Insuring your Audio Room?

I specifically addressed this issue with our homeowner's policy insurers.  They affirmed to me that since we have replacement coverage that everything would be covered in the event of a catastrophic loss.  I have pics of my system and LPs, CDs and other silver discs to validate what is in my dedicated basement listening room.

I changed my policy before I moved to increase the insurance on these items given that the equipment and records were going to be handled by movers (though I used specialty craters for the gear that didn’t have wooden shipping crates and packed the records myself). A few additional thoughts- you said insuring ’the room’- if you have special materials like acoustic treatment, flooring, electrical, etc, all of that goes beyond the norm too; when we’ve insured our homes, in each case an agent came after the policy was in place to do an on site inspection and adjust the value to reflect the replacement cost of the construction, special architectural or historical details, etc.
I also found that the high end insurers are in some cases cheaper for this stuff than the mainstream insurers. I first learned this with high value cars- the mainstream insurer wanted crazy money to insure, the high end insurer covered a Ferrari for less than the cost of our Volvo. And they are generally better to work with too. A broker who handles different underwriters can, with the information in hand, shop your needs to get the best quote among good insurers.
I believe, but am not sure, that a key factor in pricing is claims regarding auto insurance. Seems like the tail wagging the dog, but that’s my understanding. Most of these insurers want to do all coverage, including a liability umbrella. Doing the first exotic car led us down this path many years ago, and since then, we have remained with essentially the same insurer (though we’ve changed brokers over the years).
I did a detailed inventory of the LPs while I was packing them. Not every record, but the high value or rare ones, including catalog lists where I had most of a catalog (striking out the ones I didn’t own). The insurer then worked with me to develop a formula to average the value and hence, the overall coverage. The records were one tranche, the hi-fi gear another, the musical instruments and associated amps yet another, and other miscellaneous high value objects were scheduled on yet another list. You still have to prove loss, but it makes it a lot easier, along with the photo records others have mentioned.

The cost is not insignificant, and I am going through the process or reassessing the coverage now that the move is complete. It’s not that any of this stuff is of less value, but in some ways is at slightly different risk, now that it is back in my possession and control.
I also found that different brokers may be worth exploring, not so much due to price, but attitude and personal approach. Some of these brokers are stiffs and used to working with the wealthy, taking on a different attitude (which I didn’t necessarily find helpful) than others, who are less scripted. I want someone who I can work with easily and who ’gets’ it. You’d be surprised at the difference in comfort level you get just based on personality and the willingness of the broker/agent to bore down and work in depth with you to come up with the best solution. My experience with Chubb/Ace/Chubb has been extremely positive over more than two decades. There are others, like Pure, which I haven’t used that are also in the ’luxe goods’ high roller category. You should seek out a broker that can shop various of these types of underwriters.
While you are at it, also think about estate planning. If you go before your partner, the partner may be clueless. Just knowing who to contact (which may change over time) can be helpful if they want to dispose of this stuff. Ditto in your wills and associated estate plans. A third party executor will be clueless- at a minimum, the stuff should be called out and something included to have the executor search out specialty brokers for resale. (If both you and your partner expire simultaneously in a circumstance that does not impact the insured objects).

We do have a homeowners policy which may cover all the risk. I have already informed the company about the room and the coverage should be in excess of the value of all the internal possessions including the room. However, I was thinking of getting another policy just for the room and it's contents, probably not simply a rider. 

I was wondering if anyone had experience with taking out a separate policy just to insure an audio room. Is there anyone who knows of a specific carrier that offers a product either designed or well suited for a dedicated audio room? Perhaps something which could also include risk of a flood, considering it's in a basement. The current homeowners policy doesn't have flood insurance and adding it would about double the cost.

I think I would like a specialized policy in addition to the basic homeowners insurance policy. Does anyone already have something like this in place for their own system?

I appreciate the responses so far. Thanks for weighing in!

I’m not in the insurance business, so others who are might have a different view, but there is an economy in using the same company for all coverage. These high end insurance companies insure valuable art, yachts, etc. and are used to dealing with specialized items of value.
 The flood insurance is a whole other thing--my recollection, when we lived on the Hudson River, was that the only flood insurance available for the structure was the government associated "FEMA" type. For the possessions, I’d have a discussion with the broker about how the various insurers cover when there is a risk associated with flooding. We did have "flood insurance" but again, my recollection is, it doesn’t have a high limit and we were being overly cautious- during Hurricane Sandy, several properties along the river were destroyed. We were on the mountain (high) side of the road and suffered no damage that I recall, to structure, grounds, or contents.

Whart, thanks for your detailed suggestions! I'll take a look at the companies you mentioned. You mentioned special walls and electrical work. That's certainly something that would be important for some people to address. In my case not really but that's still a very good point. Thanks again!