Insurance for Record Collection /Hifi

[Mr Onion]

Just had the renewal notice for the Home Insurance from Aviva, my current insurer

Unlimited buildings and contents, HiFi is NOT classed as a valuable (confirmed by phone and email) Accidental damage, legal and Home Emergency included

Usual excesses

£1-75 LESS than last year

[Wenge1]

Just had the renewal notice for the Home Insurance from Aviva, my current insurer

Unlimited buildings and contents, HiFi is NOT classed as a valuable (confirmed by phone and email) Accidental damage, legal and Home Emergency included

Usual excesses

£1-75 LESS than last year

How much mate?

[Mr Onion]

£382.37 for everything.

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[Wenge1]

£382.37 for everything.

Thanks James .......

[evil_C]

£382.37 for everything.

Thanks James .......

We went with Aviva in the end last year because they were cheaper than our previous insurer. However, I really drilled down on the accidental damage quote and asked if, for instance, they would uphold new for old replacement if I happened to catch a cantilever on a duster (a common occurrence, but something which I exercise caution to avoid). I was told that damage during cleaning is not covered. That’s worth bearing in mind if you had to make such a claim - you’ll probably find that you caught it on your sleeve instead.

[Mr Onion]

IIRC a lot of Insurance Companies exclude damage while cleaning due to the 'was it being cleaned in the correct manner' question

[Wenge1]

£382.37 for everything.

Thanks James .......

We went with Aviva in the end last year because they were cheaper than our previous insurer. However, I really drilled down on the accidental damage quote and asked if, for instance, they would uphold new for old replacement if I happened to catch a cantilever on a duster (a common occurrence, but something which I exercise caution to avoid). I was told that damage during cleaning is not covered. That’s worth bearing in mind if you had to make such a claim - you’ll probably find that you caught it on your sleeve instead.

Good to know ........

[Billz]

Lost most of my Linn gear, TV, SKY box, NAS, etc in a lightening strike back in 2018. The NFU replaced everything, like for like, with no problems. Highly recommend them.

[Nestor Turton]

I’m with Hoskins - they are aware of my music collection and I am as sure as I can be its covered.
I hope I never have to use the insurance because I am not sure it would be possible to replace some of my LPs.
There are some silly prices quoted on well known sites for others

[DiggyGun]

I used to be with Lloyds Bank Insurance as they had unlimited cover for contents and building, but did have a limit of £6k for general individual items. Valuable items were listed separately but didn’t include Hi-Fi.

Last year at renewal they were pleased to announce that they’d improved their cover and it was less money. They now offered three levels of cover, Bronze, Silver and Gold. Based on my previous cover, they offered me Gold, but the maximum cover was now £250k for contents and buildings. Plus a limit of £3k for general individual items. As advised though, the premium was significantly less.

Rang them up to discuss and they would not alter the cover, you could go down to Silver, but that was all.

Rang round a few providers and ended up going with Hiscox in the end. Their cover was unlimited and the limit for individual items was £15k. Valuables again listed separately. They also covered electric bikes up to £3.5, which was fine for Mrs DGs bike, but mine was insured with a specialist bike insurance company as was £5.3k. Their premium was more than Lloyds were asking for their new policy, but less than we were paying previously, so worked out OK in the end.

However, had to make some changes during the year as Mrs DG got a similar bike to me. Spoke to Hiscox and they couldn’t increase the bike cover, but did have a sister company specialising in bike insurance, so gave them a ring. The quote they gave me for two bikes was less than I was paying for my bike. So changed to them for both and cancelled the other bike insurance.

Finally, when I got the Linn Selekt DSM; Edition Hub with its bits and bobs, it was over the £15k individual limit. Rang them up to discuss and they added it on immediately, with no extra cost. In fact the amended policy came through whilst I was still talking to them on the phone.

One thing to check with your insurance cover is the individual limit cost of general items. Valuable items are usually specifically listed and you pay extra for them. However, check the small print in your cover, as often it is buried, but a lot of them do have a low limit on individual general items, usually around £3k as I have found out.

[Coyote Jim]

@Diggygun

but the maximum cover was now £250k for contents and buildings.

That is a very poor level of cover.
I’m with Direct Line and just the buildings part of the policy covers more than 1 million pounds.
Might be worth a quote.

[entdgc]

Agreed £250k for BUILDINGS is very low. The value of the majority of properties in the UK would be higher than this - but admittedly this will be the cost to rebuild so will be less than market value.

[Nestor Turton]

I was advised an insurance company would only pay for my cottage to be rebuilt if it burned down. Nonetheless my limit is far more than the cost of a rebuild. House prices are far too high in any case. If I sold mine then I’d have to pay an inflated price to get one like it. Still it’s a good thing prices are on the way down - I wonder if the price of hifi will drop.

If there is a limit on a specific item in the contents insurance and you have an LP12 then is it the price of a new one you have to consider. Also is the LP12 multiple items basic deck, karousel, keel, radikal, urika, ekos etc? I have a Naim Fraim and the current price seems crazy to me, it’s more than double so how does that work when assessing how much to insure for?

[DiggyGun]

@Diggygun

but the maximum cover was now £250k for contents and buildings.

That is a very poor level of cover.
I’m with Direct Line and just the buildings part of the policy covers more than 1 million pounds.
Might be worth a quote.

That’s why I changed to Hiscox, their cover being unlimited for contents and buildings.

[Coyote Jim]

@Diggygun

but the maximum cover was now £250k for contents and buildings.

That is a very poor level of cover.
I’m with Direct Line and just the buildings part of the policy covers more than 1 million pounds.
Might be worth a quote.

That’s why I changed to Hiscox, their cover being unlimited for contents and buildings.

[evil_C]

Sorry to open this one up again, but I’m having great difficulty finding anyone who’ll insure us. The problem is not just house and contents (they’re more concerned about the record collection than the stereo and we don’t have any valuable jewellery etc.), but that at the moment we’re having some building works done. That seems to be the reason everyone is declining. Has anyone here been able to get house and contents insurance at a time when they’ve been doing building works on their home? If so I’d welcome any tips or ideas. Thanks.

[Mr Onion]

I would have thought that this would be the ideal time to get a broker involved.

[evil_C]

I would have thought that this would be the ideal time to get a broker involved.

Even brokers are finding it difficult. One has found buildings cover which will include the new building works, but they won’t include house contents. Then we can’t find an exclusive contents policy. It’s quite frustrating. We were with Aviva, but they have a limit on the cost of the building works, which is about half of what we need.

[Mr Onion]

Damn! Have you tried Adrien Flux? They were helpful with the car insurance although I haven't used them for the house

[DiggyGun]

I changed my insurance cover last year as, my then present insurer, had a maximum of £3000 per single item. Given the cost of most of kit can be over this, I found that I was underinsured.

I moved over to Hiscox who had a maximum of £15000 per single item.

[solanum]

I worry about the record collection and hifi with insurance too. Here in Australia, the insurance companies usually state that a 'collection' is items that are worth more together than separately. A record collection is typically the opposite of this and I am told that although there is a per item limit for them, so long as the average price is below this I am basically OK. Based on Discogs, my records are worth about AU$40k (middle price, upper price is double that). It's unlikely (but not impossible) they will be stolen, total loss is more likely from a bushfire. If that happens, I guess they won't be my biggest concern.

Likewise with the hifi (individual items limited to $15k max, which should be OK for new replacements of my separates, so long as they don't count them as a 'set'), I hope I never have to test out the claims of the salespeople that I am OK with what I have though...