Thieves broke into my studio!

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King of Snake
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Post by King of Snake »

Hmmm, checking my insurance, there doesn't seem to be too many "backdoors" really. There is a provision in here that says the maximum payment for audio- video and computer equipment (I guess studio equipment would fall into this category) is 15.000 euro unless you have certain security measures in your house and it is only insured if it's in a permantly inhabited house (which in my case it is)
This doesn't really matter for me since my studio is not nearly worth 15000 euro.

furthermore, the worth of your belongings is based in the new-worth, not the time-corrected worth, unless the time-corrected worth is less than 40% of the new worth. I guess this would vary from item to item.

there doesn't seem to be any provision saying the "pro equipment" is not included in the insurance. The only thing it says is that for company equipment the payment is based on the current value and not the new price. It would be strange, since the insurance is for the total contents of the house, not only for specific items (nor is it just for burglary, but also fire and other damages).
then it the case of damage you have to be insured for the absolute correct value, any deviation upwards or downwards yields a penalty and less refund.
I can't find anything about this in my insurance conditions to be honest. Of course, you have to be able to prove that you actually owned the stuff that was stolen (or destroyed in a fire for instance) and what it's worth so it's a good idea to keep receipts and maybe even take some detailed pictures of your studio and other expensive belongings.
The true value is difficult to fix (let alone measure) so this requires (as was planned...) a dedicated negotiation.
I'm no expert in this domain, but the fee would be more likely 30 Euro/month than per year for an insurance that reliably regulates such a case - the others will have their backdoors and attorneys...
well, I don't see why the true value is difficult to measure. If you have a list of the stuff you own it should be easy enough to calculate it's total worth pretty accurately, be it based on new price or time-corrected price (just look up regular second hand prices). As for dedicated negotiations, I can see how this could be neccesary in the case of very expensive and professional studios. But for a normal home studio I don't see why this would be the case. As far as I can see, I am insured for a total worth of 15.000 and nowhere does it say that an expert should come in and determine this value for you, or that it should be "negotiated". This is just a normal insurance that everyone has and it should reliably cover any damages by theft, fire, water etc...
As for attorneys, why would they need those? Unless they have good reason to suspect you of insurance fraud.

Of course, since I (thankfully) have not needed the insurence yet, I can't speak from personal experience. I'm just reading and interpreting the insurance conditions. (i've looked for fine print but it's not there. Or maybe it's too fine for me too see :wink:)


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: King of Snake on 2005-05-01 05:48 ]</font>
emzee
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Post by emzee »

I was gonna mention that tying your studio insurance to your "Home and Contents" is probably a good idea.....if you can. Best if others add comments if they can.
JoeKa
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Post by JoeKa »

This is the list of gear that was taken:

Adam Hall wheelrack
Quik Lok wheelrack
2x Pyton RK-SL2 (rackmount powerswitches)
Behringer gear:
-Ultrapatch
-Ultrafex II
-Ultragain pro
-Edison
-Multigate
-Multicom
-Virtualizer pro
Alesis DM-pro
Sony DPS-V55m
Sony DPS-V77
Ensoniq Fizmo rack version
Ensoniq DP-pro
Roland JP-8080 (+memory card)
Roland SRV-3030d
Axon AX-100
Creamware A16
Steinberg Midex8
Access Virus A (rackmount backplate)
Grapevine HeadAmp4
Zoom FX 1204
Tascam M-2600 (32/64ch mixer, w/o meterbridge)

So you get an idea of how hard this theft struck me...


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: JoeKa on 2005-05-01 08:32 ]</font>
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astroman
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Post by astroman »

On 2005-05-01 05:48, King of Snake wrote:
...well, I don't see why the true value is difficult to measure.
the (true) value is not only the investment, but also the work contained in patches, presets and interruption of ongoing projects as was mentioned by JoeKa.
But that's of course beyond the scope of the insurance you're talking about - nevertheless in professional environments this can be way more important than the raw material costs.
As far as I can see, I am insured for a total worth of 15.000 ...This is just a normal insurance that everyone has and it should reliably cover any damages by theft, fire, water etc...
then beware - it's exactly those insurances I was talking about.
I really dunno HOW they do it, but I know for shure they HAVE regulated cases with frighteningly low amounts (say 10% of the expected sum), at least here in Germany.

They call it over- and under-insurance and they have strange scales to determine the value of goods, plus they always seem to find circumstances under which exactly this insurance doesn't apply for that item :wink:

let me give you an example (how insurance companies operate):
you probably know the insurance for 'low current devices' like PCs, hifi and other electronic gear, to protect you against damages resulting from the powerline, usually thunderstorms are mentioned in the first place when they (try to) talk you into this.

The fee is ridiculuously low, the usefulness is obvious to everyone and the contracts are often signed right in the shop as a comission deal.
Now you have a thunderstorm in the area, a lightning hits your house, all gear dead - no problem, you'll call your insurance...
They will not pay, because the contract doesn't cover direct hits :razz:
It's that simple: only a very very small percentage of gear dies from 'power spikes' as they may occur during thunderstorms, but 95% of all gear in a house hit directly is permanently damaged.
for any importantant contract, have an attorney check it - us regular folks have no chance in hell :wink:

cheers, Tom


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: astroman on 2005-05-01 16:35 ]</font>
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Zer
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Post by Zer »

I can provide you with the modulizer I bought from you. Well, didn't you play at waldfrieden (audiomatic) the last weekeend?
"Heaven is there where hell is and heaven is not on earth!"
JoeKa
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Post by JoeKa »

lol, nope, that´s a mixup... I´m not active as artist by the name of audiomatic, that´s someone else. it was just my homepage, which was originally meant as booking service for a variety of artists, but it never worked out, so I left it at rest... (for way too long, tho)
I´m gonna bury that homepage some time, just right now I got too much else on my mind, obviously.
hubird

Post by hubird »

Viva Waldfrieden tho :smile:

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: hubird on 2005-05-03 23:31 ]</font>
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Zer
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Post by Zer »

definately a samart place to go - although hai in den mai was a bit overcrowded.
"Heaven is there where hell is and heaven is not on earth!"
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