommends them to parents of pupils who buy an instrument. As you've said, other policies just don't provide the scope of coverage needed. It's amazing the amount of accidents that happen during orchestra rehearsals, so you really need a policy that will cover for times like that and I think Allianz is the only one. I asked my husband and he says it's the best policy available. Hope this is of some help. :-)

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I agree - stick with the specialist cover. When I was 13 I forgot to check the height of my double bass as compared to the height of the door as I was late and dashing to get out of the dressing room.

After the noise finally died down, I had to endure the shouts of 'DUCK!' every time I entered rehearsals for about 2 years. After that, it stopped - everyone thought my name was Duck.

lemonstar

Thanks JT & JTT - I couldn't find a suitable alternative and was reluctantly coming to the same conclusion. This year I've discovered that they've outsourced the music insurance call handling operation to India so communication, IMHO, is much poorer.