Musical Instrument Insurance for Professional Musicians
A professional musician is defined as any person who holds a job, makes a living, or gets monetary compensation for playing their musical instrument. For purposes of insurance coverage, the “professional” category may also extend to protect those such as music teachers, recording studio technicians, music memorabilia collectors, and more.
When looking to get musical instrument insurance as a professional musician, here are the common coverages you can expect to see on your policy:
- Coverage for physical damages to your instrument.
Damages as a result of fire, theft, and water damage will be covered.
- Professional liability coverage.
- Coverage for contract cancellation because of damage to the musical instrument.
- Comprehensive insurance coverage.
This may extend to also cover the musician themselves, and help to protect them from harm during concerts, tours, or even rehearsals.
Musical Instrument Insurance for Amateur Musicians
Unlike a professional musician, an amateur musician is defined as someone who plays a musical instrument (or even several) but not as a job or as means of living. The amateur musician category typically includes children learning to play musical instruments, and people who play as a hobby whether alone or in a band.
While there is no specific or individual policy that an amateur musician can hold, some homeowner’s insurance policies include coverage for personal belongings, which can include your musical instruments. This can sometimes be referred to as getting a personal articles floater.
Some of the common coverages you can expect to see on your home insurance policy, that will extend to protect your instruments, can include damages due to a fire, theft, vandalism or water damage. However, in order to be eligible for protection, damages must occur while in your household. Any damages to your instrument that occur outside of your home will unfortunately not be covered under your home insurance policy.
Speak with your broker to confirm the details of your home insurance policy, and see if it will extend to cover your musical instrument.
Considerations of a Musical Instrument Insurance Policy
There are many things to consider when thinking about getting an insurance policy for your musical instrument. Firstly, it is important to remember that the value of your musical instrument will affect your musical instrument insurance costs. A general rule of thumb is that the higher the value, the higher the cost. Classical music instruments like pianos, violins, and violas are typically considered to be the most expensive musical instruments to insure.
If you’re looking to insure a musical instrument or piece of equipment with a high price tag, the insurance company may sometimes request a purchase invoice in order to confirm its value. If your musical instrument is a collectible piece, or is a one-of-a-kind, a professional assessor or expert may be needed to determine the value of the musical instrument in order to be properly insured.
Contact BrokerLink to Explore Your Options for Musical Instrument Insurance
Here at BrokerLink, are brokers are experts when it comes to insurance. We have extensive experience in creating custom and tailored insurance policies that will fit you and your lifestyle. If you’re interested in learning more about musical instrument insurance, or even just your insurance options in general, we’re here to help! Give us a call, or visit any of our locations across the country!
FAQs about musical instrument insurance
What if I rent out my musical instrument, will it still be covered?
If you rent out your musical instrument, it may still be covered. It depends on your specific policy. Talk to your insurance broker to learn more about what is covered under your policy.
A friend borrowed my violin and it got damaged. Will that be covered by my musical instrument insurance?
When it comes to insurance, every policy and every claim is different. To figure out if your violin would be covered in this scenario, give your insurance broker a call. They will be able to advise you on what coverage you have.
Does musical instrument insurance cover recording studio equipment?
That depends on a few things. Are you a professional musician, or is music a hobby? Is your recording equipment part of a business? What is the value of your recording equipment? Is the equipment in your home or do you keep it somewhere else? As you can see, there are a lot of factors that determine what coverages apply and when. To understand your policy and learn what’s covered, talk to a licensed insurance broker.
For more FAQs, visit the BrokerLink FAQs page.
