Music to your ears – Protecting your sound equipment

Whilst spending hundreds of thousands on luxury brands may not be top of your list of priorities, if you’re an audiophile and have the funds to spend a significant amount on high-end sound equipment, chances are you might have built up an expensive amount of kit. But when it comes to protecting your equipment, how can you make sure your home insurance covers it?

Sounding out your insurance

Some standard insurers that offer ‘Unlimited’ or large blanket sums insured i.e., £100k, may also include an inner limit for ‘high risk items’ which could be constraining if their definition of ‘high risk’ includes tech. The contents insurance we source can cover your stereo equipment on a ‘new for old’ basis, with no single item limits or limitations to using certain specific suppliers if it needs to be replaced or repaired.

How much?!

Although perhaps uncommon, you might be an audiophile who owns a high-end music sound system worth around £60k-100k. For example, take one or two amplifiers at £10k – £20k each, floor standing speakers that cost approximately £5k to £45k, and a good quality turntable which could cost around £3k to £5k, and the value soon adds up. Should your home be damaged or destroyed by flood or fire, replacing this equipment can be expensive.

While some music enthusiasts might own stereo systems and related equipment amounting to tens of thousands of pounds, the top end of the market reaches a whole new price level when state-of-the-art technology and (often) precious materials are combined. Amplifiers that cost millions, 24-carat gold speakers, diamond studded headphones and space-age turntables are just some of the products that are on the market – designed for and aimed at the ultra-wealthy music lover. Take the 120,000-watt amplifier (most amplifiers are 20-watt to 100-watt), made by Italian designer Andrea Pivetta and priced at £1.75 million.¹ Or the Hart Audio D&W Aural Pleasure worth over £4 million and encased in solid gold.² Or if ‘bling is your thing’ the Focal Utopia from master jewellers Tournaire featuring 18-carat gold headband detail with 6.5 carats diamonds and costing around £96k might ‘tick all the boxes’.³

You spin me right round…

If you’re a spin doctor and vinyl is your (record) bag, a high-quality turntable can make the difference between scratchy needles and smooth sounds. These days they can be battery powered, feature liquid suspension designed by a NASA space engineer (no more jumping needle), covered in 24-carat gold plating, and feature a touchscreen remote control.

Even if you simply enjoy listening to your favourite playlist in your home, a wired music system throughout the whole house could cost you up to around £5k, which can add to your overall sums insured. ⁴ Should your home be damaged or destroyed by flood or fire, replacing the whole-home wired audio system can be costly!

Making sure your home insurance is up-to-date and current can be the difference between reliable cover or issues should you need to make a claim. It is important to understand how your specific insurance policy treats certain items such as high value stereo equipment, and whether your existing policy provides sufficient cover.

If you would like a review of your contents cover or need to update any aspect of your policy, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Alternatively, email us at:

m.brown@lloydwhyte.com

What matters to you, matters to us

1. https://www.whathifi.com/features/10-worlds-most-expensive-stereo-amplifiers#:~:text=Pivetta%20Opera%20Only%20%2D%20%242.2m&text=Italian%20designer%20Andrea%20Pivetta’s%20ludicrous,give%20you%20much%20better%20sound
2. https://www.whathifi.com/features/11-worlds-most-expensive-loudspeakers
3. https://www.whathifi.com/news/focal-utopia-tournaire-are-worlds-most-expensive-headphones
4. https://www.checkatrade.com/blog/cost-guides/multiroom-audio-system-cost/

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