4BR has teamed up with Allianz Musical Insurance to find out the answers to some of the most essential brass band insurance questions for you and your band.
So with the second half of the contest season about to start Allianz Musical Insurance provides a timely reminder of some important insurance needs.
Allianz Musical Insurance is the UK's No.1 musical instrument insurer, protecting over 70,000 musicians.
Frequently Asked Questions
They've answered some frequently asked questions, making it easy to understand the importance of your cover and picking the right add-ons to suit you.
1. Why should we check our insurance needs?
It's important to make sure you're covered so you're not stuck with an expensive bill if something unfortunate happens.
It may not be the most exciting thing to read, but it is well worth understanding your policy. It should be accurate and up to date — and provide the cover you need.
Insurance is an essential safety net — so do not leave anything to chance. If the worst ever happens, it is there to help you get back to doing what you love as soon as possible — making music.
2. What should our policy cover?
We know that all musicians and bands have different needs, which is why policies are flexible. Core policy requirements cover theft, accidental damage, loss and fire damage with optional add-ons including public liability and unattended vehicle cover.
Bands need to ensure both buildings and contents are covered. These will include instruments accessories, uniforms, music and equipment. Some items will need to be itemised, others not — but it is important you seek advice and ask plenty of questions!
You can tailor your policy to meet your specific needs as a musician or as a band with different levels or locations of cover. If you're paid to play, check your policy covers professional use, and if you have an instrument that is older than 3 years old, check that the policy includes new for old cover so you can cover it for its full replacement value.
Also, it's worth checking that your insurer will let you choose your own repairer or replacement instrument.
3. Public Liability & Personal Accident: What is it and what does it cover?
Public liability cover protects you against the cost of a claim if someone is injured or damages property while you're using your equipment or instruments.
Personal accident insurance provides a financial benefit if you're injured while using your instrument or any piece of musical equipment.
4. Instruments: What should we include and why? What about values?
You should insure all your instruments (brass and percussion) that you need cover for by the amount it would cost to replace them at current market value.
If you're not sure how much your instrument is worth, it's a good idea to have it valued by a respected professional retailer.
We recommend doing this regularly by undertaking a comprehensive inventory to make sure you're not under insured or overpaying for your policy.
5. Accessories: What about things such as stands, mutes, small percussion equipment. Do we need to itemise everything?
This varies between insurers. Our policy includes £500 of accessory cover for free, but this may be different for others, so please check.
Each accessory needs to be valued between £10 — £250, with a per claim limit of £500. For any items above £250, we'd recommend specifying them individually on your policy.
Allianz also covers loss and theft for any consumables, as small as valve oil and cleaning tools, but we don't cover wear and tear or damage.
6. What happens when the band travels to concerts or on tour? Do we need to take out extra cover?
If you're travelling abroad it's worth considering worldwide cover — you can even just add it on to your policy as a temporary change.
If you're hiring additional instruments for a concert or tour you can temporarily add these to your policy as well.
Find out more
To find out more go to:
Your questions?
Please send any insurance related question to news@4barsrest.com and we will get them checked through with the experts
