RigVerseValuation · 7 min read
How to value your gear and prepare an insurance report
Standard home contents insurance usually caps individual items well below what a working musician's instruments are worth, and settles disputes using whatever evidence you can produce afterwards. A current valuation and an itemised report are what turn a claim from an argument into a formality.
Request a valuation
- Open Valuation and choose an item from your vault.
- Add condition details — including anything visible in the photographs, and the things a photograph cannot show.
- Submit the request. The item moves into your valued items once an estimated value comes back.
What actually moves the number
Originality
On vintage instruments, original parts dominate value. A 1965 guitar with replaced tuners and a refinish can be worth a fraction of an all-original example of the same year. Record what has been changed, even when it improved the instrument to play.
Documented provenance
Receipts, service records, and previous appraisals raise both the value and the credibility of the claim. Photographs of the serial number tie the paperwork to the specific instrument.
Condition, in specifics
"Good condition" tells a valuer nothing. Fret wear, buckle rash, finish checking, neck relief, whether the electronics are original and working — those specifics are what separate a defensible number from a guess.
Work the two flags
Items show as Needs valuation when they have never been assessed, and Needs refresh when an existing figure has aged. Your portfolio total is only as reliable as the oldest number inside it.
Work the Needs valuation list first — an unvalued item contributes nothing at all to your total. Then refresh anything where the market has moved.
Generate the insurance report
The insurance report collects your valued items into a single document you can hand to an insurer or broker. It is the artefact you hope never to need and will be very glad to have.
Generate a fresh one after any significant change: a new acquisition, a sale, or a batch of refreshed valuations. An out-of-date report is worse than none, because it invites an argument about what was actually covered.
Talking to an insurer
Ask specifically whether instruments are covered away from the home, and whether they are covered while being used professionally — many standard policies exclude both, which is exactly when instruments actually get damaged or stolen.
Ask whether cover is on an agreed-value or indemnity basis. Agreed value pays the documented figure; indemnity pays what the insurer thinks it was worth on the day, which is where a current, itemised valuation earns its keep.
Common questions
How do I insure my musical instruments?
Start with an itemised inventory and current valuations, then ask your insurer whether instruments are covered away from home and during professional use — standard contents policies often exclude both. Ask whether cover is agreed-value or indemnity; agreed value pays the documented figure and depends on having a current valuation on file.
How often should instruments be revalued?
Whenever an item is flagged as needing a refresh, and always after buying, selling or having significant work done. Vintage and discontinued instruments move fastest. A valuation more than a few years old is unlikely to reflect what the item would cost to replace today.
What makes a valuation credible to an insurer?
Specificity and evidence: full brand and model, serial number, photographs including the serial, honest condition detail, and any receipts or service history. Vague descriptions and round numbers are what get claims reduced.