Hi-Fi Insurance

treitz3

So I went to my Allstate agent to get a Schedule C insurance policy on my rig and certain components within and he said that I could not get an insurance policy for "Sparky", my rig.

He told me that they insure musical instruments such as a guitar and an amplifier and that I could get coverage for the computer as well, just not coverage for the rig. Now, I have a considerable amount of $$$ tied up with spare amps, spare IC's, PC's, CDP's, VCR's, DVD's yada, yada.

I told him, "OK, well my rig is hooked up to the computer via the Velo SMS-1 and that if I purchase a guitar, then use the rig as the amplifier, then I will be covered right?" His answer, "No, that's not how it works". Huh? :mad:

Frustrated, I told him that I'm not liking his answers [after an hour and 1/2 of talking] and that I would like him to refer me to an insurance company that WOULD insure my collection. He said that there is not an insurance company out there that would provide such coverage. WHAT??? Am I missing something??? :mad: :mad:

Now, granted I may be reading him incorrectly but I got the feeling that he was taking me as a customer that wanted to participate in insurance fraud. The statement that got me thinking about this was...."Being in the insurance industry as long as I have been, I can tell what certain peoples motives are". WTF??? :mad: :mad: :mad:

What in the HELL is he talking about? Motive? What motive? I have no stinkin' motive! I want coverage, which I THOUGHT I was getting with a whole house replacement policy [which he says I have], but not when it comes to Hi-Fi. I was told that if I had a TOTAL loss of the house from a tornado, hurricane or fire that I would be covered for the rig....here's the kicker...."at a depreciated value"......So what does replacement value mean to him? ARRRGHHH!! He told me that was for furniture, appliances, clothes, etc...and that that would all be replaced at full replacement value.

Now, seeing as I have a lot of vintage gear here I asked him, "OK, well the used market of some of what I have is just now getting to the point to where [even non-refurbished] prices are starting to top that of the equipment when brand new, so that's current market value right?" His answer, "No. It is the depreciated value of twenty year old equipment". So I asked him that "if I purchased an amplifier at $600.00 and got it completely overhauled for $300.00 [plus shipping across the country both ways] that I would receive close to $100 or less, given the age?" His answer, "probably less, given the age and depreciation factor". Regardless of whether or not all monies paid toward each item was well documented or had receipts. :eek:

Soooooooooooooooo, it looks as if my insurance agent is not the person I need to speak to. I want replacement value for my rig if it were to get stolen, or at least the most amount possible in the unlikely event that something DOES happen.

Where do you guys get coverage?

This is VERY important to me as I have devoted 30 years plus in the building of my rig and countless dollars to achieve where I am at and don't plan on stopping anytime soon, but when the cost of this hobby exceeds 20% of the total worth of your house....it's time to get serious about proper coverage.

It's time for me to get serious. Thanks in advance for ANY useful information and help in this regard.

Tom, the extremely happy but frustrated audiophile.

hearingimpared

I think we are all screwed in that category. My State Farm agent said that they would cover everything and as long as I had pictures and receipts my chances of getting a good replacement value would be much, much higher than if I simply listed them in a database. They depreciate everything Tom and there is really nothing you can do about unless you get a rider that will cost you an arm and nut.

treitz3

Paying an arm and a nut will still be cheaper than starting from scratch. Damn!

There HAS to be something we can do. Somebody out there knows the answer. I just need to find him/her.

BaggedLancer

Interesting read Tom, I'm definatey curious if someone has a solution. The same policy goes for a car as well....if you dump oodles of money into modifications, body work, paint, stereo, etc....they still will only give you the value of the car. It happened to me and even though I had the receipts from everything less than a year prior, they still depreciated it to almost nothing and I got screwed.

Contrary to what people think, insurance companies always win in the end.

hearingimpared

I believe you can buy riders on any home owners insurance policy.

Sami

Well, there are ways to make sure you get your money back. All I'll say is save all the receipts, even on the equipment you have long sold.

BaggedLancer

I just asked my parents about this. My mom said she had an appraiser come in for her jewelry and fur coats and attached it as a rider on the home policy.

I guess the best thing to do would be to get an appraiser come in, value your gear, and declare it as a rider?

Dennis Gardner

I think "Sparky" is the operative word in your case..........;)

Early B.

Damn, Treitz -- you have gear worth more than 20% of the value of your home? My gear is about 2%.

Sami

Early B. wrote: »

Damn, Treitz -- you have gear worth more than 20% of the value of your home? My gear is about 2%.

With my work equipment at home right now, I think I have more than doubled my house value...

treitz3

Early...conservatively. I have two systems now with lots of spare gear to boot.

A little background may be due here. "Sparky" used to be called "Crackbaby" because I knew of no other name to call it, since it was a very unconventional rig. The members of the Carver forum put out a vote to rename Crackbaby as it hit a bad note with some of the members that had first hand experience with actual crackbabies. So, a poll was put into place and it was up to the members of the Carver forum to come up with a new name for Crackbaby.

About the March / April arena of this year I was listening to Crackbaby and a lightning strike hit VERY close to the house and after I had just gotten the amps that were hooked up back from being refurbed 3 weeks prior....ZzzZZZzaAAaaZZZZzzzaAAzzZZzaaaAAaaapPP!!! Yep, Ol' Mother Nature sent me a message via a lightning bolt. Pictures on the wall were actually moving L to R and vibrating off the wall during the duration of the strike and the listening room, although it was night [1:00 in the morning], it was as bright as if it were in the middle of a beautiful day. Some of you that knew me then might remember. End result was the absolute WORST sound that an audiophile could ever endure. The sound of the individual components within the system being fried whilst being amplified over the speakers. :eek: :eek: :eek: TRUST me when I say that I wish none of you EVER have to endure such a sound, even rskarvan [you suck]. I actually had nightmares of it for a week or so. No, before you say it...I had not one clue there was even a thunderstorm in the area. Can you say "pop-up" and extremely BAD luck?

So, when Mr. M-500t posted a pic of a lightning bolt and suggested the name "Sparky", it was only a matter of time before the name took hold.

What I learned from the insurance company was that I needed to PROVE to them that it was a lightning strike that actually caused the damage and not me. The only way to prove that was to send it to Rolland at high Tech Audio. He is the only one in America open for business that still repairs Carver gear. [I know Doro, I know....] His charge to even look at an amp is 300 smackers per amp, let alone the cost to ship to and from, which for me would be across the country. Local shops wouldn't take a look at it because they no longer carry the schem's or service Carver gear anymore and even if they did, it would cost $80.00 per unit to look at with no service done whatsoever. I had two amps hooked up at that time.

Now, with the depreciated costs associated with "replacement cost" insurance, I basically had to eat the cost of what Mother Nature had recently done to Sparky. :mad:

This kind of **** I want stopped. That lightning strike cost me 2K after all was said and done. There has to be some kind of coverage for our hobby. SOMETHING, beyond depreciated value.

Where is my question?

cambir

Unfortunately, most carriers do not allow you to add additional "value" into your home-owners policy specifically for electronics...you can schedule furs, art, etc, but there is at least a limit on electronics if you can find the carriers (no, sorry, can't name the ones that might, not sure which do).

However, your policy will have a coverage limit for the entire contents of your home...make sure this limit is high enough to cover everything (including your rig) and document (pics, video, descriptions, etc) every bit of equipment you have I don't think you should have too much problem. I have much $$$ in mtn bikes - I can't get "extra" coverage for the excessive amount I have tied up in them, but they still replaced a stolen one at $2500.

On the issue of "replacement" cost...some policies/carriers will calculate "replacement" as market value, others by depreciated and others will actually give full replacement cost (with stipulations, of course). Shop around for carriers to find out how they calculate (Safeco, Hartford, Progressive, AIG, etc).

daboyz

Also, if you check around,make sure you're just getting a quote. You don't want everybody doing credit searches on you.

joeparaski

The problem is that even if you do find someone that will insure all your gear, you still don't know what "trick" or fine print they'll pull on you when it's time to file a claim. Insurance companies are good at collecting premiums, not so good when it comes to paying claims.

I have the same dilemma, if my house burns down I'll pretty much lose all my gear and probably collect the value of a HT in a box from the insurance company.

Joe

cambir

joeparaski wrote: »

Insurance companies are good at collecting premiums, not so good when it comes to paying claims. Joe

Depends on the company...I'm very happy with the claims service from my carrier (Ameriprise - former AMEX), and many customers of my current (until Jan 25) employer (Safeco) are quite pleased with claims terms and service.

shop around...find the best policy for you, the customer, not the agent writing it for you.

whitetruk

hearingimpared wrote: »

I believe you can buy riders on any home owners insurance policy.

pretty sure this is what i did,you raise your contents value not the dwelling value.
could all be bs,but i sure have felt good over the last 20 yrs.
my father always said you are insured for everything,until you have a claim.
never had one myself(knocks on wood)

HiPerf360

Ry rig is insured through usaa for stated value with no questions asked. They just said to have some pics to prove it was "above average equipment."

treitz3

Well, he says I have contents coverage that includes replacement value for everything in the house, just not when it comes to the rig....BUT, and yes, there's a but......only if the house is a total loss. In that case, the "depreciated" value of the rig will be reimbursed. I have to prove with pic's, receipts and what not, and I was told that all my vintage gear would probably be worth less than a total of $600.00. ****, I have more than that invested in one amp. I have ten amps, so I only get 60 a pop? ONLY if the house is declared a total loss?

See, when I first got this policy I was under the impression from his mouth and his assistant's mouth that EVERYTHING was "replacement" value coverage. That's what I ordered. That's what I thought I was getting paying the premiums all these years.

I will check on the ryder policy, but I drilled him for over two hours saying that I want coverage. His reply. "There is no coverage out there, Tom".

BS. There's coverage for EVERYTHING.

Early B.

One thing to keep in mind -- if you have pics and receipts, don't keep them in the house because if your house burns down, so goes the proof for the value of your gear.

Hey Tom -- perhaps you stumbled upon a niche business opportunity. Let's go in 50/50. We'll call it, "sound insurance" for audiophiles, and include special packages for videophiles ("T.V.I.") and photography buffs ("pic-sure").

treitz3

Crap Early. I never thought to ask him about my photography gear. I wonder if that's covered as well....or if that's in the same category as "Hi-Fi" gear.

50/50? Get 'er done!

m00npie

I have Allstate for my homeowner's insurance and it covers up to 45k worth of electronics (Computers included).
As long as I have receipts and picture/video proof

I would try another Allstate agent or another agency period.

For those of us that have our own businesses, most general liability policies will cover even more. I think mine covers up to 50k under the same conditions.

DarqueKnight

Insurance agents, like most people in the general population, are ignorant when it comes to the cost of electronics. You may have to do a bit of patient educating. If the agent is not receptive and understanding, then find another agent or another carrier altogether. You really do have to shop around for a good agent. Whenever I move to a new location, I interview several agents until I find one I am comfortable with. I evaluate them with the same scrutiny I would use to evaluate someone coming to work for me as a full time employee. A lot of people do not realize that the compensation and care you receive from an insurance company depends mostly on how the agent presents your case to the company.

My electronics are covered on a replacement value rider attached to my homeowners policy. I have had State Farm for my entire property insurance portfolio (home, auto, business) for the last 19 years and have been very pleased with their service. Since I have multiple policy discounts, the electronics rider was very inexpensive. My current agent, as have other agents in the past, did look at me crazy when I told her the coverage I required for my electronics, but she understood when I provided photographs and receipts. Additionally, I helped her further understand that my audio gear collection was no different than an antique furniture or gun collection and that it should be given the same courteous and professional consideration. People understand furniture and guns. Fine audio gear is a bit of a stretch for most people.

I was previously with Allstate and I did not like their customer service or prices. They seemed to only be interested in collecting premiums...but that was a long time ago and they may have gotten a clue by now.

shadowofnight

Can you imagine what they would want to give us for gear that is 10...20...30 years old ? I just took pictures of all model numbers as well as pics from all angles on the gear showing its condition. We dont really have lightning here where I am at...my home alarm has water and fire sensors to call neighbors as well as the fire dept if they trigger. You do as much as you can now, to help with making a claim later.

joeparaski

treitz3 wrote: »

Well, he says I have contents coverage that includes replacement value for everything in the house, just not when it comes to the rig....BUT, and yes, there's a but......only if the house is a total loss. In that case, the "depreciated" value of the rig will be reimbursed. I have to prove with pic's, receipts and what not, and I was told that all my vintage gear would probably be worth less than a total of $600.00. ****, I have more than that invested in one amp. I have ten amps, so I only get 60 a pop? ONLY if the house is declared a total loss?

See, when I first got this policy I was under the impression from his mouth and his assistant's mouth that EVERYTHING was "replacement" value coverage. That's what I ordered. That's what I thought I was getting paying the premiums all these years.

I will check on the ryder policy, but I drilled him for over two hours saying that I want coverage. His reply. "There is no coverage out there, Tom".

BS. There's coverage for EVERYTHING.

Ah yes, the old trick (at least I believe it's a trick) of making you BELIEVE that you're covered. It's actually a "peace of mind" policy.

A few years ago I had a truck and trailer stolen at a motel parking lot. The ultralight aircraft inside the trailer (a powered parachute) was worth $20,000. I figured I was covered, because I had been with that insurance company for years and when I purchased the coverage and told them exactly what I do and what I needed. NOT!!

It turns out that in the fine print, there was NO coverage for cargo theft between midnight and 6:00 a.m.!! I freaked out!! I told them that maybe it was stolen at 11:00 p.m. That didn't work either, because the fine print says I MUST prove the time at which the theft occured!!

Recovery of the stolen craft is a whole other story........

Joe