What to insure an irreplaceable, but not expensive bass for.

[dave_bass5]

I have insurance for my keyboard gear, but until recently i didnt need any for bass gear. Now im back playing bass i need to get my bass insured. 

The problem is im not sure what cost to put down.

The bass is a sandblasted Fender. you cant get them anymore. I paid £795 back in 2016(ish), used. Its not that its worth a lot, but i cant decide if i should insure it for what i paid, or for a cost to get something else. Can i just put a random figured down that would get me a reasonable replacement? I cant think of anything that could replace it on looks, size of the neck and that its only 8lbs. 

 

Maybe im overthinking it, and hopefully I’ll never need to claim for it. 

[Downunderwonder]

3 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

just put a random figured down that would get me a reasonable replacement

You are onto it.

[Burns-bass]

If it’s a specialist musical instrument insurance policy then definitely. Insurance valuations are based on an agreed value which can be much higher than the used market price. 

 

Some of my instruments are covered on my home policy with an agreed value. You don’t technically need to specify instruments if they’re worth less than £1000 as they should be covered by possessions outside the home, but it’s worth doing so to avoid the insurance company trying to wriggle out of paying you, which they’ll inevitably do.

[Downunderwonder]

If you would be bereft should it be stolen you could insure appropriately at the cost of similar enough model Fender plus sandblasting and the satin clearcoat.

 

That would mean paying extra premiums which perhaps temper your enthusiasm for like for like insuring.

 

Hence the dilemma?

[bass_dinger]

Specialist musical instrument insurers would understand a musician's need for specialist instruments that are rare, and expensive. Think of what an orchestra would play - everything is likely to be custom made by specialist makers, or old and irreplaceable. 

 

In my case* I have a 30-year-old bass that only rarely comes up on the secondhand market and for which I needed to have a neck made in the USA.  Realistically the replacement value is about £1,400 but the resale value is maybe £600 if I can find someone who is interested in it. 

So I insured it for the higher amount. 

 

For yourself, like @Downunderwondersaid, you will need to have your bass remade - find yourself a lightweight body, sandblasting, refinish, rebuild. That will cost more to do than a standard bass, and the premiums would reflect that.

 

My view is that you should cost up the actual price of a replacement bass, get quotes for the work, and use that as the basis of the insured value.

 

 

*a Hiscox, so, I need to insure that too, for what another manufacturer would charge for such a moulded case.

Edited 7 hours ago by bass_dinger

[dave_bass5]

Thanks fort all the replies. All that makes sense. 

In this case i think ill price in on a new Lakland as that was a bass ive also loved and owned in the past. Id be unhappy if i lost the Fender but its just a bass, i have others, and other than the unique looks there is nothing special about it. 

I’ve never lost or broken a bass that caused em to make a claim, so i don’t want to be paying a high premium every month, especially as the bass might even leave the house that much at the moment.

[simonlittle]

I think it would be worth having a conversation with the insurer to check that any claim would be valid with such a valuation. In the event that a claim had to be made they could easily look up the original cost of the bass and discover it’s well under the stated valuation and refuse to pay out the full amount. Having said that you’d obviously be paying a higher premium for a higher valued instrument so it’d be in their interest in the short term to accept it. I’d just want to be 100% sure they understand the stated valuation is to replace it for a current model of a similar level as Fender don’t produce them anymore. 

[dave_bass5]

Thanks. Yes, this is why i was worried. I will call them and get clarification. Even if they base it on new for old i think id be covered for the Lakland, or something similar in that price range. 

Edited 4 hours ago by dave_bass5