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Hi everyone,

I bought a Kawai GX-5 (LOVE IT) for $30k a couple of years ago and insured it with a separate policy through my regular home owner's insurance. My technician mentioned that the cost of replacement for the instrument is likely to run considerably higher and even though I bought it at a lower price, he thought it should be insured at the MSRP. He wrote a formal appraisal in writing with his credentials attached. My insurance company is bulking and saying they won't insure for anything higher than the sale price despite his appraisal.

So two questions. Is this scenario normal? I know dealers regularly discount from MSRP but wasn't sure how much people would value them when it comes to insurance.

Secondly, are there any good or recommended companies for insuring a piano? I've seen some mention State Farm or Heritage on these forums but those threads were years ago. My intent is to keep this one forever, but I want to make sure it could be replaced if anything happened.

If you have replacement cost on your homeowner's policy, it will cover the cost of buying a replacement piano of the same model, or like model if it's no longer made. Not sure if there is a max on an individual item, but I know my piano is covered because I asked.

I use Clarion Instrument Insurance. Check them out.

The personal property portion of homeowner's insurance typically has limitations as to the dollar value of specific items, which can include things like artwork, musical instruments, firearms, jewelry, etc. More expensive pianos can eclipse this amount, which is why some folks choose to list them separately. Those who teach, concertize professionally, or otherwise use their pianos for business purposes should definitely explore their options very carefully.

I have recommended Heritage Musical Instrument Insurance for many years. I have no affiliation with them, but the ease of dealing with them after a claim sold me many years ago.

By the way, dealing with damaged pianos is a very big part of my business and I have clients send me their fire, water, and smoke damaged instruments in the hope of restoring them from great distances.

They are not the only company that offers these types of services, of course. There are others that may be just fine, but they are the only one I will actively recommend.

My 2 cents,

Thanks for the recommendation.

My piano (in Australia) is insured for about 46% more than I bought it for - due to inflation and price rises since I bought it 7 yrs or so ago. It's insured for replacement value, and I submitted the valuation to my home insurance and they accepted it.

Thank you all for your replies! I will check out Heritage and a couple others as well. It's so helpful to know I can and should insure it for replacement value.

Just wanted to follow up in case anyone else is looking. I ended up contacting Heritage and by the end of the day I had a policy that covered the full replacement value of my piano. They were very easy to work with and the yearly price was very reasonable. Again, I appreciate the responses!

Thanks for the followup because your post encouraged me to have my Shigeru insured outside my home insurance policy. Who appraised the price of your piano? I also bought mine for significantly less than its replacement value.

How much are you guys paying. Through homeowners insurance I pay a little over $5 per $1000/year.

I thought some homeowners insurance limits how much the policy would cover replacement costs. Does your policy cover the entire replacement cost or do you have a rider?

Mine ended up at about $4.50 per $1,000. Separate policy through the same insurer as my homeowners insurance.

I worded that wrong. Through the same company that provides home owner insurance but a separate policy.

Nice to see that we are in the same ballpark Jethro

Yes, my homeowner insurance capped at at 20% above the actual sale price, even with a separate 'valuable item' policy. My local piano tech (who is amazing) provided me the replacement value in writing, and insurance was around $4 (US)/$1000/year.

Just hypothetically, if you purchase replacement value insurance for a pre-owned piano purchased for 20,000 with the replacement value (new piano) at 80,000, is the premium based on the 20K or the 80K valuation???

My premium is based on the replacement value of a "new" piano.

Thx

Mine too

How would they determine the "new" value of a 20 year old piano?

I had to give them a receipt of when I bought my piano. I do expect to get that back and not the new value which is considerably more.