"Have these guys ever heard of the simple concept of insurance?
They're able to somehow afford instruments worth thousands but can't afford to insure them? It must suck to be that stupid."
Do you understand that most of the insurance companies WON'T insure them? Or, if they are willing, charge so much that the musican cannot afford it?
And insurance matters little if the viola was made 200 years ago and is irreplacable - even IF they'll insure it for 100% of the replacement (very rare), the odds or replacing it are slim to none.
If you don't understand why they use these instruments, and why it matters,you have no business in this thread.
Try and have a little knowledge of what you speak of, before you call people stupid. Most insurance companies won't insure run of the mill rack mount stuff for average rock musicians, let alone priceless classical instruments. Talk to road managers about securing and keeping insurance on a band's equipment sometime, and be prepared to listen to some horror stories.
It's very simple. A quick check of a $100,000 violin in the airport line that would take all of 5 minutes TOPS, or insurance you cannot afford - and you STILL have to check it, you might as well smash it yourself, the loss of a valuable instrument, and the loss of income from the damaged or lost or stolen instrument.
I don't think they're the stupid ones here.
I insured a $1000 keyboard under my homeowners with a rider, 15 years ago. They paid to fix transit damage.