mr dave

Instrument insurance is definitely worth considering seriously if you've got expensive gear or if you're a gigging musician. Apparently there are different grades of insurance coverage when it comes to instruments as well, mainly differing between collectors and performers. If you're gigging at all you NEED the coverage of a performer if you want to be protected. I believe it falls under Entertainment Insurance and it's significantly more expensive than just regular person coverage.

A friend of mine's brother was in an old punk band and played a show 2 hours away, like a local reunion thing - they only played 3-4 shows a year at that point. Their van was insured, so they didn't completely freak out when they noticed they'd been robbed thinking the van insurance covered the contents (like it normally would). Come to find out, due to the fact that the contents were instruments for a 'performing' band they needed a special kind of coverage. Their gear was replaced through the generosity of the community and benefit shows. In this case any band who puts up a poster to advertise a gig, or who gets paid ANY amount of dollars for a show is considered a performing band.

I can't see insurance covering paint chips on anything besides a collectible / antique instrument. Actually no, I can totally see that on lower grade gear, and then the insurance company laughing its ass off when they raise your premium because of cosmetic issues. Circuitry should be handled under warranty.

My only other concern is whether or not the insurance covers the original value of the instrument or the current value. From what I understand if my 1994 Mexican Stratocaster was stolen or burned beyond repair an insurance company would provide me with a replacement Mexi Strat, as in, a new one from the shelf right now, not an 18 year old slowly getting vintage instrument.

To me, that's not good enough. If I lose an almost 20 year old instrument I'd like an almost 20 year old replacement or an appropriate modification to the compensation to adjust for the irreplaceable loss of that time. But it's been a while, I should probably look into insuring my stuff again.

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