I phoned Hencilla Canworth this morning and it turns out they no longer insure software dongles. They were the only ones I knew who ever did, so what's a guy to do?

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Composer;
www.ogonline.org

Just got a policy with Allianz called Classic Play as Hencilla needed me to fit a monitored alarm (costing around £250 a year on top of the premium). I have my stuff listed separately but it also covers "unspecified musical accessories" up to a single claim value of £500. This policy was about £100 more though per year, but it is still a saving on the total cost of my previous renewal.

Might be worth investing further.

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http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale

Hi Richie. Did you go direct to Allianz or through a broker? Did you tell them specifically about any dongles or will they just not ask questions if you claim? Would be interesting to know if they do change their stance when they know there's dongles.

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Composer;
www.ogonline.org

I went via Victor C Knight. I've not made any enquiries about dongles as I have only got Cubase, rather than an Ilok, so that is my only licence.

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http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale

Oh I see.

I spoke to a broker friend the other day and he suggested finding a broker that deals through Lloyds as an underwriter, as they're more likely to cover dongles. I guess I'll go check them out.

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Composer;
www.ogonline.org

That's exactly what I do. Any new gear, doesn't really matter what it is, I tell my broker. It gets added to the inventory, I specify if it is likely to travel or stay at home, or spend time in our storage unit, suggest a value and its done. Not the cheapest way but very reassuring. On the few occasions I have needed to claim the underwriter has always coughed up without complaint. Its within our overall household insurance and I know the broker pretty well. Anything from paintings to my dumb phone. Even last week when we moved house, he said don't worry about the removal company's insurance, you're covered. The premium gets adjusted (upwards) every year as more stuff gets added but we do feel that we are insured. I think its true to say the closer you are to the underwriter the less the small print matters, so long as you are not taking liberties. Also, because the policy covers almost everything we need to insure except travel, health and our car it means there is less likely to be a quibble about which policy/insurance company is liable to meet the claim. This is where brokers make their money and add their value.

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