<p>I would suggest speaking to the insurer to get a list of appraisers that they trust so that, in the event of a claim, they will not question the validity of your appraisal if it happens to come from someone they do not know. The instrument may be judged to be worth more or less than what you happened to pay for it plus the cost of additional work done to it. After all, you may have gotten a bargain or you may have overpaid.</p>
<p>Some insurers have a minimum annual policy cost that covers up to something like $20,000 or $30,000 worth of items. It may therefore cost the same to insure a $10,000 violin, a $2500 bow and a $500 case as it would to insure the violin alone. Glassharmonica has a point about coverage being dropped if you make too many claims. Realize that if you have coverage for a particular item, you will still have the choice of whether or not to make a claim should you have a loss. If you do not have that item covered, then you would have no such option. Depending on the insurer’s minimum and the dollar value that minimum covers, it may make sense to cover the bows and cases so that you will keep your options open later.</p>