David,
Insuring musical equipment is usually expensive.. This is due to the perception on the insurance companies part that musicians are flakes, shiftless and generally not trustworthy. Add to that, most musical gear is easy to sell to second parties and is small and can be taken without a lot of effort or risk of detection.. They consider it a bad risk and you will usually pay about 30% of the value per year in premiums.

The best way to do what you want to do is get a renters policy and include your musical gear on it. Many times this will cover your stuff even in your car. I had a '65 telecaster stolen from my van once while Treena and I were in a restaurant eating. I wrote it off as a loss but when I was renewing my auto insurance a few weeks later, I mentioned it to my agent and she said, "well you have homeowners insurance, that covers your loss." Fortunately, I had filed a Police report!!! :D

Renters insurance is the same thing but for people who rent not own.. Long story short, I went to a guitar store, got a written estimate for my stolen tele and was paid $2000 for the loss. Kurt

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Nope never used it! Never heard it! I don't know nothin' about it.. It could be the best thing since sliced bacon! (really!) :D

Man, I don't know how many times i've said this to you, but here's one more: thanks! Not that this has anything to do with recording, but what would be the first step in shopping for renter's insurance?

David,
AAA, Farmers, or Allstate, any of the major agencies should be able to help you.. Look in the yellow pages for auto and home insurance.. It should be easy to find ... K.

Thanks (again) Kurt!

David,
Dont mention it! Your welcome.. K.

Some renter's and homeowner's insurance won't cover musical equip that is used professionally, ie; to make money. So read the fine print and be up front about how you use your gear. I have a policy that I obtained through the musicians union. Its good full replacement coverage for my studio gear and anything that may be on the road. The annual premium is currently about 10% of the coverage. I've got good peace of mind and of course I deduct the annual premium from my taxes :)

drbam

I ran into the same issue drbam mentioned when I insured my gear (about $5000 worth at home). As soon as I mentioned that I sometimes use it semi-professionally (read: get paid a very little bit occasonially), the agent threw a brick wall up, but we were able to establish that it is mainly for personal use, allowing it to be covered under my renter's policy. In fact, this company (one of the big boys, not budget insurance) said flat out they don't even touch recording studios/equipment in the professional realm. I didn't press any further, so I don't know what options are out there and what the premium/value ratio is for covering equipment used professionally, but be aware that it'll cost significantly more to cover it professionally.