Musical Instrument Insurance Ontario

Musical Instrument Insurance for Personal-Use in Ontario

Musical instruments are for more than just working professional musicians. Many people who don't make their living in the music industry have instruments at home that they love to play for fun, relaxation, enjoyment of their friends and family and for nostalgic or aesthetic reasons. Regardless of how they are used or why you keep them around, they represent an investment and are treasured parts of your home collection. That's why ensuring you have adequate coverage is essential. If you're not sure whether your personal instruments have the necessary coverage to ensure you can get them restored or replaced in the event they are damaged, stolen or destroyed, speak to your expert broker at Morison Insurance to confirm if you need additional coverage or to start on a musical instrument insurance quote.

What is Musical Instrument Insurance?

Musical instrument insurance is a part of your contents coverage, which is part of your personal home insurance, condo insurance or tenant insurance policy. The exact parameters of what is covered will depend on your unique policy. Still, you can expect your insurance company to provide compensation if your instrument suffers property damage or destruction from an insured peril such as fire, natural disasters, vandalism and theft. Financial protection ensures you'll be able to get a replacement instrument or cover repair costs for extensive damage to your current one if feasible.

Who Should Have Musical Instrument Insurance?

Anyone who owns a personal-use instrument should have musical instrument insurance coverage as part of their homeowner policy. That includes a wide range of instrument types, including:

• Acoustic and electric guitars
• Other types of string instruments
• Brass instruments
• Pianos and keyboards
• Drum sets and hand drums
• Less common types of instruments such as accordions, didgeridoos and theremins

Is a Musical Instrument Covered Under a Home Insurance Policy in Ontario?

In all likelihood, yes—an instrument for personal use will typically be covered by the contents coverage portion of your homeowners policy. It is one of your personal belongings, so it has the same coverage afforded to all the other belongings in your home. There are a few caveats that are important to be aware of, though.

Suppose you are a music professional or semi-professional musician and use your instrument to make money. In that case, it will likely not be adequately covered (or covered at all) by your home insurance—you need a commercial musical instrument insurance policy separate from your homeowners insurance.

The most common type of home insurance is a comprehensive coverage policy, which means all your items are covered except those expressly excluded from the policy. But if you have a broad-form policy, it works oppositely—everything is excluded except the items specifically included on the policy. In that case, your musical instrument insurance is likely not included and would have to be scheduled.

Suppose you have a comprehensive policy, and your instrument falls somewhere in the value range of a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. You don't need to worry about having it appraised and scheduled explicitly on your policy. But high-value instruments, similar to coverage for other high-value items, like jewellery insurance, should be appraised and scheduled to ensure you receive their total replacement value from your insurance provider. People sometimes assume that if their overall coverage limit is more than the cost of their high-value items, there's no need to worry, but that's not necessarily the case. If your house and belongings were destroyed in a catastrophic fire, you might have $200,000 worth of personal property coverage to replace your belongings. But if it costs you $70,000 to replace an expensive instrument such as a vintage guitar, that only leaves $130,000 for everything else—and since that's likely not going to be adequate, you would find yourself underinsured.

If you need help determining whether you have the musical instrument insurance protection to prevent financial loss should your instrument be damaged or destroyed, the best course of action is to call and speak with your experienced broker at Morison Insurance. One task they may advise you to complete is a home inventory list. This will allow our expert brokers to see each critical item and its current value. They can review your current coverage and ensure you have exactly what you need or recommend options to ensure you have the full, comprehensive musical instrument insurance necessary for total peace of mind. 

Is There a Coverage Limit for Musical Instrument Insurance?

That depends on your insurance carrier, but for the most part, insurance companies don't tend to include particular limits for Ontario musical instrument insurance on their comprehensive home insurance policies. That means you don't have to worry that only a portion of your overall contents insurance limits will be applicable to replacing or repairing your musical instrument.

Is Studio Recording Equipment Included Under Musical Instrument Insurance?

Your recording studio should be covered under your homeowners' insurance policy as long as your recording studio is for your personal use, not for commercial purposes. For example, suppose you rent or use your studio or pieces of equipment to make money. It is considered a commercial studio, and you would need a commercial insurance policy for adequate coverage.

Who Can I Call to Find Out More About Musical Instrument Insurance?

If you need to know more about your coverage or want to get started on a musical instrument insurance quote, call the reliable brokers at Morison Insurance. We work for you, not the insurance companies, so you can trust our experienced team to have your best interests at heart in everything we do. Call us today at 1-800-463-8074 to get the information you need so you can rest easy knowing you have the right musical instrument insurance coverage for your instruments.