Moving Insurance

[Jerry]

I will be moving cross country.

When using a full-service national moving company, what kind of instrument insurance would you recommend and for what value?

I have 3 Schilke trumpets (Bb, C, & picc) all purchased new, a used Olds flugelhorn, and various protective cases. If I don't sell it before the move, I'll also have a Kanstul 991, also purchased new. All of my stuff is in pristine condition.

Thanks.

[JayKosta]

Instead of having a large 'moving company' do those items, you might check at local UPS or FEDEX stores about their fees for packing and insuring. If you have the shipper responsible for packing, that can help in case there needs to be a claim.
And take lots of good pictures of the instruments, and record all model and serial numbers.
I wouldn't have accessories in the case (no mpc, mutes, etc. - nothing that could rattle around).
_________________
Most Important Note ? - the next one !
KNOW (see) what the next note is BEFORE you have to play it.
PLAY the next note 'on time' and 'in rhythm'.
Oh ya, watch the conductor - they set what is 'on time'.

[Halflip]

How are you yourself getting to your new location? If you are driving, I'd recommend taking the horns along with you. There should be enough space in your vehicle for 5 horns plus some cases.

Even if you take them with you, I would pack some crumpled newspaper around the horns in their cases so that they can't rattle around in transit. I was once shipped a horn loose in its case, and a harsh impact in transit caused the valve block to distort enough to freeze all the pistons.
_________________
"He that plays the King shall be welcome . . . " (Hamlet Act II, Scene 2, Line 1416)

"He had no concept of the instrument. He was blowing into it." -- Virgil Starkwell's cello teacher in "Take the Money and Run"

[kehaulani]

Regardless of how you ship them, I would definitely insure them with a musical-instrument specific insurer. I don't want insurance agents who are unfamiliar with musical instruments, evaluating the condition or worth of my instruments, which you probably get with a general household insurer. Check out Clarion, Huntington T. Block and Anderson Musical Instrument Insurance Solutions. (I used Clarion.)
_________________
"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

Yamaha 8310Z Bobby Shew trumpet
Benge 3X Trumpet
Benge 3X Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn

[Halflip]

[JayKosta]

[dstpt]

If you do ship them, you can buy some Fra-jee-lé (Fragile) stickers from Amazon and put them on all six sides of each box. Since I started doing this a few years ago on horns sold, I have not had a problem. Maybe that's why, maybe not...but it's a cheap addition.

[btomcik]

I've moved between states several times, and have always brought my horns with me. Now, I've driven each time so I had the room to bring them along in the car; if you're flying that might be a different story. But nonetheless, my horns are all insured under a personal articles rider to my homeowner's insurance.
_________________
Kanstul 1600 Bb
XO 1624 C
Getzen Renaissance 30 C
XO 1700 Bb/A picc
"Hit it hard, and wish it well." - CG

[Jerry]

Thanks to all for the suggestions. I like the idea of checking with Clarion, Huntington T. Block and Anderson Musical Instrument Insurance Solutions to inquire about their offerings.

I'm moving from the west coast to the east coast, essentially putting all of my worldly possession in a moving van. My car is going to be shipped cross country on a car carrier. My wife and I will be traveling via Southwest Airlines.

Thanks again to all responders!

[btomcik]

[kehaulani]

Jay. Wow! What brought that on? The insurers I mentioned are very honest and reliable. And, yes, I personally made a couple of claims with Clarion and they took care of business to my satisfaction straight away. That's their job.
_________________
"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

Yamaha 8310Z Bobby Shew trumpet
Benge 3X Trumpet
Benge 3X Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn

[Brassnose]

I’ve been successful with putting labels on the box saying: „fragile - honey - do not drop!“

It seems like no one wants honey all over his moving/postal/whatever truck and as a result the DO handle the package with care.

Some pro packaging advice can be found here, but you probably know that: https://www.eppstore-instruments.de/Versand
_________________
2019 Martin Schmidt eXcellence
1992 Bach 43GH/43
1989 Kühnl & Hoyer Model 15 flugel
1980/2023 Custom Blessing Scholastic C 😎
1977 Conn 6B
1951 Buescher 400 Lightweight
AR Resonance, Frate, Klier

[kehaulani]

If you say „fragile - honey - do not drop!“ in the American South, the package handler may think you're addressing them.
_________________
"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

Yamaha 8310Z Bobby Shew trumpet
Benge 3X Trumpet
Benge 3X Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn

[stuartissimo]

Insurance is sensible, but if the instrument itself is irreplacable then getting some money back isn’t gonna do much good imho. You may want to consider bringing the one most dear to you with you on the plane instead. Otherwise, investing in some heavy duty protective packaging may also be wise.

Anyway, good luck with your move and safe travels.
_________________
1975 Olds Recording trumpet
1997 Getzen 700SP trumpet
1955 Olds Super cornet
1939 Buescher 280 flugelhorn
AR Resonance mouthpieces

[Brassnose]

„If you say „fragile - honey - do not drop!“ in the American South, the package handler may think you're addressing them.“



Honestly, I didn’t think of this In German (at least I hope so …), no one would say „Honig“ to his SO

There is only the „Honigkuchenpferd“ but that’s yet another story.
_________________
2019 Martin Schmidt eXcellence
1992 Bach 43GH/43
1989 Kühnl & Hoyer Model 15 flugel
1980/2023 Custom Blessing Scholastic C 😎
1977 Conn 6B
1951 Buescher 400 Lightweight
AR Resonance, Frate, Klier

[JayKosta]

[kehaulani]

"Did your claims involve a shipping company? If so, please tell me about how it was handled."

Ah, I'm not going to go into all the details. The instruments were shipped by third parties. They were appraised and specifically insured by Criterion before hand and Criterion settled quickly and painlessly.
_________________
"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

Yamaha 8310Z Bobby Shew trumpet
Benge 3X Trumpet
Benge 3X Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn

[JayKosta]

[Matt6VZ]

When I relocated last year, I faced a similar dilemma with valuable items. I found threemovers.com super helpful in navigating the process. As for insurance, considering the value and condition of your instruments, opting for comprehensive coverage might give you peace of mind. Better safe than sorry, right?