Attention Parents of Musicians: Do You Know Where Your Child’s Instrument Is Right Now?
August 26, 2025
Should the same company that insures your roof, sump pump or furniture be trusted to adequately protect your double reed, harp, string instrument, woodwinds and guitars? Certainly not if your instrument is valued at more than $2,000 — a common limit placed on musical instruments in most homeowners’ policies. A better choice would be to partner with an insurance expert who truly understands the difference between a bow, headstock and bridge.
Questions to ask yourself
To decide whether you’re comfortable leaving your musical instrument on your homeowners’ policy, here are a few questions to consider.
- Are you paid to play your instrument?
If your instrument is damaged during (or on the way to or from) a paid performance, coverage could be completely denied. That’s because 90% of homeowners’ policies don’t cover any business use of instruments unless you’ve added specific “pay to play” protection.
- Do you live in an area that is at high-risk for natural disasters?
Standard homeowners’ policies typically won’t pay for any damage caused by specific types of natural disasters, including wildfires, hurricanes, floods, mudslides and earthquakes. If disaster strikes your area and you don’t have a separate insurance policy for these individual scenarios, you won’t receive any payment for damages to or the total loss of your instrument.
- Are you covered for accidental damage?
Probably not. With regard to musical instruments, standard homeowners’ policies don’t cover accidental damage, like cracks or dings that can be caused by drops or other mishaps. Their attitude: It still plays, why pay?
- How are repairs handled through my homeowners’ policy?
Your instrument might be repairable after being damaged, but the repair itself might devalue the instrument. For example, if a violin bow breaks, it is essentially worthless unless very carefully spliced, and even then, the bow’s value could decrease by 25% – 50% or more. Homeowners’ policies won’t pay for this part of the loss
- Is your instrument one of your most valuable possessions?
Check the dollar amount listed under Coverage C of your homeowners’ policy. If you file a claim, this is the total you’d be paid for personal possessions inside your house, including furniture, linens, clothing, electronics, jewelry and more. Would your expensive instrument account for a large percentage of that total value? If so, it could be tough to replace both your instrument and the rest of your personal possessions.
- What are the limits of “off premises” coverage?
Think of those fun TV commercials of a group of people sitting around a bonfire at the beach with one person playing a guitar. If this might be you, be sure to understand your coverage for unscheduled personal property when it’s “off premises,” that is, away from home. Most homeowners policies limit off-premises coverage to 10% of the total unscheduled personal property amount, up to $2,000.
- Do you know whether your current insurance company depreciates the value of your instrument?
Most homeowners’ insurance policies reduce the value of your musical instrument each year that you own it. If you suffer a loss, that means you’d only be paid “actual cash value,” which is the replacement cost of your instrument minus depreciation. However, like many collectibles, most well-maintained high-end musical instruments actually increase in value as they age. That’s not a difference you want to learn after it’s too late.
If this short list of questions raises a few concerns about how well your musical instrument is really protected by your homeowners’ policy, now’s the time to learn more. There can be significant advantages to switching your coverage to specialized musical instrument insurance like that offered by Anderson. We protect the full “stated value” of your instrument and cover its play as a hobbyist, professional, student or collector. Once we accept your stated value amount, this will be the total insurance value if your instrument is deemed to be an 80% or greater total loss. We cover not only repairable damage, but also any devaluation due to that repair.
Our policies generally come with a lower deductible, and we’ll pay for damage caused by accidents, natural disasters, shipping claims along with other scenarios often excluded by homeowners’ insurance. We understand both the monetary and emotional value of your instrument. It’s why we’re passionate about protecting your passion. Let’s talk.
