Transportation Insurance

[Bob Hull]

I know Safeco is the insurance company that has some
type of policy tailored for Piano technicians.  Is
this the company that practically all techs use or are
there others that are competitive and specific to our
trade?

Are there a couple or so basic policies that are
available through Safeco and could someone give a
brief description and prices?  

Can you get these policies through any Safeco agent?
I discovered that one of my customers is a Safeco
agent.

Thanks,

Bob Hull
--- Anne Acker <a.acker at comcast.net> wrote:

> 
> Mark,
> 
> I deal with this situation all the time.  There are
> several ways to insure these instruments just for
> the trip.    One, you should probably have some sort
> of business insurance, and it does exist for people
> such as us.   They are set up to include coverage
> for instruments being transported as part of your
> business, whether owned by you or somebody else.  
> It is wise to have people's instruments covered
> while they are in your workshop as well.  Workshops
> do burn down from time to time.  A colleague's went
> down when roofer's were replacing the roof on the
> building next door, started a fire, it jumped, went
> down the ventilation and hit the lacquer
> cans....BOOM!  Not pretty.  
> 
> Another option I use for my own instruments, is that
> I have them covered as part of my large collection. 
> The insurer specializes in musicians and instrument
> owners, and expects they will be transported and
> sold.   There is no deductible, as on a homeowner's
> policy.  If a hurricane washes away all my pianos in
> Savannah, I get a check for their full value.  My
> homeowner's policy would not be so kind.
> 
> The price is quoted on a yearly basis, and I pay up
> front, but I get a refund pro-rated when something
> is sold.  I don't transfer ownership to the buyer
> until it is safely delivered.
> 
> If the piano is not yours, you can have the
> instrument owner keep their own instrument covered. 
> I have this required on every restoration contract,
> whether they are covered in my shop on my policy or
> not.    Get some legal language, and insist they
> sign off.    It is an easy matter for them to add
> the rider to their homeowner's policy.
> 
> Finally,  those year long prices you were quoted are
> for year long coverage.  You can cancel it when you
> deliver the piano and they will have to refund you
> the prorated difference.  
> 
> Quite honestly, consider the amount of investment
> and your net worth you have in those pianos.  You
> need to have them covered all the time.  It isn't
> that expensive in the long run.
> 
> AA
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> From:		Erwinspiano at aol.com  [ Save Address ]
> Reply-to:		Pianotech List <pianotech at ptg.org>
> To:		pianotech at ptg.org
> Subject:		Re: Insurance rider for transportation
> Date:		Thu, 10 May 2007 23:08:35 EDT
> 
>   Mark
>   If you were the one insuring these pianos what
> would you charge? However perhaps a temporary rider
> of some kind on your home owners or business
> insurance might work.  How bout guild insurance. 
> That's what we use currently
>   Just a thought
>   Dale
>   I need to move 2 restored S&S B's out of state to
> a recital hall for 
> an "on site selection", and wanted to take out a
> temporary rider to 
> cover their value during transportation. When I
> called my own insurance 
> Co, I got a quote of $605 for $105k, which gets me
> coverage for an 
> entire year (I only need three days). Has anybody
> ever had to deal with 
> this? Is this the best I can do? I've heard from
> customers who routinely 
> transport high value artwork that this is routinely
> done for far less.
> 
> - Mark Dierauf
> 



       
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