I've just come to the realisation that the value of my gear is well north of £10k and insurance is long overdue. I've never actually had contents insurance, nor do I own a home or car. The only insurance I've ever gotten is when we go on holidays.
I don't gig so it only stays in my flat. We tick a few of the boxes regarding extras in that we are the sole occupants of the building, have a double locked gate in front of the door and all that - hoping that will help lower the costs.
Can anyone suggest me a ballpark figure of what I should expect to be paying? (Let's assume the gear is worth around £14k). Even better, recommend a company that they have had good experience with?
Apologies if this isn't in the right thread, wasn't sure whether to put it in the off topic section.
Comments
Covers the whole of the UK and unattended vehicle cover.
Both do fully itemised policies with cover for theft from cars etc.
Both do online quotes.
I did find New Moon to be a lot cheaper than Allianz - about 50% of the price. But I had been with Allianz for years and the premiums had crept up as they always do.
3rd option - if you are an MU member then they can arrange cover too, often more cheaply.
I’m so bored I might as well be listening to Pink Floyd
Also read the small print. Not certain on musical instruments but often you are only covered in certain situations. If something is stolen outside you home you may not be covered. By the sound of things this may not be an issue for you though.
After all that I’d look at a separate policy just for your instruments as per @danishbacon said above
Also worth checking your sum insured is enough to cover all your contents, not just the total amount of Music gear you’ve got.
Unlimited cover, no need to list or declare your valuable, global, inside and outside home (up to £10k on my person outside home), +£100k of jewellery etc.
I spent a lot of time looking into this and that's the one I went with. I pay around £25 a month.
That's ludicrously high. My policy works out around 8x cheaper than that (using the value I've got insured) through M&S. Check out the policy I referred to above.
A few of you mentioned public liability - why would this be necessary for gear that stays in my flat?
Also, @danny_777 - yours was the only suggestion I couldn't locate online mate. The M&S Premier for £25 a month only comes with travel insurance from what can see. They also have a "Premium" bank account, but similarly I couldn't find anywhere that mentioned contents insurance - this was only £10 too so probably not what you were referring to.
Some insurers somewhat abuse "item limits" and claim, for example, that as an electric guitar is useless without an amp, then the guitar and amp fall under 1 item limit together.
A specialist policy may well cost you less than the nicest pedal you own but cover it all properly.
I’m so bored I might as well be listening to Pink Floyd
Also, Allianz let me change my policy when covid started and we couldn’t gig from uk/abroad to premises only. Music Guard didn’t let other friends do that! Saved a lot of cash on that.
I also went through the T&Cs of all the policies when I took this out, and this is the least hassle (no need for valuations, declarations, etc).
As for insurer's abusing item limits and claiming a guitar is useless without an amp so must be one item, it's incredibly unlikely this would happen. If it did, the Financial Ombudsman would almost certainly be on your side and the claim would be paid properly.