high end audio insurance?

Lake,

Your homeowners insurance agent should be able to do what is called a rider for all the stuff in question. If not, find another company. Read the documents well. Go for a stated value. Remember to update the stated value periodically.

If you collect vinyl you may need to have your collection appraised for the rider feature. Keep meticulous records, scan them, burn to a disc and place in your safety deposit box.

It's adviseable to catalog your music collection which may take a lot of time. It's well worth the peace of mind.

I did my research and have my hotrod (3 appraisals) insured for a stated value as well as my vinyl (2 appraisals) and an older guitar (2 appraisals). All the appraisals were from professionals and cost me to have it done.

Take lots of photos. Even with all the above expect your insurance company to try and minimize their losses if anything happens. Be prepared for legal war and you'll win.

Happy listening,
Patrick

A rider policy sounds correct. When not using my system, it remains unplugged from the A/C. Less trouble than repair.

Just The Facts

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I used a close up lens on my 35 MM camera and photographed the edges of my entire LP collection. 4X6 drug store prints and the original negatives are at the bank. This is an easy way to record every album without having to manually enter them into a ledger.

Keep your photos in a safe deposit box along with your families passports, Social Security and birth certificates, credit card records, handgun records, jewelry records, insurance documents and back up files for your computers.

I have as much concern with loss from severe weather and fire as theft. Try to Imagine standing in front of a pile of rubble where your home once stood and trying to recall everything that was inside before that moment.

A safe deposit box typically costs less than $30.00 a year. Hopefully you will never need to empty out its contents to prove what you lost. Take lots of photographs, they are cheap to produce and priceless if catastrophe strikes.

hi albert,
the photos would validate the existance of a lp cover (condition/value unknown)
on an insurance claim without an appraised validation of the vinyl condition how could an accurate claim be submitted? kurt

Guys,

I really learned a lot about insurance while I was trying to insure my hotrod for something resembling my investment. Just because you have "replacement" value type homeowners insurance does not mean a check will be written for the full value of a loss. Quite the contrary. Your XYZ component that cost $30k new will be treated like your car with a similar new cost. The item will be depreciated and your deductible will apply unless you have the rider. The appraisals are necessary and some agents will not even tell you this. You may find out too late that you should have gotten an appraisal.

You can get a stated value rider on just about anything but without the appraisal(s), a claim will be viewed as an attempt to committ fraud leading you to be treated most unkindly. Collections that are outside of a classification of "usual" are supposed to carry the burden of their own coverage.

There aren't many insurance agents that have even written such a policy. The burden falls on you, the consumer, to sort through the options and make sure you are actually getting what you may pay for. It's a real pain. I did my best to cover my ASSetts but pray that my homework is never put to the test.

This is an excellent post and I hope members are reading this thread. A fair amount of work now may save a lot of grief later.

As cheap as high resolution digital cameras are and given the small amount of hard drive space it takes to store them it's a no-brainer about what to do. Photograph every wall, inside every closet and drawer, EVERYTHING and burn them to disc. Put a copy in your safe deposit box and give additional copies to your kids or a trusted friend. An ounce of prevention.....

Happy listening,
Patrick