Question
My musical equipment stolen from friend's house covered by insurance
If my musical equipment like guitars amplifiers and PA system is stolen from friends house is it covered by his insurance? I have a lot of musical equipment. I play in a hobby band. We don't make any money. We practice weekly in my friends garage he also plays in the band. If any or all of my equipment get stolen from his garage does his home owners insurance cover my stuff?
Answer
This can be tricky. From my experience, most home insurance policies will cover stolen property even if it's not the property of the named insured (your friend) but I would consult their policy declarations page to be sure. The tricky thing has to do with the value of the assets. If your musical equipment is very valuable, you might want to think about what's called an musical instrument endorsement. Basically, this will extend the coverage limit for your musical equipment in event the total loss sum is greater than the coverage limit. For example, your musical equipment is worth $15,000 but your friend's personal property coverage limit is $10,000. You can be left in a situation where you've maxed out the coverage. In order to get this additional coverage, your friend would have to add it to his policy. If your friend does not want to do this, I recommend looking into specific coverage for your instruments. Renters/home insurance does provide coverage worldwide (meaning your coverage could help in the event it is stolen away from your property) but you might have less coverage. For more information regarding renters and home insurance, follow the links! However, my best advice is to contact your friend's insurance company or review the policy declarations page.