Pianotech

  • 1.  Recommendations for liability insurance company?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 01-25-2018 15:14
    I'm wondering if people have any recommendations for insurance companies that provide basic liability insurance for piano technicians. The company currently recommended on the PTG website (PLC Insurance) has a policy geared towards piano technicians and movers, but the minimum cost of their most basic policy is currently $500.00 per year in my state. This seems excessive to me with a cost comparable to my auto insurance. (I'm far more likely to cause serious damage or injury zooming around at 60 mph in a two thousand pound machine than I am by tuning pianos. I don't do any moving, transporting, tilting or the like.)  Who's your insurance company and how much do they charge you?

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    Anthony Willey
    Shoreline WA
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  • 2.  RE: Recommendations for liability insurance company?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 01-27-2018 23:51
    Hmm. Nobody? Does everybody just have the same insurance company?

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    Anthony Willey
    Shoreline WA
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Recommendations for liability insurance company?

    Posted 01-28-2018 06:23
    I would be interested in hearing comments and/or recommendations on this topic as well. Thanks for putting this question out there, Anthony.

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    Jonathan (Jon) Ball
    Wilbraham Massachusetts
    [413-364-3694]
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Recommendations for liability insurance company?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 01-28-2018 12:32
    PLC doesn't have a license to sell insurance in Hawaii. So I had to go to local insurance company which put together a package similar to what PLC has. The policy costs me $1000 a year.  I needed it to work for a moving company when I did moving damage for the military. I don't like paying it, but with I need it.

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    Willem "Wim" Blees, RPT
    Mililani, HI 96789
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Recommendations for liability insurance company?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 01-28-2018 07:14
    I inquired many years ago to my home owners insurance person and a client who handles insurance for a regional bank. Both said PLC offers a very competitive rate. The client who handles insurance for the regional banks said she couldn't touch that price.
    My experience with PLC has been very pleasant over the years. No I have never had to make a claim, but compared to home and auto, their rates do not escalate in the same fashion.

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    -Phil Bondi
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Recommendations for liability insurance company?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 01-29-2018 19:17
    Thank you all for sharing. I wanted to follow up with my own ongoing search. I had posted here after reaching dead end after dead end and having insurance agents tell me that it's a niche market and their company can't do anything for me. Then I got an email yesterday through the PianoTech system from a member who said they had PLC at $400/yr until about 4 years ago when they switched to a policy with Farmers for the same cost. I immediately called Farmers who (to my surprise) knew what a piano tuner was and offered me an annual premium of $506 that included a lot of extra coverage that I didn't need but that they couldn't remove from their general business-owners policy. I also stumbled onto Allstate's website that (again surprise) had "Piano Tuner" listed as a category under "home services" or something like that. I did the online quote and it came back as $400, so I called the agent and with some tweaks and discounts he got it down into the low $300s. (The agent was actually surprised that they did piano tuners and initially told me over the phone that they'd probably have to go through a partner company which would cost about $1000.)  I still need to look through the policy and I don't expect it to be quite as tailored as PLC but it does include the general liability that I was looking for. I should probably also clarify that I have nothing against PLC and I like the fact that they made a special policy specifically for piano technicians and movers, but I'm also glad to discover that there is not a complete monopoly.

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    Anthony Willey
    Shoreline WA
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Recommendations for liability insurance company?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 01-30-2018 06:42
    $500 is cheap.  Before PTG started making insurance available I had to go through a local insurance agent.  I had to report monthly inventory, shop projects, tools, etc.  The cost was between $1200-$1500 per year.  I now pay $749 per year through PLC based on my specific situation.

    I am happy.  Comparing apples to apples is more important than comparing apple to oranges.


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    Tim Coates
    Sioux Falls SD
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    Original Message