<HTML>In a message dated 10/28/01 9:21:19 PM Central Standard Time, erwinpiano@msn.com writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Good advice that filled in the blanks where I left off.  The problem I have is that often times I may have 100 to200 thousand dollars worth of rebuilds going at one time and if the client has this kind of insurance it doesn't seem to make sense for them to pay for extra insurance when it is'nt needed. Give me your thoughts on this as it's always a sticky wicket/annoyance. </BLOCKQUOTE> From what I understand the way the insurance on the pianos in your shops is this way. The insurance company will only pay the amount of the value of the piano at the time of the loss. Lets say you bring in a M&H A that needs to be completely rebuilt. The value of that instrument when it first enters the shop is $3000. But then you take it apart. What is the value then? Maybe $1000? But as you start the rebuilding process, adding new parts, refinishing the case, etc., the piano becomes more and more valuable, until it reaches it's full value at the end. So what happens if your place burns down when you have it 50% completed. The way I understand it, you'll receive half the value of the piano. If you are constantly working on 10 or 15 pianos at the same time. You need to have insurance that covers the full cost of all of them. When I had my store and rebuilding shop, I was covered for the wholesale value of all the new units, and the value of 3 Steinway B's. Not that I had 3 B's in my shop all the time, but at any given time, I might be working on that much worth of pianos, in the form of other actions, etc., at any one given time. But one time I had to take 2 6'4" Pertofs to New Orleans and San Antonio on a trailer. I asked my agent to put a rider on my policy that covered those to pianos fully, liability and collision, for the days it took me to deliver the pianos. When I got home, he took the rider off. <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">I know when I leave my car at the dealers for repair that their signs specifically state that they are not responsible for items left in the car but where does there or our responsibility lie. I guess I'm curious as to what I'm really liable for if a complete loss occured.    </BLOCKQUOTE> The car dealer is not responsible for items left in your car. That takes them off the hook in case someone's lap top, cell phone or other personal effects wind up missing after the car has been serviced. (Although a smart lawyer can probably get the car dealer to pay for what ever is missing.) The dealer doesn't say, however: "we are not responsible if the car is damaged or stolen." You can be sure that your car is covered in the event it is damaged or stolen, just as he is covered for all the cars on his lot, in his show room and in the service bays in the event the place burns down, or gets hit with a hale storm. Wim </HTML>