Industry news & advice blog

If you’re wondering, ‘why do I need musical instrument insurance?’, Insure4Music has the answers.

Their managing director John Woosey explains the importance of having musical instrument insurance, based on real-life examples.


THEFT

You just never know what could happen to your instrument when your back’s turned. Irving Walker, one of our policyholders, is a prime example.

Irving, who plays saxophone for a covers band which tours all over Europe, had his car broken into and more than £6,000 worth of instruments were stolen, including a tenor saxophone worth £5,000. Not only was Irving’s car seriously damaged, he faced not being able to play live for a long period of time.

Sadly, Irving’s case is far from an isolated one. Another of our policyholders recently had £14,000 worth of DJ equipment stolen after thieves broke into his garage.

Thankfully, in both cases, the claimants had musical instrument insurance. This meant they could source replacements as quickly as possible and could continue playing live.

Our musical instrument insurance covers theft in and out of the home and from a motor vehicle. As well as Irving’s incident, here are some other common scenarios our insurance would cover:

• You’re a band on tour. You’re practising at a venue and leave your equipment secured at the venue overnight. Someone breaks into the locked room or storage area and steals your instruments.

• You’re a music teacher and have a variety of instruments in your home. You leave one day and someone breaks into your home and steals your instruments.

So, whether you’re in or out of the home, your instruments are protected against theft and you can get back to playing in no time.


DAMAGE

Even if you take good care of your instrument, it’s at risk of damage. Just look at the recent incident involving worldbeat musician N’Faly Kouyate.

Mr Kouyate’s custom-made, £4,500 electric kora suffered serious damage after being stored in the hold of a British Airways plane flying from Heathrow Airport. This was despite the fact that the instrument was appropriately labelled, and Mr Kouyate warned staff it was fragile.

Unfortunately, Mr Kouyate’s incident is far from an isolated one. One of our policyholders, ska singer Gareth Marshall, was performing at a pub in Southampton when an audience member fell head first into his set of speakers, severely damaging one of them.

If you face a similar situation to Gareth, you could be looking at thousands of pounds worth of damage.

This is why musical instrument insurance is essential. With Insure4Music, you can insure your equipment against accidental and malicious damage up to a total of £50,000, and single items up to £15,000.

We’ll repair or replace your instruments new-for-old if they’re less than 3 years old (or if you’re claiming for damage to a laptop or computer which is less than 18 months old and was bought new). We also cover older instruments, which will be replaced for their current market value.

Thanks to our damage cover, you won’t have to fork out big sums of money to repair or replace your instrument if it’s damaged.


LOSS

Imagine the devastation of taking your instruments on tour with you, arriving at your destination and discovering that they’ve gone missing.

That’s what happened to one of our recent claimants, who lost several items on a flight from Frankfurt to London. These included a Pioneer DJ console and two Macbook Pros with a combined value of £2,000.

As with theft and damage, the loss of your instruments could leave you in serious debt and unable to play without the right insurance.

Once again, this is where we come in. Our musical instrument insurance covers the loss of your instruments, both in and out of the home. This way, you’ll get a replacement as soon as possible.


DID YOU KNOW?

Most home insurance policies don’t cover your musical instruments if they’re lost, stolen or damaged outside of the home.

Despite this, many musicians insure their instruments on a home insurance policy. However, adding cover to this policy can be expensive and making a claim could increase the cost of their annual premium.


IN CONCLUSION

Wherever you take your instruments, specialist musical instrument insurance gives you all the cover you need.

With our specialist musical instrument insurance, you can practise your passion knowing you’re protected should the worst happen.
We understand the needs of musicians and our cover has been built to provide the right cover at the right price.


Thanks to John for insights. If you’re interested in getting covered with Insure4Music, get an instant online quote in just a few clicks today!