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SHOULD YOU INSURE YOUR SOUND GEAR & RECORDING STUDIO ?
By Grant Patten
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Why should you insure your sound gear ? The question has taken on a different colour during the pandemic . People are looking closer at their finances . They need to make every penny count . Insurance premiums might look like an unnecessary expense .
Some people look at insurance through the lens of a cost-benefit analysis . “ Will you get your money ’ s worth ?” is the wrong way to think about things . Insurance is not about breaking even . Insurance covers catastrophic losses that you couldn ’ t possibly cover yourself , no matter how much money you set aside . Imagine you lose everything . How much would it cost to replace all the gear you ’ ve acquired over the years ? $ 20,000 ? $ 50,000 ? Do you have that kind of cash ?
The benefit of insurance is that you ’ re not expected to pay back the money you receive from an insurance settlement . Even if you keep paying premiums for the rest of your working life , you may never “ pay back ” the full amount of an insurance settlement .
It ’ s always helpful when speaking about insurance to look at real-life examples . Below are a few instances when sound techs and studio musicians really needed insurance .
Gas leak explosion and fire at recording studio In October 2020 , a massive explosion rocked a shopping mall , destroying a number of businesses , including a recording studio . Firefighters managed to save part of the studio ’ s second floor , but it was ultimately deemed unsafe and demolished . Much valuable sound equipment was lost , including a Rupert Nevedesigned Amek 9098 desk .
Fortunately , the studio owners had insurance , and they ’ re working with the insurance company to rebuild at a new location .
Burglarized studios These examples come from news reports , but they are typical insurance claim scenarios . The recurring theme you ’ ll notice is : the thieves stole a lot of stuff .
In 2020 , thieves broke into a musician ’ s studio and stole $ 30,000 worth of equipment and instruments , including 13 guitars , a banjo , a cello , and various audio gear . The owner reached out to the community for help identifying the perpetrators .
In 2019 , thieves broke into a music student ’ s home studio and stole $ 65,000 in
56 PROFESSIONAL SOUND equipment . Some of these guitars , banjos , and keyboards he had purchased with his own money , but many had accumulated over the years from Christmas and birthday gifts .
Another burglary occurred at a different studio in 2018 , with $ 50,000 worth of electric guitars stolen . In this case , there was no video footage , no signs of forced entry , and no evidence of what happened to the guitars .
Sound recordist ’ s equipment stolen Thieves don ’ t just burglarize studios . Theft from an unattended vehicle is also very common . For example , following a day of shooting with a production company , a sound recordist ’ s equipment was stolen from the trunk of his car , including a Sound Devices 633 mixer / recorder with both SD and CF cards still inside . He hadn ’ t transferred the files to a separate drive , unfortunately .
Thieves often watch for people loading and unloading gear from a vehicle , and they will follow — and wait — for the owners to leave the vehicle . Theft from an unattended vehicle is so common that most insurance policies will have special conditions related to this kind of loss . It ’ s important to read your policy wording to understand how it responds to theft from a vehicle .
Most insurance carriers will not cover a loss by theft that occurred while covered property was left in an unlocked car . However , this exclusion typically only applies to unlocked vehicles . If the car was locked and there are visible signs of forced entry , the policy typically will respond .
Animal cable chewing – maybe not for insurance Here ’ s an example of damage that an insurance policy is not designed to cover .
Veteran wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson has had various cables and connectors severely damaged by animals on several occasions throughout his career . While on location in Kenya , hyenas bit through his sound equipment cables and even ate some of the connectors .
As annoying as this is , Chris likely never made an insurance claim for any of these losses . Insurance terms and conditions apply to losses on a “ per occurrence ” basis , i . e ., each time an animal chewed through one of Chris ’ s cables , the damage would be considered one “ occurrence ” and the policy deductible would apply . The deductible could be as low as $ 250 , but since it is applied “ per occurrence ,” it would apply each time a cable was chewed , and most cables will cost less than $ 250 to replace . These types of losses are called “ nuisance ” losses , and insurance policies are not intended to cover them .
Insurance is at its best when dealing with large losses , and , as we ’ ve seen from these examples , it is very easy to lose everything all at once .
Grant Patten is VP of Marketing at Front Row Insurance . More information on policies for AV professionals and musicians can be found at digigearinsure . frontrowinsurance . com and musicians . frontrowinsurance . com .
DISCLAIMER : Informational statements regarding insurance coverage are for general description purposes only . These statements do not amend , modify or supplement any insurance policy . Consult the actual policy or your broker for details regarding terms , conditions , coverage , exclusions , products , services and programs which may be available to you . Your eligibility for particular products and services is subject to the final determination of underwriting qualifications and acceptance by the insurance underwriting company providing such products or services . This article does not make any representations that coverage does or does not exist for any particular claim or loss , or type of claim or loss , under any policy . Whether coverage exists or does not exist for any particular claim or loss under any policy depends on the facts and circumstances involved in the claim or loss and all applicable policy wording .