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I've watched over the years as insurance companies have gotten more and more picky about insuring "tools".
When I first moved to Montana in 1992, we had Liberty Mutual insurance, and at that time they insured everything, including tools and even the Blacksmith shop. Then, all of a sudden, in 2010, we had a hail damage claim, and they refused to fix the roof on the Blacksmith shop, and after paying the claim for our other buildings, dropped us, siting that the Blacksmith shop, or more to the point, the forges were "illegal" and they could not insure us.
We then went to State Farm, who was more then happy to insure our house, but would only insure my Finish Shop STRUCTURE..... and NOT the contents/tools. They also refused to provide any insurance for the "Hot shop"....structure or contents.
That started me on a quest to find shop insurance.....what a royal pain!! Most companies I contacted literally hung up on me as soon as I mentioned "Knife Shop", "Knifemaker", or "Blacksmith", and those who didn't hang up on me quoted absurdly high rates that were simply out of the question.
After a long search and a lot of slammed doors, I found that ABANA (Artist & Blacksmiths Assoc of North America) offered shop and tool insurance for it's members through the Hartford out of NY. It was still expensive, but since I couldn't get the shops insured anywhere else, I went with them. They cover both my shops structures, and contents.
A couple of years ago I got a notice from them that they would no longer be accepting new clients for shops and/or tools, but all of us who were onboard would be "grandfathered in" and allowed to keep our insurance.
Frankly, most Knifemakers/Bladesmiths simply don't insure their shops or tools, for two reasons. 1. Most insurance agencies simply refuse coverage.
2. Those that will offer coverage are VERY expensive, and many will require you to have/obtain a separate liability policy before they will offer insurance for structures or tools. And if you've ever tried to obtain liability insurance with anything to do with knives or Blacksmithing..... good luck with that one.
I talk to a lot of other Makers/Bladesmiths around the country, and many of them who've been insured for years, have had their insurers drop them over the past few years, siting the their occupation and/or tools are consider too "high risk" to be insured.
I wish I could just point you to someplace that will take care of your insurance needs....but it's just plain difficult.
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