Hey guys,
I just had a request I’ve not had before. Of course we musicians try to fly under the radar on most things & try to make a handshake be our bond whenever possible, but sometimes the venue wants a contract or we know we’d better have one to protect ourselves. I’ve never had a venue require proof of worker’s comp & liability insurance, but I just had one of my corporate folks ask for this. Have you all had this request, & if so what did you provide to the venue?
Hi Tom. In my other job (kitchen design/building supply) this is not uncommon, but I’ve never heard of it being required of a musician. I’ve heard of liability being available on a short term basis if the gig is worth it, but this may be different from state to state. You might give your insurance agent a call.
Respect,
Col. Andy
Hi Tom
I Have played a few venues here in the UK that state all artists should have public liability insurance.
Iv’e never been asked to show proof (although I have it as a part of my equipment insurance)
I may have it as part of my equipment insurance too. I need to read my policy.
Hey Tom:
I rather doubt that your equipment policy has anything to do with liability and especially workmans comp. Workman’s comp is a separate coverage entirely as it covers only injury and loss of wages. Liability is to cover you for damage to others property or injury to others. If you purchase either liability or workmans comp insurance you then can request a certificate of insurance from your covering company to provide to any venue requiring it.
Dewey
I wonder if an umbrella policy would suffice? I know that it would not include worker’s comp. I use to run an AV company that did coproate events, we were often asked for that and had the insurance. Call whomever handles your car and home insurance and see what they say. I bet that it will be expensive. At the end of the day if you hurt your back on the gig the corporate client does not want to get hit for it.
Interesting Tom…
I have danced around this with my software business our entire existence, 17 years now. We’re crazy small, just 4 people including one retired part-time partner, and we have always been “lean” (cheap!). We’ve probably had 30 clients over this time, all large banks, but we use our own contracts 95% of the time, which do not address insurance. I’ve always been able to explain and rationalize our way out of the insurance issue, the several times it’s come up. We just never wanted to add that to our cost and pricing structure. Right or wrong, our stance has worked fine for two decades.
SURE does not make since for a solo musician or weekend band.
Good luck! Mike
I have not had a venue ask for liability, but there are a couple of wedding planners here that require it. It goes back to the box on a stick and big lighting trees falling over. I told one planner that none of my equipment was on the floor but they still wanted me to buy the insurance. It is worth it if the amount of work is there, but in this case there is no guarantee that you will get the gig.
I called the insurance company that I get my equipment insurance from, & they said it would cost about $350 a year. I’d rather just state in my contract something about liability, but I can think of hundreds of situations where someone could have tripped over my gear or sued me for something stupid, so maybe this is worth it? It’s quite a bit of money in relation to what my equipment insurance costs & how much it covers though. They said that my umbrella policy would not cover this.