My aunt recently had a fire and lost just about everything in her house. One of her possessions was an Ebersole Upright Piano. She's asked if I could find out anything about the piano so that she can give a value to her insurance adjuster and to find out if it worth trying to save and restore.

All she could tell me is the piano was manufactured by Ebersole and that she thought it was about 75 years old. She said she thought it had been made in Cincinnati, Ohio, but could only find the letters Cincinna on it and it didn't look like any letters were missing.

So I guess I'm looking for several answers.

Was this piano manufactured in Cincinnati and if so why is only Cincinna on it?

What would the piano be worth in fair condition - it's conditon before the fire (I know it just had the key replaced on it, but I'm not sure if the strings and pinlocks and all that were in good shape or not).

And is the piano worth trying to get refurbished or is it pretty much a lost cause?

Thanks in advance for you help.
Jenn

Jenn,

I think the answer to this question partly depends on what type of insurance coverage your aunt has – whether it’s replacement value coverage or not. I don’t know what the “or not” is actually called, but I’ll call it “market value” coverage. As all the techs here will tell you, a 75 year old upright is usually not worth rebuilding, and even less so if it’s fire damaged.

What I’m going to describe is based on how my insurance company works, which may not be the same from company to company. If your aunt has “market value” coverage, she’s entitled to receive payment for the current market value of the piano (pre-fire of course). A tech may be able to estimate what a 75 year old Ebersole upright piano would have been worth pre-fire, but unfortunately most uprights that old are not worth more than a few hundred dollars, if even that. That is probably all she would get from the insurance company if she has “market value coverage”. Or perhaps they would replace it with a used piano with the same market value if one could be located that was of a similar quality and condition. I don’t know if insurance companies will do that or if they just pay the cash value.

However, if she has replacement value coverage, which is what I have and what I think most people have, she would be entitled to have the piano replaced by a new comparable quality piano (that’s how my policy works anyway). A tech should be able to tell you what would be a comparable piano if Ebersoles are no longer made.

Good luck.

Patti

Thanks Patti. I appreciate your help.

Jorge doesn't live here anymore. He will have to find somewhere else to sell his insurance.

You know, I will never do business with any company who's employees practice deception to further the business.

So Jorge (or James Nichols as your email address implies), I recommend that nobody buys Anderson Insurance for their pianos. Especially from YOU

Ken

Jorge,
Are you affiliated with Anderson? You seem to recommend them in every one of your posts? I'm sure you are aware there are prohibitions from soliciting on this forum.

Rich

"You definitely need musical instrument specific coverage for piano insurance..."

I respectifully disagree!
My recommendations over the years to my customers has been:
1. Obtain the type of homeowner's coverage that includes "replacement value" rather than a depreciated fair market value on your contents.
2. Make sure that your total contents coverage is enough to include your piano will all the rest of your stuff.

I have worked with dozens of customers over the years who have suffered a loss and those with coverage I have discussed have come out just fine in a settlement. The most recent lost an older Yamaha G2 and a 15 yo Steinway B. She ended up with enough to purchase a brand new Bosendorfer 225.