insuring Mosaic's?

[tranemonk]

Here's a question that I've been perplexed on for a while... My wife and I own a house and when we signed up for our homeowner's insurance I wanted extra protection for my jazz CD collection... (Quite large... with many Mosaics) and the insurance guy said he couldn't do a specific line item for my CD's. I explained and said that there's a lot of OOP stuff, records only released overseas, Mosaics, etc... He still couldn't/wouldn't do it.

Does anyone actually have any insurance on their collections, esp. Mosaics????

Any suggestions???

thanks!

[couw]

you may want to check/chime in on this recent thread:

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=16244

[garthsj]

I had a similar experience when I tried to insure my 8,000+ LPs many years ago (before I sold the entire collection). If I wanted to insure them, I had to create a separate policy, and some insurance companies I contacted wanted me to list each album, and its value! I finally convinced my long-time insurance man (State Farm) to just increase the value of the contents portion of my basic homeowners policy to cover some of the cost. But the collection was worth well over $100,000 and how could you ever increase the value of the house that much? So for many years I lived in fear of fire, hurricanes, and burglars .... I am now faced with the same problem with my growing CD (3,000+) collection. Ultimately, a totally separate policy is the expensive way to go.

Garth.

[mgraham333]

I did the same thing but on a slightly smaller scale than Garth. Sometimes upping the contents coverage is the easiest way to go.

But for larger collections something along these lines may be in order:

[garthsj]

I did the same thing but on a slightly smaller scale than Garth. Sometimes upping the contents coverage is the easiest way to go.

But for larger collections something along these lines may be in order:

Yes, you are absolutely right .. I was in negotiation with my architect for exactly such a building, but he (Philip Johnson) died this morning. So now I am looking for another .. I wonder if I. M. Pei is available?

[gslade]

If your collection is a considerable value, you might want to consult a specialty insurance company such as Chubb. I have no idea what the cost would be but they advertise specialty insurance for collectors.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

Yes, you are absolutely right .. I was in negotiation with my architect for exactly such a building, but he (Philip Johnson) died this morning. So now I am looking for another .. I wonder if I. M. Pei is available?

Alas, Johnson's design might have looked like this and then everyone would be able to see your CDs!

same for Pei, although his might be so jaggedy that upper registers from your loudspeakers would get stuck in the corners and never be heard from again.

[Ron S]

If you're into glass, you might try something along the lines of this design:

That's the new Kimmel Center in Philly, home to the Philadelphia Orchestra, so you know the acoustics should also work for YOU.

Here's an indoor shot, so you can start planning where to put your Mosaics:

[garthsj]

Hmmmmmmmm .. I lived in Philly for four years, 1968-72, while I did my graduate work .. there was nothing like that there then! Very impressive ... what are the acoustics like?

Edited January 27, 2005 by garthsj

[Ron S]

Hmmmmmmmm .. I lived in Philly for four years, 1968-72, while I did my graduate work  .. there was nothing like that there then!  Very impressive ... what are the acoustics like?

Terrific. Under that glass canopy, there are actually 2 halls, each an independent structure. Verizon Hall is the structure you see in the lower photo, and is constructed completely out of wood in the shape of a cello. It's the home of the orchestra, and is state-of-the-art acoustically, able to be "tuned" for different types and configurations of performances. The smaller hall is the Perlman Theater (visible in the upper photo and to the left in the lower photo), which is also flexible in terms of configuration and accoustics, and is home to, e.g., the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia. There are also smaller recital halls.

They do have jazz concerts in the Kimmel Center--recently Sonny Rollins.

And the old Academy of Music (oldest opera house in the world, and formerly the home of the Philadelphia Orchestra) has been or is being renovated/restored, and is still operating 2 blocks from the Kimmel Center.

[alankin]

I think that the sound in Verizon Hall isn't as good as I'd like for small groups. Haven't been to the Perelman Hall yet.

Interesting trivia: Keith Jarrett used to take piano lessons in a house that was demolished to make room for the Kimmel Center. The house was located about where the stage of Verizon Hall is. The first time he played there (two years ago?) Keith jokingly wonders is her ghost had broken a string on the first piano the brought out. (She didn't like jazz.)

[Ron S]

I think that the sound in Verizon Hall isn't as good as I'd like for small groups.  Haven't been to the Perelman Hall yet.

Supposedly, they're still "tuning" both halls for different kinds of music, a process that will take years. I've heard only orchestral music in both halls and, to my admittedly unqualified ears, they both sound great.

[tranemonk]

guess I got my answers... and then some....

thanks