Appraisal of MBU instruments? Insurance question...

Tonya

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I need some advice: I have two Moore Bettah Ukuleles. One from 2013, one from 2015. Both (as you can imagine) make my heart beat faster. I even love they way they smell...but I digress...

I put my first MBU on my homeowners insurance policy when I first got it, along with a fiddle (a momentary passion), a LoPrinzi ukulele (my "first" uke) and a Taylor travel guitar (still not a lot of love for it, but I keep thinking I'll do something with some slack key materials I have...).

The policy has no deductible and it covers anything that happens to 'em, whether I'm traveling or at home (theft, damage, etc.). Policy covers the full amount of the stated value, up to the amount they're each listed for. No depreciation, etc.

I "set" the value of all of the instruments as full covered cost and State Farm seems to increase it annually based on the consumer price index.

With the most recent 2015 MBU purchase, I bumped up the cost of the covered amount *over* the amount of the receipt from Chuck. My reasoning was that it'd be darn hard to simply "replace" an MBU (evidence: look at the impossible-to-get-on wait list) at a later date and it'd cost me more to do so.

Underwriting demanded a copy of the receipt and I passed it along. Underwriting then said they'll only insure for the amount of the receipt. If I want it higher, I should get it appraised.

So, here's where your part comes in:

--Should I pay to have it appraised or just keep the insurance rider policy for the 2015 MBU at the value of the receipt?

--Whom would you suggest for an appraisal? Would I need to do it "in person," do you think? I'm not really in a big area for ukuleles here...

--Any other tips?
 
Both of my Moore Bettahs are insured as well, but I only opted to cover the purchase price from the receipt. I know they are probably worth more than that if appraised, or at least the inlayed one would be, but I figured no amount of money would ever really replace them for me if they were lost or damaged.

I would ask the insurance company who they would accept for an appraisal, be that Chuck, one of his dealers, documented past sales, etc. Maybe if not Chuck then I would see if Shawn from Ukulele Friend, or Andrew from Hawaii Music Supply, would be considered experts in the field as they have sold a lot of Moore Bettahs.

Best of luck to you and keep us informed, I would be curious to see what you decide to do. :)
 
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Aloha Tonya,
Tell them the insurance to call chuck for an appraisal if youre going on market prices rather than purchase price.
 
You might ask Andrew at HMS or Shawn at ukulele friend what it would cost to buy a MB on the retail/resale market.
 
Good question. I have an insurance rider on my Moore Bettah. It covers the purchase price from 2010. God forbid anything happen to it. But if it did and I was lucky enough to be able to have Chuck build me a new one, I'm sure the insurance wouldn't cover it in today's prices.
 
I have mine insured for purchase price. I'm not sure insurance would cover true replacement price (or that we could replace a MB). I'll be watching this thread to see if anyone in the know can inform us of if this is possible.
 
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