"
That's a good point, and you'd better not trust what any insurance agent
says unless he's ready to put it in writing. I'm not talking about reading
the policy itself, which is obviously important, although they can also be
vague. I'm talking about a plain-English letter from the agent which
addresses specific questions you ask. I just went through this with my
agent, who's a real pro with regard to home, car & life insurance. But, he
was a bit weak when it came to providing coverage for musical equipment
used professionally, and questions about what happens if a club burns down
with my equipment in it. I kept giving him scenarios like that, and he
finally said he wasn't 100% sure about all of them. We ended up doing a
conference call to an underwriter at the actual insurance company.

A letter signed by the agent is worth little more than the paper it's
written on, since your contract of coverage is not with the agent. An agent
can attest to anything, but if it is outside the coverage specified in the
contract (policy), it may not be enforceable. The insurance company can
always claim that the agent was acting outside the authority of his capacity
as agent. A letter signed by an officer of the insurance company
stipulating or clarifying coverage is another matter. I'd take that with me
to court any day.