Insurance
Givens Violins highly recommends that our customers acquire musical instrument insurance for their instruments, bows and cases. When you purchase an instrument or bow from Givens Violins we issue a free insurance appraisal which you can provide to your insurance agent. As you look into the insurance options that best fit your needs you may want to consider a musical instrument policy. We list these options below.
Although scheduling your items (also called purchasing a rider) on your homeowners policy may be the most convenient method of insuring your instruments and bows, keep in mind that it only covers the basic instruments, i.e. no depreciation coverage and most often does not cover you if you are a professional musician. Many insurance carriers define “professional” to be making any amount of money from a gig, no matter how little. For particularly valuable instruments, or persons owning a number of instruments/bows, it is best to purchase musical instrument insurance from a specialized carrier. We also recommend that you confirm with your agent that your policy contains a depreciation clause.
Musical instruments and bows, however well made, are delicate hand-crafted one-of-a-kind items. Because they are made primarily made of wood, they are subject to damage from atmospheric changes, shock and handling. Most damage is reparable, but it is imperative that you have specific insurance for each instrument and bow, at current market value, in order to be reimbursed by your insurance company for damage repairs, depreciation due to damage or a complete loss.
Always store your instruments and bows in a climate-controlled environment, and avoid sudden temperature changes or rough handling.
Musical Instrument Insurance Companies
Additional Resources:
This is an excellent article written by the Entente Internationale de Luthiers et Archetiers (EILA) regarding the importance of insurance.
In the article Better safe than sorry: Classical musicians navigate the complicated world of instrument insurance interviews Claire Givens on MPR.
