Insuring an expensive audio system has become difficult notwithstanding the new dCS price increases ( no doubt the Benelux prices reported by @Ermos are being reflected elsewhere).
My UK insurer has pulled out f the home contents market and I am looking for an alternative. However most household insurers will not underwrite very costly audio systems or the policies have limits on a maximum insurable single item of only a few thousand pounds. Some companies do offer high value cover but these seem to have been predicated around wealthy lifestyles and my experience is that where underwriters have been interested initially they seem to lose interest when they find out that I havenāt got a swimming pool,yacht or even own designer clothing. Very high premiums are quoted.
Left field but Iāve had success with NFU Mutual insurance in the past insuring kit, plus hi-end bikes and cameras. They often have to insure highly specialist items so maybe worth a try.
My last experience with them was some time ago, if memory serves perhaps 10 years approx.
Hi Pete, I can only speak based on my experience of a recent claim for a Karan preamp damaged by a voltage surge caused by a faulty junction box in the road outside my house.
The preamp was beyond economical repair and was a discontinued model. However, based on a written report provided by my Karan dealer, Direct Line (my household contents insurer) agreed to cover the full cost of replacing the preamp with the current Karan model, value nearly Ā£20k. Our policy wasnāt anything special although Iāve always made it clear to them that I have a high value audio system. The policy does have a limit on personal items of approx Ā£4k but that only covers things that can be taken out of the house e.g. jewellery, electronics etc. The restriction doesnāt apply to my audio system.
My premium did go up the following year but not by much more than the typical recent increases.
Thanks Mark. I will see what they can offer. I expect this will take a little time.
This gives me a chance to ask something that has puzzled me. What is Channel Management? I doubt it means that you head up looking after left or right channels .
Simple answerā¦ Bridging sales and marketing functions to best serve our distribution and retail partners. It can cover a range of different things not covered by those other departments. Example would be creating training materials to help our customers that address specific knowledge areas.
Hope that gives some insight - it can be pretty varied.
I had my contents insurance, including my HiFi system, with them for a few years, until I switched last month to a local entity, which offered marginally better cover for a slightly lower premium.
I can add another suggestion: Aviva. In the same way as Mike Marks outlines, personal āhigh valueā items are only small stuff - jewellery, cameras, watches and so on. There seems to be no separate category for high value items of any other, or arbitrary, type.
I still remember quizzing Aviva when I took out the policy, and we used this example: if my personal belongings consisted of an enormously expensive TV screen and related hardware, plus one deck chair to sit in, Iād be fully covered and would not have to declare the TV as an individual item. The policy wording is consistent with that.
ā¦in some ways the example isnāt far from the truth. Iād rather not think about it.
Iām with RIAS these days who to their credit have been amazing with covering 3 bikes and have detailed specs and values for each. Covered in house, garage, away from home too for a reasonable premium. Some insurers wonāt touch the value I need for them but these guys have been easy to deal with.
Thanks to everyone for your kind suggestions. It looks like I will have a fair number of telephone calls to make over the next few days. I am in the process of making a new schedule of items which takes new prices for replacement into account.
One warning for all is that insurance companies pulling out of home contents is not unique and I have now found friends with similar issues ( albeit not with costly audio). These policies are with big UK insurers so it looks like for some the market may no longer be profitable or resources can be devoted elsewhere.
I have to say hat insurers are not likely to leave everything open ended. I would generally advise to check the fine print of your policy and ensure that the maximum insurable value of a single item exceeds your needs regarding your expensive system or it has been advised to an underwriter and the risk specifically accepted. You may be fortunate but it would be too late to establish this after a theft or fire. NB: Not to be confused with cover given to valuables ( artworks, jewellery etc.).
Are you talking about a ānew for oldā policy, Pete? All the mainstream offerings here in Sweden are ālike for likeā, I am not aware of any company offering ānew for oldā on things like premium audio gear, although @Stockholm1973 may know better.
Hi, AFAIK the policies I have are new for old i.e. the equivalent value of the item is given by the insurer without deductions for wear and tear/depreciation Like for like implies that wear and tear/depreciation is taken into account ( or I donāt properly understand). Example:
I provided an itemised schedule to Hiscox (via my local broker), with the current replacement costs for my entire system (including power cables, interconnects, switch etc.), which constituted the Total Sum Insuredā¦
so, yes, ānew for oldāā¦
albeit with a maximum value any one item (which wasnāt an issue for my system)ā¦
However, some other Insurers have a different approach.
I would recommend taking professional advice from an Insurance broker with the requisite skill set (HNW/Private Client team).
Well I and my broker have tried just about everyone. No takers. I have a single offer but the premium is so high that given there is never any guarantee that the insurer will actually pay out but will take steps to minimise his risk hen if it is regarded as a kind of bet it is not a good one IMO.
As valuable as these things are to us, I donāt really think the average burglar would have an interest as most of these items are quite heavy and bulky, they have no clue what they are and canāt be easily sold.
Joining the discussion a bit late, but I used to use Hiscox and am now covered by NFU.
I tried a couple of brokers (who were able to quote) as well as tried policies designed specifically for high-value items (such as John Lewis) and soon learnt that, once you pass a certain threshold for contents, the price leaps from Ā£100ās a year to Ā£1000ās a year regardless of who you use.
PS Definitely take Jonathanās advice, he knows what heās talking about!
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