Compare musician public liability insurance quotes now

Compare Public Liability Insurance for Musicians

Writing and recording music, touring the country to perform in front of fans, being interviewed by journalists, music reviewers and bloggers – the life of a musician is one that appeals to many people, and it’s a life that has the potential to be exciting, challenging and deeply rewarding.

It’s not without its risks, though. There’s the most obvious risk of unsteady incomes and a lack of job security, since the vast majority of musicians are self-employed.

However, there’s also the risk that you could face a public liability claim if a fan has an accident at your concert or one of your roadies is injured by falling equipment and you’re held liable.

Since you’re self-employed you’d usually be expected to cover the resulting legal costs and compensation pay-outs for these claims yourself… unless you have public liability insurance for musicians.

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What is public liability insurance for musicians?

Public liability insurance for musicians is designed to protect performing artists, recording artists and other musicians against the risk of liability claims by members of the public.

It can cover the cost of legal fees and compensation claims if someone is injured or their property is damaged and the court determines that the incident occurred due to some sort of negligence on your part.

The concept of negligence can be quite broad, though, so even a falling mic stand at one of your gigs or a loose carpet in your home studio could be viewed as your fault if it resulted in an injury.

Does musician insurance cover damage to other people’s belongings too?

Yes, musician insurance doesn’t just cover you against liability claims when someone is physically injured, it can also cover you against claims for damage to a third party’s valuables or belongings.

For instance, if you borrowed another musican’s guitar during a gig and accidentally damaged it while you were performing the other guitarist could hold you liable for the damage, in which case your musicans’ insurance should cover you.

Is public liability insurance a legal requirement in the UK?

No, public liability insurance isn’t legally required in the UK, but it’s worth bearing in mind that some music venues, concert halls, nightclubs and bars might insist that musicians have public liability insurance in place before they perform there.

If you signed a contract with the venue and the contract stipulated that each musician must have public liability insurance for musicians there is a risk you would be in breach of contract if you took to the stage without taking out a policy, even though the law doesn’t require you to have this type of insurance.

How much does musicians’ insurance cost?

It’s difficult to answer that question because insurance providers use a wide range of factors when calculating the premium for your musician insurance, and each provider will also give each factor a slightly different weighting.

Your own location, the location of the premises where you will be performing, the amount of public liability cover you would like to take out, whether or not you’ve claimed on a public liability insurance policy in the past and whether or not you’d like to bundle other add-ons with your musician insurance policy will all affect the premiums you’re quoted.

The best plan is to use Quotezone.co.uk’s musician insurance comparison service to compare quotes from a range of different providers, and then go with the one that offers the best policy at the most competitive price.

What optional extras can I bundle with musicians insurance?

The public liability insurance component of your musician insurance policy is the key part, but it is possible to bundle other types of insurance with your public liability cover to ensure your policy offers you all the protection you need.

Some of the add-ons you can bundle with your liability cover include:

• Product liability insurance: If you sell your music as downloadable MP3s there is the risk you might face a product liability claim if one of those downloads contained a virus that corrupted the user’s computer. In fact, or even if you allowed fans to download your songs from your website for free you could face a similar product liability claim, because money doesn’t necessarily need to change hands for you to held liable for the damage caused by faulty products. If you bundle product liability insurance with your musician insurance policy there’s a good chance you’ll be covered if you ever face this type of claim.
• Employers’ liability insurance: Most musicians are self-employed, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t have employees. Whether you employ roadies to help you haul your musical equipment up and down the country, or you have an administrative assistant who helps book your upcoming gigs and deal with merchandisers and promoters, if you employ staff then employers’ liability insurance isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s a legal requirement in the UK.