The Finnish Musician’s Union Instrument Insurance covers the instruments of the membership up to 3,000 euros with a deductible of 150 euros. The insurance covers instruments that are sold for musical use or musical equipment. This means that, for example, computers or phones are not covered by the insurance, but microphones are.

The insurance, according to the agreement with the Swedish specialist insurer Brookfield, is valid for those members of the Musician’s Union whose membership has lasted at least one month and who have paid their membership fees, excluding pensioner membership class and honorary members. The insurance benefit ends when the membership ends.

The insurance is valid worldwide and covers the value of the instrument up to 3,000 euros if the instrument is damaged, stolen, or lost.

The insurance does not require any action from the members.

If you wish to take out broader insurance in addition to the union’s Instrument Insurance, you can do so with a deductible of 3,000 euros, in which case the union’s instrument insurance covers the deductible amount exceeding 150 euros. You pay for the extension yourself, but the Musician’s Union has negotiated favorable member prices with the insurer.

Questions and Answers about Instrument Insurance

Here is a list of frequently asked questions and answers related to Instrument Insurance.

Do I need to do anything to get the insurance?

You don’t need to do anything yourself. The instrument insurance is automatically valid when your membership has lasted at least 30 days, and you have paid your membership fee, excluding T-pensioner membership class and honorary members.

Do I need to inform the insurer about the instruments I own?

You don’t need to provide any information. Only in the event of a possible damage, the instrument details are reported to the insurer.

How much does the insurance cost me?

The insurance doesn’t cost the member anything separately; the Finnish Musician’s Union covers the insurance premium for all its members.

What is the maximum compensation of the insurance?

3,000 euros per damage and per member. If several of your instruments are damaged or stolen at the same time, the insurance covers them up to a total of 3,000 euros. If the damage affects the instruments of multiple members at the same time, each member can claim compensation up to 3,000 euros.

What if my instrument is worth more than 3,000 euros?

In this case, you can purchase an extension to the insurance taken by the union. The member pays for the extension, but the Finnish Musician’s Union has negotiated favorable member prices with the insurer. To purchase the extension part, click here.

What do I do if damage occurs?

Report the damage immediately to Brookfield by filling out the damage report.

Are my instruments also insured during travels?

Yes, the insurance is valid worldwide, including during travels, tours, and performances.

Is the insurance valid if I accidentally drop my instrument and it breaks?

Yes, sudden damages are covered.

My instrument is too large to carry as carry-on baggage when traveling. Can the instrument be transported in the airplane’s cargo hold?

Yes, but you must ensure that the instrument is properly packed and otherwise handle the instrument correctly.

How much is the deductible of the insurance in case of damage, and who is responsible for it?

The deductible of the insurance is 150 euros for each damage, which is the responsibility of the member. The insurance covers the part of the damage exceeding 150 euros up to 3,000 euros.

Are damages and faults of electronic instruments also insured?

No, mechanical breakdown or malfunction is not covered, except if the breakdown of the device is due to an external reason, such as impact on the device or voltage spike.

I have multiple instruments as well as recording and computer equipment that I use for making music. Are they all covered by the insurance?

All actual instruments, both acoustic and electronic, are covered by the insurance. Also, accessories directly related to playing, such as strings and instrument cases, are insured. However, devices such as iPads, mobile phones, laptops, recording equipment, amplifiers, headphones, etc., are not covered by the insurance.

I own some instruments together with musician friends. Are they insured?

No, they are not. Only instruments that you own entirely by yourself are covered by the insurance.

If my instrument is stolen, will the insurance cover the cost of a new equivalent?

No, the insurance covers a similar instrument in terms of features and age up to 3,000 euros.

If I leave my instrument at home or in a hotel room, is the insurance valid?

Yes.

If my instrument is stolen from the car, is the insurance valid?

Yes, but you need to ensure that the instrument is not visible from outside the car and that the car is properly locked.

I need a loaner instrument while my damaged instrument is being repaired. Does the insurance cover the cost of renting an instrument?

Yes, assuming that renting is necessary and the costs are reasonable, i.e., up to a maximum of 20% of the value of your instrument, but not exceeding 3,000 euros.

As a member of the Finnish Musician’s Union, you receive significant organizational customer discounts from If’s insurance.

You can join If’s Benefit Program with just one insurance, by receiving your insurance correspondence electronically on If’s Own Pages.

At the highest level of the Benefit Program, you will receive a discount of up to 16 percent and have access to your own service advisor. With If, you can accumulate If Deductible Money of up to 40 euros per claim-free year, up to a maximum of 200 euros.

Learn more about your member benefits here or call If’s customer service at 010 19 19 19.

The members of the Finnish Musicians’ Union are entitled to Mutual Insurance Company Kaleva’s Primus Life and Injury Insurance. Life insurance covers death caused by both illness and accident. Take advantage of the member benefit and expand your family’s insurance coverage!

As a member of the Finnish Musicians’ Union, you can get significantly cheaper life insurance, 61% cheaper than regular prices. Members who have already used this benefit save an average of EUR 511 per year.

Life Insurance for Partners

Life insurance protects your family from financial worries if the worst were to happen to you. You can purchase the insurance either just for yourself or, even more affordably, as partner coverage for yourself and your spouse. With partner coverage, it’s enough that one of the insured individuals is a member of the Musicians’ Union.

Calculate the price of your life insurance conveniently at kalevavakuutus.fi (in Finnish).

The insurance provider is our partner, Mutual Insurance Company Kaleva, whose customer and claims service is handled by If Vahinkovakuutus Oyj, Finnish branch.

If Liittovakuutus is the leisure accident and travel insurance taken out by the Finnish Musician’s Union, automatically insured are the union’s members and officials under the age of 70. Also included in the insurance are children and grandchildren under 20 years of age traveling with their insured parent on the same trip. The insurance is valid outside of work and commuting, and it does not cover luggage.

Your Travel Insurance Worldwide and Own Pages – Online Service 24/7

Whether it’s an ear infection or a more serious illness, the travel insurance taken out by our members comes to the rescue. If Mobile is an app that allows you to manage your insurance matters wherever and whenever you need.

Insurance Discounts from If

In If’s Benefit Program, you can save money simply by having your own home insurance or comprehensive insurance, when you receive your insurance correspondence electronically on your Own Pages. This makes your transactions easier and saves both the environment and your own time.

The Musicians’ Sick Fund is an insurance fund that operates as a supplementary fund for social personal insurance. The Musicians’ Sick Fund aims to promote the musicians’ ability to take care of their health and compensate lost earnings during their incapacity to work. The compensations paid by the sick fund are secondary to the compensations paid by Kela and the employer. The sick fund only compensates medical costs for treatment given in Finland.

The benefits offered by the Musicians’ Sick Fund include a daily allowance for loss of work due to illness, a compensation for psychiatrist’s consultation fees for applying for rehabilitation psychotherapy, a compensation for dental and hearing examination costs as well as purchase of hearing protectors, and remuneration of in-patient charges of hospitals and health centres.

The compensation and benefits paid by the Fund are secondary to those from other sources, such as Kela and the employer. The costs of treatment and research for an illness are reimbursed only for treatment in Finland.

The fund covers personal members of the Musicians’ Union’s sections aged 16 and over, with the exception of pensioner members.

The Musicians’ Union pays the insurance premiums on behalf of its members – by becoming a member of a section of the Union, you are automatically insured as a member and therefore covered by the Fund. In addition, persons practising in Finland as music performers or similar performing artists who have a customer agreement with Gramex may also be covered. These people may become insured at their own expense upon application, once the Board of Directors of the Fund has decided to start an insurance relationship.

The insurance relationship with the Fund ends

• at the end of the calendar month in which the insured person has notified his/her intention to become a pensioner member of the Union/Department, or
• when the insured person leaves the Musicians’ Union or otherwise ceases to be a member of the Union, or
• voluntarily, upon written notification of withdrawal by the insured person to the Fund.

Daily allowance

During their incapacity to work, the Musicians’ Sick Fund pays its members a daily allowance for each workday agreed before the illness until the start of the payment of Kela’s daily allowance. The waiting period for which Kela does not pay a compensation consists of the date of the onset of illness + nine following business days. The Sick Fund does not pay a daily allowance for the day when the incapacity to work begins, so there is no reason to apply for a daily allowance for a single day.

The Sick Fund’s daily allowance is secondary not only to the compensation paid by Kela but also to the sickness pay paid by the employer. According to the Employment Contracts Act, the employer is required, if the employment has lasted for less than a month, to pay half of the agreed salary.

The amount of full daily allowance is the amount of agreed salary, but no more than EUR 90.

If the member is entitled, during his or her sick leave, to receive a portion of his or her agreed salary from the employer, the member is paid a partial daily allowance. The amount of a partial daily allowance is the difference between a full daily allowance and the amount paid by the employer. Under current law, the employer is often required to pay at least a portion of the agreed salary if the employment relationship has begun before the illness.

The employer should use the form on the reverse side of the daily allowance application to report on its obligation to pay salary and give the details of lost income.

If the incapacity to work has lasted so long that you have become entitled to receive compensation from Kela, you must first submit an application to Kela. Subsequently, you may submit a daily allowance application to the Sick Fund to cover Kela’s waiting period. The application must be accompanied by Kela’s decision.

The attachments of the daily allowance application include your tax card, the employer’s certificate of lost workdays and salaries, and your original medical certificate. If you first apply for compensation from Kela, do not forget to ask Kela for a certified copy of the medical certificate for the Sick Fund.

The Sick Fund withholds income tax on paid daily allowances.

Reimbursement of consultation fees for rehabilitative psychotherapy

The Musicians’ Sick Fund reimburses the costs of a psychiatrist’s opinion when applying for Kela rehabilitation psychotherapy. The maximum reimbursement is EUR 160 per year. The benefit applies to treatment periods starting on or after 1 January 2023. In practice, the reimbursement concerns treatment by a psychiatric specialist in the private health sector to provide a B certificate on the suitability of Kela’s rehabilitation psychotherapy for restoring the applicant’s capacity to work.

Opinions of doctors working in a specialised psychiatric unit (psychiatric outpatient clinic, mental health office, psychiatric department) in the public health sector are treated as opinions of a specialist psychiatrist. Under the Public Health Care Act, no fee is charged for medical opinions relating to rehabilitation, among other things.

The application must be made within six months of the date of the insured event, i.e. the date of the B certificate. In addition, the applicant must have been insured with the fund, i.e. a member of the association, for at least six months before the start of the three-month period of treatment by the psychiatrist.

The application must be made retrospectively to the Fund and must be accompanied by the bill for the psychiatrist’s treatment, the statement of charges and the B certificate or equivalent medical certificate. If the applicant receives reimbursement for a three-month period of treatment from Kela or any other possible third party, proof of this must be provided.

More information on applying for rehabilitation psychotherapy can be found on Kela’s website >

Dental care compensation

The Musicians’ Sick Fund compensates expenses for dental care or prosthetic dental care to those who have been its members for at least a year. Since 2021 the compensation is up to EUR 160 for expenses incurred during a calendar year. If the care is necessary in order to maintain professional competence or for aesthetic reasons required by the profession, it is possible to obtain additional compensation of up to EUR 110 for expenses incurred during a calendar year. What is necessary for professional competence is separately assessed in each individual case. For example, dental care given to wind players is, in most cases, considered necessary to maintain professional competence.

Dental care for front and canine teeth can be compensated on a aesthetic ground.

Dental care compensation is secondary to the compensation paid by the employer or Kela. For this reason, you should wait until you receive a reimbursement decision from elsewhere and only then submit an application to the Sick Fund for the non-reimbursed portion. The application must be accompanied by a receipt of the compensation paid by Kela or the employer.

When you submit a compensation application to the Sick Fund, you should always attach an itemized list of treatments provided by your dentist and the receipt for the payment of the dentist’s fee as original copies. If you submit the original documents to Kela, you must attach their copies certified by Kela to the application submitted to the Sick Fund.

If you receive annual compensation from your employer under, for example, the collective agreement, you must enclose the application with receipts for the use of the compensation in the year in question.

Compensation for hearing examination costs

The Musicians’ Union compensates its members who are not entitled to occupational health care for costs arising from the examination of their hearing up to EUR 45 every three years. If you receive full compensation for examination costs from elsewhere, that compensation is primary to the compensation received from the Sick Fund.

Other conditions for payment of this compensation include a six months’ membership in the Sick Fund and supporting documentation on the conducted examination and the costs incurred.

Ear protectors and in-ear monitors

The Musicians’ Sick Fund compensates a portion of the purchase price of custom-fit ear protectors and in-ear monitors intended for professional use. Compensation will be paid to members of the Sick Fund who do not have an employer with a statutory health protection obligation to provide protection against noise.

So far, the following hearing protectors have been approved as protectors to be compensated:

• Orelo Fidelity 10, 15, 25, 30
  Orelo Oy
• Fonic ER-25, ER-15, ER-9
  FinFonic Oy
• Elacin ER-15, ER-9 and ER-25*
  Uusikuulo Oy
• EARfoon Radioversio, EARfoon Multiclick
  EARfoon Suomi Oy
• ACS PRO15, ACS PRO17, ACS PRO20, ACS PRO26 and ACS PRO27
  Kuulotekniikka Hakala Oy

The following in-ear monitors have been approved as monitors to be compensated:

• InEar LivePro 2, InEar LivePro 3, InEar LivePro 4, InEar StageDiver 2, InEar StageDiver 3, InEar StageDiver 4 and InEar ProPhile 8
  www.kuuloverkko.fi
• Shure SE112, Shure SE215, Shure SE315, Shure SE425, Shure SE535, Shure SE846, Shure KSE1200, Shure KSE1500
• Hearos PRO series monitors: PRO2, PRO3 and PRO4
  www.hearos.fi
• ACS Emotion Classic/Ambient, ACS Evolve Classic/Ambient, ACS Engage Classic/Ambient ACS Evoke2 Classic/Ambient, ACS PRO-Fit
  Kuulotekniikka Hakala Oy

* Uusikuulo Oy offers the members of the Finnish Musicians’ Union a 20 per cent discount from individualised Elacin ER hearing protectors. You can claim the benefit by showing your member card at Uusikuulo store.

The share of the Sick Fund is 50% of the purchase price of the hearing protectors, but no more than EUR 100.

• The compensation is subject to the following conditions: the applicant has been a member of the Sick Fund for at least 18 months
• the applicant is exposed to loud noise at work and needs hearing protectors to avoid damage to hearing
• the applicant has received a promissory note from the Sick Fund prior to the purchase of hearing protectors
• the applicant is going to purchase a hearing protector which is one of the above custom-fit in-ear brands suitable for use in music work

Procedure for applying compensation on hearing protectors

1. Fill in the application form and submit it to the Union office. Click the link below to print the form or pick it from the Musicians’ Union office.
2. The Musicians’ Sick Fund will process the application and, if approved, will give you a promissory note.
3. After receiving the promissory note, you may purchase the hearing protectors.
4. The buyer pays the deductible and the supplier of the hearing protectors charges what is left to the Sick Fund.

In-patient charges by hospitals and health centres

The Musicians’ Sick Fund compensates the in-patient charges by hospitals and health centres in accordance with the lowest payment category of a central hospital’s operational unit, other than a psychiatric unit, and for at most 10 days (treatment in an in-patient ward) for the same illness.

To be entitled to the compensation of in-patient charges, the person must have been a member of the Sick Fund for at least six months. The application must be enclosed with a receipt of the in-patient charges paid and a proof of the number of days spent in the ward.

Application procedure

You must submit an application for a compensation to the Musicians’ Sick Fund within six months of the date that you became entitled to compensation. After this deadline, the Board of the Sick Fund may only grant compensation for a special reason.

To apply for compensation, use the application form available at the Musicians’ Union office or online. The forms also list the attachments needed in various scenarios.

To get compensation for hearing protectors, you need to get a promissory note from the Sick Fund before purchasing them. Other compensations are paid against a receipt/medical certificate directly to the applicant.

Application forms are available at the Musicians’ Union office.

Attachments to the application

The main documents to be enclosed with the application include a medical certificate, an itemised list of treatments provided by a dentist, a receipt for a dentist’s fee or hearing examination, Kela’s reimbursement decision, a receipt for dental treatment paid by Kela and a description of any reimbursement received from elsewhere. Applications for a daily allowance must also be accompanied by your tax card and your employer’s statement on lost workdays. Applications for reimbursement of in-patient charges must be accompanied by a receipt of charges paid and proof of the number of days spent in the ward.

Waiting period

Waiting period is the minimum period that you must be a member before receiving compensation.

According to the rules of the Musicians’ Sick Fund, the daily allowance for incapacity to work, the in-patient charges by hospitals and health centres (treatment in an in-patient ward) and compensation for hearing examination costs can be paid to a person who has been a member of the Sick Fund for at least six months.

The costs of dental care can be reimbursed to a person who has a member of the Sick Fund for at least a year.

For a hearing protector compensation, the limit is an 18-month membership in the Sick Fund.

The membership fee for the unemployment fund A-kassa in 2025 is EUR 8/month.

The unemployment fund Finka merged into a new A-kassa starting from the beginning of 2022.