Musical Insurance FAQs

1. Can I insure my child’s instrument?

A: Under your policy, the musical instrument is covered for use by anyone you give permission to, including your child regardless of their age. The policyholder must be over 18, but the musical instrument will still be insured whilst it’s in the care of your child.

2. Will changing my address affect my premium?

A: No. We do not alter the cost of your musical insurance when you change address, and furthermore, a change of address is not considered as a policy adjustment and thus no administration fee is payable.

3. Can I lend the musical instrument to someone else to use?

A: Yes, your musical instrument is covered by the policy whilst it’s on loan to somebody else, provided they have it with your permission. Please note, the insurance policy will not cover the instrument against theft if it is stolen by someone that you have entrusted it to.

4. What information do I need to provide to prove ownership and value of my musical instrument/s in the event of a claim?

A: If any individual musical instrument on your policy is valued at more than £10,000, you will need to provide a written valuation if you wish to make a claim. A written valuation will be easily obtained from your local musical instrument retailer or repairer, and Allianz Musical Insurance recommends having your instrument/s valued regularly, to make sure that your sum insured level is adequate.

5. Can I make changes to my policy before it’s due for renewal?

A: Absolutely. You can adjust your musical insurance in accordance with your needs at any time after you’ve taken out your insurance with us. For example, if you acquire more musical instruments and wish to add them to the policy* or sell a musical instrument and choose to decrease the level of cover, you’re free to do so. Please note, only the policyholder can amend the policy unless you contact us to authorise someone else to act on your behalf. (*increasing the number of instruments on the policy may incur an increase in the pro rata premium charged).

6. What is meant by ‘lockable windows’ in my policy wording?

A: We just mean that all of the downstairs windows (which can be opened), in the premises which your musical instrument/s is kept must be lockable from the inside, (a standard feature in most homes).

7. Does the premises which my musical instruments are kept in need to have an alarm?

A: We do not routinely insist on your premises being alarmed. If this is required, we will specifically tell you.

8. When do I need to include ‘Unattended Vehicle’ cover on my musical insurance policy?

A: Unattended Vehicle cover is incredibly useful for anyone who takes their musical instrument out with them, either for lessons, to perform live or even just to transport it from A to B. Unattended Vehicle cover insures your instrument/s whilst they are locked in the boot of a vehicle, against theft or accidental damage. It will cover your musical instrument/s whether you’ve just stopped for 5 minutes in a petrol station or have to leave your instrument/s in the vehicle overnight.

9. Can my iPhone, iPad or iPod be covered on an Allianz Musical Insurance policy?

A: Yes, these items can be covered on our Musical Insurance policies, provided you can prove that they are used for the production of music or are part of your musical set-up.

10. Do you only cover UK residents?

A: Yes. As long as your permanent residence is the UK, we can cover you anywhere in the world.

11. If I claim, will my insurance premium go up next year?

A: We don’t routinely increase premiums following a claim on your musical instrument insurance.

12. Do you insure orchestras, bands or other ensembles under one policy?

A: Yes. We also offer discounted musical insurance policies where groups of musicians are insuring a number of instruments together. Call us on 0800 048 0063 to discuss special rates.

13. Do you offer insurance for music teachers?

A: Yes. We provide musical insurance for teachers of all musical instruments including violins, guitars and every other type of instrument. Our musical insurance can cover you whether you teach in your own home, visit students or teach at school, college or university. We also offer public liability insurance as an option for teachers who have this requirement.

Music teachers can also earn money with Allianz Musical Insurance, simply by referring your students to us – call us on 0800 197 5783 to find out more.

14. How much should I insure my musical instrument for?

A: You should insure your musical instrument/s for their replacement value. We advise our customers to have their musical instrument/s valued regularly, particularly with vintage guitars or antique violins, string or woodwind and reed instruments. This will ensure that you’re not under insured or paying too much for your musical insurance policy.

15. What is the minimum age requirement for an individual to take out a musical insurance policy?

A: The policyholder has to be aged 18 or older, but the instrument is still covered if it’s being used by somebody younger than 18 – it’s only the policyholder that needs to be 18+.

16. What is the maximum sum insured value that you can offer for any single instrument?

A: Unlimited – we can cover almost any type of musical instrument, regardless of how valuable it is. However, our website is limited to £10,000 for any one instrument. If your musical instrument is worth more than £10,000 just give us a call on 0800 197 5783.

17. Is there an excess to pay if I make a claim?

A: There is no excess to pay on our ClassicPlay policies, and only a £25 excess on PowerPlay. The only exceptions to this are where you choose to pay a voluntary excess, or if you claim for a computer or laptop, for which there is a £100 excess.

18. Do you cover consumables such as strings, reeds and drum skins/heads?

A: Yes, but only if you specify this as an individual item with a sum insured value. This is fairly unusual on a Musical Insurance policy, as normally, the consumables such as strings or reeds can be replaced at a very low cost (thus not worth specifying on the policy as individual items). However, in some instances it can be important to our customers, for example, a percussionist who plays African Kettle drums may find that his/her drum heads are particularly expensive – in this case we can insure the drum heads for loss or theft (but our policies do not cover wear and tear or damage to consumables).

Please note: on a ClassicPlay policy, you automatically get up to £500 cover for unspecified musical accessories such as strings, bows and reeds (up to £250 per item). PowerPlay only covers those items specified within the policy.

19. Will I be covered if I take my musical instrument/s abroad?

A: Yes, provided you’ve selected the appropriate level of cover. ClassicPlay musical insurance policies provide worldwide cover as standard. With a PowerPlay insurance policy you are able to choose between private residence cover only, UK & Europe cover or full worldwide insurance.

20. Do you insure record collections?

A: Yes, we can cover record and/or CD collections. It is very important to consider musical insurance for record or CD collections as they can be very expensive to replace. For more information on musical insurance click here.

21. Do you offer musicians Public Liability insurance?

A: Yes. We offer a choice of £1 million, £2 million or £5 million worth of Public Liability cover – each includes up to £10,000 worth of Personal Accident cover. Many venues insist on musicians having Public Liability insurance before allowing them to perform live.

22. Do you provide insurance for sheet music?

A: Yes. We’ve found that many orchestra’s and bands have large collections of sheet music, which are often valuable all by themselves. For more information click here.

23. I have a studio with too many items to list on the website, but I’d still like a quote – can you help?

A: Absolutely, just give us a call. We can accept an itemised list of your studio’s musical equipment and instruments by telephone, email or post. Once we’ve received this, we will be able to give you a quote and discuss musical insurance cover options. Click here to Contact Us

24. I have lots of musical equipment split between more than one location. Can it all be insured on one policy?

A: Yes, but you should call us to discuss your musical insurance needs and to make sure you get the cover you need. Click here to Contact Us

25. I have quite a lot of cables and leads; can they be insured as a part of my musical insurance policy?

A: Yes absolutely, as long as they’re specified with a replacement value on the policy along with all other musical instruments and equipment.

Please note: on a ClassicPlay policy, you automatically get up to £500 cover for unspecified musical accessories such as strings, bows and reeds (up to £250 per item). PowerPlay only covers those items specified within the policy.

26. Can sound equipment be covered under the musical insurance policy?

A: Yes. PA, mixers, monitor speakers, amplifiers, speaker cabs and microphones can all be covered under Allianz Musical Insurance.

27. Can software be insured on a musical insurance policy?

A: Yes, we can cover music production software such as Pro-Tools, Logic and Cubase, however we don’t cover MP3 collections. The policy also doesn’t cover any damage to computer memory or other electronic memory or data storage, computer or other electronic memory, discs, memory cards or microchips.

28. My drum kit has multiple pieces which I’ve built up over time – can it be covered as one ‘drum kit’ or does it need to be individually specified?

A: Small, medium and large sized drum kits can be insured as one item, although specifying each individual piece allows us to accurately tailor the cover to your needs.

29. Do I need to provide serial numbers for the musical instruments and equipment that I wish to insure?

A: Serial numbers aren’t essential for musical insurance, but if available they help speed up claims. However, we require serial numbers for any computers or laptops that you wish to cover on your musical insurance policy.

30. Can I have UK only cover on my policy?

A: No. The territorial limits on our PowerPlay Musical Insurance policies offer Premises Only, UK & Europe or Worldwide depending on your instrument type and requirements. ClassicPlay policies provide Worldwide cover as standard but can be restricted to premises only.