Canadian Musician - September/October 2020 | Page 10

INDIE
INSIDER
INSURE YOUR GEAR
Unfortunate Examples of Instrument Damage
By Grant Patten
As customers protect their
an insurance brokerage,
we’re of course interested
in helping our musician
instruments, thereby avoiding the need
for any claims. Let’s take a look at some
cases of musical instrument damage that
have received media attention recently.
We will then offer some speculation as to
how each musician may have avoided the
instrument damage.
Angela Hewitt’s Smashed Piano
(2020)
Renowned Canadian classical pianist
Angela Hewitt posted in February 2020
about an unfortunate incident involving
her US$194,000 Fazioli grand piano. Movers
had accidentally dropped the piano
during a move, causing extensive damage
to the instrument, including breaking the
iron frame. Fazioli inspected the damage
and informed Hewitt that the piano was,
unfortunately, not salvageable.
It seems that this was an honest
mistake by the movers, who were trying
to place the piano on a trolley when it
slipped. The best that can be done here
is to vet a moving company and ensure
that they have a record of accomplishment
with moving similar pianos – but
sometimes, even if the track record is solid,
mistakes can happen.
The Global News article mentions
that Hewitt is “waiting for insurance to
address the accident,” so it seems that the
instrument was indeed insured. Let’s hope
Hewitt’s policy includes coverage for full
replacement cost or agreed value of the
piano.
Musician’s Guitar Broken on a
Flight (2019)
CBC reported in 2019 about a Canadian
musician whose guitar was broken on an
Air Canada flight from
Toronto to L.A. Air Canada
refused to reimburse
for the damage,
arguing that the musician
hadn’t properly
loosened his guitar’s
strings and, therefore,
air pressure on the
flight caused the damage.
This explanation is
dubious at best and at
least one guitar technician
believes the kind
of damage sustained
to this guitar could not
have been created by
air pressure alone.
However, something that this musician
could have perhaps done better is
use a specialized flight case for his guitar
rather than a soft case. Hard-bodied flight
cases are designed specifically for flying
instruments. Look for phrases in the product
description such as “ATA” (Air Transport
Association), “ATA approved,” “ATA flight
case,” etc. When in one of these cases, it is
much less likely (though not impossible)
that an instrument will sustain damage.
ANGELA HEWITT PLAYING HER NOW-
WRECKED $194,000 FAZIOLI GRAND PIANO
Musician’s Guitar Damaged by
Forklift (2018)
In 2018, another case of Air Canada
damaging an instrument occurred when
the airline’s forklift operators managed
to poke a large hole in a PEI musician’s
vintage guitar. Air Canada informed him
that the airline could replace the case only
– not the instrument. A specialized instrument
insurance policy will cover replacement
cost of the instrument.
Some airlines now allow instruments
as big as guitars to be taken on
as carry-on luggage. This is the preferred
transportation method when possible.
When carry-on isn’t available, musicians
may consider paying for an additional
airline seat for their instrument. It won’t be
cheap, but it more or less guarantees that
the instrument will remain safe.
Consider Musical Instrument
Insurance
It is a common misconception that musical
instruments are covered under homeowners’
insurance policies. The reality is
that if musicians perform for money, the
instruments used in those performances
will then be considered commercial
equipment and therefore won’t be covered
under any home policy.
Grant Patten is VP of Marketing at Front Row
Insurance. Grant has an insurance marketing
background with roughly six years of experience
at CSIO, where he did much marketing
communications work for the organization.
He has been with Front Row since 2019.
Grant holds a bachelor’s degree in Film
Studies (Ryerson University) and a master’s
degree in Information Studies (University of
Toronto). He is also a Project Management
Professional (PMP).
PHOTO: KEITH SAUNDERS
10 CANADIAN MUSICIAN