For most musicians, bedroom DJs and music producers, even professional DJs, it can be easy to focus most of your attention on quality speakers and mixers, recording equipment, and microphones for your studio setup.
And while those are very important things to focus on, you shouldn’t forget to look into quality insurance for your musical instruments and musical equipment
Always buy musical instrument insurance. Insuring musical instruments will give you additional peace of mind.
As with a car, home, health, and life insurance, getting musical instrument insurance is about making sure that, in the case of a catastrophe, you’re not out hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of dollars.
In this overview guide, we’ll go over everything you need to know about musical instrument insurance including some key factors to look into before deciding on a policy or provider.
Not only that, but we’ll also go over some of the best musical instrument insurance options in the business so that you have a clear idea of what to look for in a provider and be on the best foot to get started immediately.
Should I Insure My Musical Instruments?
YES! If you’re not sure how much your instrument is worth, it’s a good idea to have it valued by a professional. You’ll probably be able to get a written valuation easily from your local musical instrument retailer or repairer.
Best Musical Instrument Insurance: Our Overall Choice
The Anderson Musical Instrument Insurance Solutions company is easily one of the most respected musical instrument insurance companies. Their musical instrument insurance policies cover pretty much every type of instrument.
Top Musical Instrument Insurance – Best, Premium & Value
Below, we’ll take the time to check out some of the top Musical instrument insurance solutions currently on the market while also giving you some peace of mind in the event of an unexpected theft, fire, or accidental damage.
Anderson Musical Instrument Insurance Solutions (Editors Pick)
The Anderson Musical Instrument Insurance Solutions company is easily one of the most well-known and respected musical instrument insurance companies in the country.
Their musical instrument insurance policies cover pretty much every type of instrument, from the obvious options like piano and guitar to one of the less expected DJ equipment musical instrument products.
What’s more, Anderson will even cover previously damaged musical instruments, only instead requiring a higher premium to keep them.
Speaking of musical instrument insurance premiums, Anderson has some very impressive and competitive premium options, especially when compared to other competitors.
Their coverage limits are also infamously high, with many of their coverage caps being as high as $30,000 while only asking clients to pay between $165 and $250 annually.
Anderson also offers less expensive musical instrument insurance pricing options for certain musicians based on where they store their instrument as well as their overall level of skill.
They even are often willing to include software equipment and electronic devices, something virtually any musical instrument policies from other insurance agencies would go against.
While there are a ton of different options out there, as well as some great options below, it’d be difficult not to see this as one of the best instrument insurance providers out there, especially if you qualify for what they have to offer.
Editors Pick
Huntington T. Block (Premium Pick)
A fine art and instrument-based insurance company, Huntington T. Block works to cover both high-value art collection pieces as well as different orchestral supplies. Any policy drafted by them considers it “all-risk”, meaning that everything outside of what they specifically cite as exclusions are covered.
These exclusions include things like standard wear & tear as well as faulty instruments or an act of war that has occurred.
If you are a traveling musician or DJ, Huntington may have a policy that works best for you. This can include in-transit coverage for instruments that are damaged when en route to a performance, even potentially replacing the instrument if it is damaged to that extent.
Premium Pick
MusicPro Insurance (Best Value)
MusicPro Insurance is meant to be an affordable, comprehensive music-based instrument insurance company. Their All-Risk policy can cover virtually any instrument, simply requiring a $100 deductible per instrument that is insured.
The company has two plan types: standard and classical. Standard insurance is ideal for musicians that are by themselves while classical packages are generally for full-on orchestras.
MusicPro is great for its incredibly fast and efficient service, often having everything done within 24 to 48 hours from the first call.
This arguably some of the fastest services offered by a company. They also have the short-term borrowed instrument insurance protection that goes for 30 days.
Value Pick
Travelers Insurance
Travelers is a great option for most types of coverage (home, auto, commercial insurance, etc.) and it is a great option when it comes to musical instrument coverage. Referred to as “jewelry and valuable coverage” on most policies, Travelers can add on additional coverage for these items as well as list their instruments as riders, granting them even more protection in different circumstances.
This perk is generally reserved for those that hold a preexisting policy with the company, even reducing the deductible for any item lost, damaged, or stolen.
Heritage Insurance Services
A Pennsylvania-based insurance agency, the Heritage Insurance Services company is located right in Bucks County.
There, they provide instrument insurance to musicians in the United States as well as Canada.
Some of their more impressive coverage types include “sound depreciation coverage”. This helps to ensure that an instrument is covered at its price at the initial time the policy was put in place, rather than paying out on its current depreciated value.
Heritage is also known to offer policies for instrument makers as well as certain instrument repair shops.
Their policies start at $200 a year and have coverages that range from $500 up to $100 million. As such, all aspects of an instrument are covered by them, from the time of its creation, to the time it is played and used before going to a repair shop.
Despite their extensive coverage, things like mold or vermin aren’t covered and won’t be compensated for if there is any damage to your instruments as a result
Musical instruments Insurance Solutions. Why Bother?
For many people just starting (and even some who’ve been around for a while), musical instrument insurance may seem like a strange and foreign concept.
After all, it’s not something that most musicians or music producers ever really talk about. Why would you need to cover musical instruments or musical equipment?
Well, to that, I’d ask “why wouldn’t you?” Sure, it may seem a bit strange to insure a $500 or even $1000 DJ controller or drum machine.
However, as you grow more renowned and become a more famous musician/music producer, it only makes sense that the quality of your musical instruments will go up as you begin using high-value instruments.
What may have once been a used controller or studio recording equipment that you bought from a friend or a pawn shop will later be replaced by a $10,000 Pioneer DJ professional setup.
The replacement value of this gear is then far higher, and that will reflect in insurance costs too.
Even if you don’t plan on getting incredibly expensive musical instruments the sum total of all your collected musical instruments can still come up to a small fortune.
As an example, getting a DJ controller, along with a high-end set of monitor speakers and subwoofers, as well as several mics & headphones can easily set you back thousands of dollars, even if you’re trying to cut costs.
Musical instrument insurance can mitigate these costs in the case of something getting lost, broken, or stolen.
You may also want to look at musical instrument insurance if you plan on performing at a concert in the next few months. If musical instruments end up needing to be replaced, this insurance can help ensure you don’t have to end up postponing gigs or “dodging” a gig
Music insurance Insurance Policies
As with any such coverage or an insurance policy, musical instrument insurance can vary based on what type of policy you decide on.
In most cases, you should expect more than simply coverage for theft or damage of goods. Most music instrument insurance policies should have some form of liability coverage insurance, which protects you against accidental damage that might happen while performing.
For example, a public liability insurance policy would be used in the case where you accidentally damage your drum machine during a particularly intensive performance.
Another more extreme example could be when you plug a studio amp into an old studio outlet, causing a fire that damages the venue at large.
Public liability coverage insurance would help with legal protection in the case of any litigation against you.
While public liability insurance is often included in musical instrument insurance policies, it isn’t always a guarantee.
In these cases, you’ll want to make sure you carefully look over your policy to make sure you’re getting exactly what you need for protection while not paying for coverage that overlaps with other forms of insurance.
Homeowners’ Policy Insurance May Cover Musical Instruments
One of the big questions people may have about musical instrument insurance is if their homeowner’s or renter’s insurance isn’t already protecting them from lost or stolen items.
The truth is that, in some cases, you may be right.
Some of the better homeowner policies will include theft or damage of a musical instrument and items of value. Keep in mind, however, that there’s often a strict dollar limitation on how much is covered regarding musical instrument insurance.
For example, if you had a music equipment insurance policy that covered $100,000 worth of theft, there may be a stipulation that the company may only allocate $5,000 of that towards the loss of musical instruments.
If you have a certain high-value instrument that you’d like additional coverage on, you may consider adding it as a rider to your homeowner’s insurance policy.
A rider is an additional form of protection that covers a specific item that goes beyond the standard form of coverage.
It can also extend the number of circumstances that warrant coverage, such as if you left your midi controller at the studio only for it to get stolen.
While standard homeowner’s insurance may stipulate that the item would need to have been stolen at your home, if tagged as a rider, it may still be financially covered.
Insurance Provider May Not Insure Your Equipment
While some of the more obvious musical instruments are likely universally covered (keyboards, decks, mixers, speakers, studio equipment, etc) that doesn’t mean every instrument is covered. Just as certain health insurance companies may not cover every applicant, it’s also true that not every instrument can warrant coverage.
This is due to the fact that, like other musical instrument insurance companies, it can be financially ruinous for them to cover a musical instrument that is antique or easily damaged.
Even if they do decide to cover the items, there will probably be a significant premium attached to the instrument.
Make sure you always keep in mind when applying for musical instrument insurance coverage that you may end up having to check more places or have to spend more of your budget on monthly premiums.
Your Instrument Will Need To Be Appraised
It’s not meant to inflate your ego. Quite the opposite. Insurance companies are known for being as money-conscious as possible.
As such, if they plan to cover an instrument, they’ll want to know exactly what the current price is for that instrument. This is where an appraisal comes in.
Musical instrument insurance appraisal is a requirement for most insurance companies as it ensures that they are paying you exactly what your instrument is worth (and not a cent more).
You’ll need to come up with all of the appraisal documents as well as deal with the insurer bringing in their own appraisers to confirm the pricing.
There Are ALWAYS Going To Be Limits
Lastly, you’ll want to keep in mind that even the most extensive and comprehensive musical instrument insurance policy is going to have limitations on what type of damage is covered.
As an example, if, during a sound check, you accidentally damage your DJ mixer, you’ll probably have no issues with your insurance company.
On the other hand, if you set your DJ gear on fire, few companies would consider reimbursing you. You need to look into this.
Now that we’ve gone over some of the key musical instrument insurance factors to keep in mind before deciding on a policy or company, let’s now take a look at the best musical instrument insurance companies on the market to date.
Best Musical Instrument Insurance: The Verdict
Musical instrument insurance isn’t just some niche thing that DJs, studio owners, or professional musicians use, rather, it is a crucial way to ensure you will not be financially devastated if there’s an issue, fire, or accident involving your musical instruments.
The same is true for any thieves as well as musical instruments that are lost, making instrument insurance.
Editors Pick
By understanding the importance of musical instrumental insurance, as well as what will and won’t be covered, you can ensure that your musical instruments are protected, giving you greater confidence when planning a performance or gig for you and your audience at large.
