Anyone have their system insured?

Oh Yea...Big time. I called my ins. co. when I finally figured I had spent over 25K on hardware and an additional 6K on software. I photoed everything and keep receipts in a very heavy duty file cabinet. Since I already have full replacement coverage on house and contents the ins. co. states I am fully covered. I do not wish to test the waters, or 'system', so to speak.
Regards,

Hi,

Your Homeowner's or Renter's policy insure your contents againt specific named perils and also with stated limits. Please look at your insurance declaration page or ask your agent about the perils and limits. Flood/ground water is not covered under Homeowner's or Renter's policies because it is not one of the named covered peril. Theft, fire, etc. are normally stated as a named peril-however, there is also the policy limits to deal with.

A Personal Articles Policy (PAP)is a specific policy you purchase to insure for any stated item (Stereo, jewelry, art work etc.)that has coverage that extends beyond the normal named perils and you can buy the amount of coverage that is suitable for your system. The policies are usually not too expensive and most of the major insurers sell PAPs.

I recently increased my coverage on contents, including my audio equipment to 100% of the house value. My insurance company did this with no problem (other than the modest hike in the premium). I also had to provide them with an itemized list of the gear and it's replacement cost as well.
Worth the peace of mind in my opinion.

First, take pictures of your entire system including close-ups of serial numbers. This is for theft.

That insurance does include contents is true, but only as a percentage of the total replacement policy on your house. If you live in an area where homes are very expensive then you will have over $100,000.00 on contents. If you live in an area where your house is worth, and is insured for about $120,000.00 then you might not have as much as $30,000.00 contents coverage.

The best thing to do is try to figure out what your belongings would cost to replace, add 25% and then call your agent.

On the part about flooding, be a bit careful here. Some policies might not cover that at all. Note there are differances between water damage. Surface water, water coming back through your sewar, rain damage due to an unmaintained roof, and water coming from a busted pipe.

yes - and definitely photodocument the rig well - it will help if you ever need to file a claim...

Thanks for the post - I never even thought about a separate insurance policy. Well, that can certainly pay for those Audiogon annual fees ;-)

I agree with Tireguy. Chubb does a very good job with esoteric assets and collections of all types. You can itemize your system, photograph it and value it at replacement and if you are unlucky, they are very good at replacement. The more it is worth, the cheaper the investment in insurance.

My system is insured, I wouldn't even imagine of not having it insured. Its fairly cheap and no matter what happens I am covered and theres no price that can be put on that feeling of security. I have a real good relationship with my agent so we went with a company he trusted the most. Most folks I know are VERY happy with CHUBB for this sort of thing, fair premiums and excellent service/coverage.

If you have a homeowner's policy (versus renter's policy), contents in most states are insured at a percentage of the coverage value of the house: typically less than 100%. Most insurance companies are willing to increase the percentage of coverage (up to 100%) at a far lower cost than a special rider for the audio system. Whenever I've looked at special rider coverage for either the audio system or the record collection, the premium has been astronomical.

Driver has it right. I would add that in the case of flooding you will probably need separate flood insurance if you don't already have it. I don't think it matters what the source of the water is; no flood insurance, no claim.

Talk to your ins. agent about additional coverage to your household goods that will cover the equipment. Emphasize you want this coverage IN ADDITION to what you have now, as I understand you get a percentage of the house value towards contents. I found an agent willing to listen to my specific needs & gave him all my biz. Maybe a tad more expensive than the discount shops but I feel more comfortable now.

BTW, I changed companies a few years ago when we returned from vacation and one trunk of an 80' double trunk tree fell on a neighbor's house & the other one was leaning towards ours. After many phone calls I not only was very disappointed with the ins. companies attitude but also discovered I didn't have nearly enough contents coverage to include my stereo.