Music Pro Insurance - Still In Business?

[Audy O]

Any other Music Pro Insurance policy holders in the forums?

As they requested, I sent in a list of additions to my studio equipment to Music Pro Insurance on May 27, 2005, well before the June 1, 2005 deadline. Their previous letter said they would recalculate the premium and bill me, the deadline for payment was July 1, 2005.

After numerous e-mails to them (it's hard to reach them by phone) and phone messages, I have yet to receive a new bill, reply to my e-mails or a phone call.

Are they still in business? Their site is running but after so long, I'm wondering if they're having financial problems or reorganizing.

Anyone else having this problem?

Maybe it's time to switch companies?

Audy O

[eligit]

Originally Posted by Audy O

Any other Music Pro Insurance policy holders in the forums?

As they requested, I sent in a list of additions to my studio equipment to Music Pro Insurance on May 27, 2005, well before the June 1, 2005 deadline. Their previous letter said they would recalculate the premium and bill me, the deadline for payment was July 1, 2005.

After numerous e-mails to them (it's hard to reach them by phone) and phone messages, I have yet to receive a new bill, reply to my e-mails or a phone call.

Are they still in business? Their site is running but after so long, I'm wondering if they're having financial problems or reorganizing.

Anyone else having this problem?

Maybe it's time to switch companies?

Audy O

that's odd. my new policy just started. no problems.....

[swankdoc]

yah, me too (got the new info OK). But they've been slow with me in the past.
This is the last year with them. I shudder to think how it would be to try and make a claim with them.

[meteor]

are there any other good options?

[Audy O]

Originally Posted by meteor

are there any other good options?

If they're this slow waiting to collect your money, yep, I shudder to think how long a claim would take.

I've been told Clarion gives very good service...

Thanks to all for your replies. I'll try calling them again in the morning.

Audy O

[MrChang]

I received their renewal notice at 5PM exactly 1 day before the payment was due. Had a horrible time trying to get them to respond to my e-mails & phone calls. They eventually "renewed" my policy "without a break in coverage," but I've never received anything from them since (2-3 years ago). Wouldn't respond to e-mails, fax, mail, etc. Gave up on 'em.

I guess they weren't too interested in covering my old Performa & Gateway.

Seriously, I have very little faith that this company would have ever paid out a claim if you filed one.

Let's see, Music Pro, Motu, anybody else run for cover when they actually have to deal with customers?

[shanew]

Interesting thread. I've had no trouble with MusicPro. And I've had two claims with them that went very smoothly.

[pedrohead]

just re-upped with them. had a question, called them up, got a call back in two days. got the situ rectified, and i'm updated and set.

they now have it where you can just update your list online and it will recalculate and issue a bill for your new premium automatically. so that's nice.

[Jay]

I have used these guys for about 3 years. Initially, it went very smoothly. My contact was a woman named Angela and I would send all my stuff to her, and if there were problems, speak with her personally on the phone. She either left, or was transferred, because as of 6 months ago things changed DRASTICALLY. Without ever having received a warning letter or even a bill, I got a letter saying my insurance was terminated since I didn't pay. On the phone and email, they were totally unapologetic about it, although they did quickly reinstate my policy.

Currently, I have the same mystery problem as elegit. I found them to be (recently) totally unresponsive. I will probably switch as soon as I have the time to research another provider.

[eligit]

i've had no real problems. but then again i've never had to make a claim. but i did the online alteration in covered items and paid the bill when it was automatically refigured....no prob there.

are there any other (reputable) companies who are so cheap?

[spaceland322]

This is THE worst insurance company ever, no question!!....I've dealt with them for about 5 years now and have had nothing but trouble. Never returned emails & phone calls are guaranteed....3rd grade spelling mistakes all over my policy...without fail everytime I update my policy with new equipment they leave 3 or 4 items out which requires re-submitting the list more than once usually...sometimes it can take 2 or 3 times for them to get the %$#@ing list correct. I feel like I have to harass them to do their job...complete idiots.

Is there any reputable insurance company that deals with studio and music insurance besides these guys? It's amazing that ASCAP & BMI push this company to it's members, I'm a long time ASCAP member and it's really embarrassing.....ASCAP wake up and look into this!!!!!....totally unprofessional company....even the equipment schedule list they mail you looks like it was just typed up on exel from someone's home computer...not offical looking in any way.


I know I'm not the only one who has had these problems...would like to hear from others.

[Meriphew]

I dumped music"pro"insurance because of their unprofessional business practices. I've been trying to get something set up with Clarion insurance, but I'm already seeing things about them that worry me (unreturned phone calls, unanswered questions), and I haven't even signed up yet. What's with these people?

[Tone Laborer]

Originally Posted by Meriphew

What's with these people?

As far as my experience goes, I've asked that question about every freaking insurance company I've had the mispleasure of dealing with. As a general rule, they generally suck.

[HDGuru]

My experience with Music Pro has been nothing but positive. Good customer service, prompt returns on correspondence, and very affordable rates.
It's really Firemans Fund insurance. Music Pro is just the middle man.

[shamrock]

I can tell you that my experience with Clarion wasn't that great either. Same type of problem as far as trying to get a response around policy renewal time. Trying to get them to call you back or even simply fax something was like talking to a brick wall.

As always, YMMV.

[Meriphew]

Originally Posted by HDGuru

My experience with Music Pro has been nothing but positive. Good customer service, prompt returns on correspondence, and very affordable rates.

I think you're the very first person who's ever uttered a positive word about music"pro"insurance. I would/will avoid them like the plague.

I can tell you that my experience with Clarion wasn't that great either.

Great. So they suck as well?

[spaceland322]

I would think twice before believing any posts here that claims Music Pro Insurance gives good service...I live in LA and have talked to others in this area who are professionals and ALL have simliar stories to mine ...I'm not sure of Clarion, I was actually looking into them but now will probably pass after hearing bad things about them here....I'm still insured with MusicPro but really want to dump them before my premium is due again for the term....

[allaccess]

They have been slow on occasion, but you just need to get established with someone there. Angela was good, and now I got this guy John who takes care of my stuff, and actually calls back. Made a claim on my iBook that fell off a case and they sent me a check to fix the screen within 2 weeks. Granted, I had no idea what was happening in those 2 weeks, but the check with no questions asked made that all good in the end. I have way too much stuff moving around way too many times a year to be screwing around... and they have never gotten an update wrong either...

Cheers,

RH

[spaceland322]

Originally Posted by allaccess

They have been slow on occasion, but you just need to get established with someone there. Angela was good, and now I got this guy John who takes care of my stuff, and actually calls back. Made a claim on my iBook that fell off a case and they sent me a check to fix the screen within 2 weeks. Granted, I had no idea what was happening in those 2 weeks, but the check with no questions asked made that all good in the end. I have way too much stuff moving around way too many times a year to be screwing around... and they have never gotten an update wrong either...

Cheers,

RH

They are very slow on most every occasion it seems..of course when you can actually get them on the phone they are always polite & try to help you . I have never had to file a claim and don't really want to find out...but it's good to hear you got a check without too many problems.

[guru007]

From my limited contact with them over the past few years, things got worse when they had some personnel changes that seemed to coincide with a new online database system.
In my case, once I got Angela involved in my situation, everything got straightened out. I no longer expect that renewals will be sent automatically and payments credited as they should. So I'm gonna have to put in some reminders into my Treo to call them to check on my status when the time comes.
Sorry to say but more businesses these days are run this way than not.

guru007

[Meriphew]

Well, I just bought a new policy from Clarion. I hope it's a smooth ride - if not, I'll let everyone know.

[MSR74]

You'd probably be better off getting a small business insurance policy through a major insurance company. Check Allstate, State Farm and the larger compaes...also...if you are insuring over 100,000 in gear you may want to check into corporate agencies such as Aon and AIG. Good Lucke with your insurance needs.

Another thing...you need to insure! You never know when you might have loss. If it's your main or second income it could become a real pain in the neck to replace gear without capital especially if you count on your studio for livelyhood. Also make sure your policy reads for future replacement...accounting for replacement costs...not current costs. Remeber...with our economy in the slammer, if you have foreign gear(ie...German, British, etc) the future cost to replace it (based on the current and future dollar exchange) will be based on our current economy so keep that in mind.

Just my two cents...

Best of luck...

MSR74

[asmoritz]

I'm currently almost a month past due on my premium. Have tried multiple times to log into the "new" website with no luck. I've called and not been called back and the one time I did get a call back, the guy was totally unprofessional. He sounded like a teenager with NO customer service training. He didn't fix anything and I just got a nasty e-mail from them saying I need to renew even though I've been trying to for a month.

Music Pro, here are some suggestions:
1)Fire your IT and developer guys. They're killing you
2) Fire your customer service team (except for Angela apparently) and hire competent people.

-a

[jmarkham]

Originally Posted by Audy O

If they're this slow waiting to collect your money, yep, I shudder to think how long a claim would take.

I've been told Clarion gives very good service...

Thanks to all for your replies. I'll try calling them again in the morning.

Audy O

we use clarion. they are more expensive, but are responsive.

jeff

[infopimpster]

Would anyone mind sharing a rough idea of what you are paying, for what type of coverage?

Eg, $"X"/month covers $"Y" of gear.

-s

[Spookym15]

I renewed a month a go it was a 100 for the year and it covered about 15,000 in gear. I emailed them with questions and got very quick responses. Usually a day or two. I hope I never need to use them, but no problems so far and I have had them for a few years

[uncle duncan]

I've been with them for years, and years, and years...

It seems to me to be a no-brainer - they send the policy renewal in the mail about a month before it's due. I update the list and mail it in, with a check for the payment. They send me a new bill to reflect the changes - about three months later.

I would imagine if everyone did this, their customer service would be better. I mean, why do you have to call them, other than to make a claim? It's all the frivolous phone calls that are taking up all their time.

The website is another matter. I tried logging on, with no success, but I don't keep good records of my passwords and log on info. So instead of paying on the website, I just mailed them a check - no phone calls, no hassle.

When you think about it, insurance is one of the biggest scams in America today. Keeping this in mind, Music Pro is just like any other insurance company, but with an overtaxed customer service department - due to all the confused musicians calling them for no reason.

If you want better service, follow directions and leave them alone so they can do their job without holding your hand through the entire process.

[shmoo2407]

I was on Music Pro and now I'm on Clarion. My support has been hit or miss with Clarion, but usually good, better than Music Pro which sucked badly. It seems like with Clarion there are a few bad apples, but usually I talk to someone who is good and knows what's up.

It's probably accurate for me to say that Clarion sucks less. But still sucks. Don't they all suck a little? If not, give me a recommendation!

[Musiclab]

I used to have Music Pro but they are the worst with responding, and that's even with billing, if they suck with getting paid how good are they going to be when you have a claim? I just signed up with Joe Montarello, the plan that he has is more expensive but covers sooooo much more that if music pro gives you the same it will cost close to the same