Gear Insurance

[beatboy]

Just wanted to get some advice on getting insurance for the gear I use in the studio & out live. Who, where, what , why (well why a certain company).

[slangification]

If you do a search of the DUC, you'll see this has been covered again and again.

[Allen Hallada]

Originally posted by tld:
I (and several others here) use Music Pro insurance:

http://www.musicproinsurance.com

Very thorough coverage at a good price.

Tom

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I sent these guys a check for around 70.00 for 7500.00 worth of coverage. It took them about two months to mail me the plan and I still haven't talked to a live person on the phone. Are you sure these guys are legit? I faxed them a change in equipment three weeks ago and haven't heard from them since. Not exactly stellar customer service. Just a thought.
Allen

[AverageJoe]

Yes, they are legit-

I just had an amp stolen out of the back of my car and have been corresponding via phone first and then email with a representative.

The process was going very smoothly, but then my amp was actually recovered, so I can't comment past that. I will say that I called about 3 times in one day as well as leaving messages to make sure I got a human on the phone and once I had a representative on my case, I was able to get email replies within 8-12 hours.

ASCAP lists Music Pro as a preferred partner (ASCAP members get better rates) so that is also a fairly good endoresment.

I used to have insurance through Clarion, and had one claim with them- they were great too, but their rates went up, so I left for Music Pro.

Joe

[Shawn B]

They (Musicpro) are actually Fireman's Fund, which is a huge insurance co. They are legit and very reasonable. Plus they cover gear in the weirdest situations. Rental, at a gig, fell of a truck..etc.. Other insurance companies may offer insurance, but I can almost guarantee they won't be as creative in their coverage and will cost more.
Their premiums tend to average about 1% with a per claim one time deductible . I carry 60,000.00 for about 600.00 a year. They prefer to use email. I had a hard time getting a person at first too. But overall I would rate them very highly against anyone else I checked.

[DaveCarlock]

I set up my insurance with MusicPro in 48hours start to finish. The covered me and gave me a policy # immediately and I received my paper work about 3 weeks later.

Nothing but good to say so far.

DC

[slangification]

Before I had any involvement with Music Pro, I did a search of the DUC and read everything people had to say about the various companies offering this type of insurance. Several people said things about how the Music Pro was not giving them much confidence, and was giving them a "less than warm and fuzzy feeling". I dismissed this talk, because I wasn't sure what that meant, and I figured, who needs a warm and fuzzy feeling from their insurance company? They seemed to offer the best policy for the money.

Since then, I've had more involvement with Music Pro than I would like, and I've found them to be VERY, um, questionable. I too have a "less than warm and fuzzy feeling" about them, and here's what that means and why:

I first contacted them with an inquiry about what my rate would be. I told them the total value of my computer stuff and music gear, and they quoted me a rate. I asked them to send me the policy details in the mail. It didn't come for a couple of weeks. I called again. They said they would fax it. The fax didn't come. I called a couple of days later and asked about the fax. They said they were sending it right then. A few hours later about 30 pages came through that were detailed policies and personal information for 3 people in different states that had nothing to do with me - nor were their policies relevant to mine - it wasn't even music gear. I called Music Pro to tell them what happened (it was not always easy to get through to them - I'd usually get a recording and have to leave messages, and they rarely returned the calls). When I finally got someone on the phone (a few days later) I said ok, let's just activate the policy now, I'll give you my credit card number and you can send me the materials in the mail. She told me I needed to give them the list of my gear and serial numbers and everything, and the easiest way for me to do that was to go to their website and fill out the form there. I compiled all the information, typed it all up in the little blanks and pressed submit. There was an error message that there was some problem with their server and the info hadn't gone through. I tried it a few more times and it didn't work. Same message - server error. (Note: And here's something I noticed a while ago - on the front page of their site www.musicproinsurance.com, they say that it is a "Verisign Secure Site - Click Here to Verify". If you click on that button, it takes you to a page that says Music Pro's account with Verisign is expired. Not a good sign.) Anyhow, after another phone conversation, I wrote down all the details about my gear on a piece of paper and faxed it to them. I didn't hear anything for several days. I called them and played phone tag for a few days. Next time I got the person on the phone, they said that yes they got my fax. I gave them my credit card number, and she said she was going to bill the card for the amount previously quoted, and assured me my coverage was active immediately. I didn't get a policy number or anything, but in retrospect I should have.

About a month later, I still hadn't received anything in the mail, and I got an email from them (the same person). It was an apology for not getting back to me sooner about my inquiry about their rates, and included a quote for the coverage I had requested. It appeared there was no recognition of the conversations and transactions that had taken place between us, and the quote was for a different amount than the quote that I had already received and paid for. I replied, saying I had already activated this coverage about a month prior, and to please respond and confirm that this was taken care of properly. I did not receive a response to that email. For the next several weeks, I was busy and did not take the time to address the issue. Then I sent another email saying I still had not received anything in the mail from them, that I had given them my credit card on the phone a couple of months ago, and that I would like written confirmation of my policy and assurance that it is active. I did not receive a response via email, but in two days, I received an envelope in the mail with a credit card receipt dated two days prior to my date of receipt, along with the policy details. According to the enclosed document, my policy was active from the date I had given them my credit card (and I was billed for the whole time), but the card was not processed until two days prior. I have serious doubts as to whether I would have had a policy if I had needed to place a claim during this time.

So, obviously my confidence in them is far from high, but the price is right, and they are recommended by both ASCAP and BMI.

[tld]

I (and several others here) use Music Pro insurance:

http://www.musicproinsurance.com

Very thorough coverage at a good price.

Tom

[tld]

Things went very quickly when I first got my policy. Then again, I have all my equipment set up in a database, so it was easy to get them a spread sheet of everything.

While I have, at times, found it to take a while to get a response when I add new equipment to my policy, this really isn't an issue. For one thing, you are covered for additions in full from the time you notify them, regardless of how long they take to process it. And whats more, their standard policy covers equipment that you've purchased and haven't even told them about, up to $25,000, for 30 days from the date you purchase the equipment. So it would be unlikely you'd be caught with something uninsured. I've read my policy and it spells out all the coverage they claim to offer, such as equipment being covered wherever it is.

I get the impression that they are not a big outfit, but yes, they are simply an underwriter for Firemans Fund. Definately for real.

Tom