What Insurance Do Calgary Musicians Need?
Are you a Calgary musician? Do you play in a band, an orchestra, or are you a solo musician? Is your livelihood insured? As a musician, you need at least liability insurance to protect yourself in the event you are sued.
The best way to protect yourself is with musician insurance. It’s a tailored package of insurance coverages to protect you as a Calgary musician.
If you are a musician in the Calgary Metropolitan Region, your Western Financial Group business insurance expert will give you top-notch commercial insurance advice and ways to save on musician insurance.
Are your musical instruments protected with insurance? Western Financial Group has a Musical Instrument Insurance Program that provides tailored coverage taking into account the changing risks and needs of musicians.
What is musician insurance?
Insurance for Calgary musicians protects you against different liability risks that you may face, such as a fan getting injured at one of your shows, your instruments getting stolen, or your recording studio getting vandalized.
How does Calgary musician insurance protect you?
As a Calgary musician, here’s how you are protected from the risks and costs associated with third-party claims or lawsuits.
Here are 3 examples:
- A thief breaks into your Calgary recording studio and steals your guitars. Commercial property insurance helps cover the cost of replacing your guitars.
- A fan is burned and injured at one of your Calgary shows after your band’s pyrotechnics goes awry. The fan decides to sue your band. Your commercial general liability insurance can help cover the fan’s injuries, legal fees, and any legal award or settlement.
- You are accused of using a song without permission by a fellow musician and you are being sued. Professional liability insurance (also known as errors and omissions insurance) may cover your legal expenses and any legal judgments against you.
How much does insurance cost for Calgary musicians?
There isn’t a set price for musicians. These factors are usually considered when calculating the cost of your insurance as a musician:
- Your location
- Experience as a professional musician
- Where you perform and what you do as a musician
- Value of your musical instruments and any equipment
- Annual revenue
- Any past claims
A comprehensive musicians’ insurance package typically includes these insurance coverages in addition to musical instrument insurance:
Professional liability insurance: It is also known as errors and omissions (E&O) insurance and it protects Calgary musicians and bands from professional negligence claims. It can help cover contract disputes, allegations of copyright infringement, breach of contract, mistakes, and misconduct.
Commercial general liability (CGL) insurance: CGL insurance covers musicians and bands against third-party bodily or property damage claims by an audience member during live performances, rehearsals, and studio sessions.
Commercial property insurance: Commercial property insurance protects you from damages to your Calgary rehearsal studio or music equipment storage space and its contents, furnishings, and inventory due to, water damage, theft, or vandalism.
Musical instrument insurance: Western Financial Group’s Musical Instrument Insurance Program ensures that you and your instrument are covered no matter which venue you are playing.
You set the amount of insurance for each musical instrument (including attachments) when you complete your application. This is the appraised value of the instrument or the current replacement value.
Cyber liability insurance: Cyber liability insurance helps protect you financially as a Calgary musician in the case of a cyber-attack. Depending on the size of the data breach and the information that was taken, the customers who are affected can hold you liable and sue you for damages.
Product liability insurance: If you sell, distribute, or manufacture records, CDs, audio cassettes, t-shirts, and other items, product liability insurance covers you for third-party bodily injury or property damage claims caused by those goods.
Legal expense insurance: Legal expense insurance gives you access to legal advice or a lawyer for a contract dispute, or to help review a contract or appeal a tax audit.
Here’s an insurance checklist for Calgary musicians:
- Do you have the best business insurance rate that suits your work?
- Do you have the right amount for your deductible and regularly review it to make sure it’s the right amount for you?
- Are you or any employees using personal vehicles for work?
What do I do if there’s a claim against me as a Calgary musician?
- Contact your broker immediately after any business-related mishap. Waiting to file a claim can confuse insurers about the severity of the damages to your business.
- Know your policy so that when you contact your broker you are familiar with what will be covered or not.
- Document the damage. Take photos right away and write down what happened.
- Do not throw away damaged goods after taking photos. Keep the physical evidence so that your adjustor can see it.
- Do not invite lawsuits. Don’t say anything that could be used against you, especially if you aren’t sure what happened.
- Be honest about what your damaged property is worth. Damaged commercial property is generally valued according to its actual cash value or replacement value.
Western Financial Group has licensed BUSINESS INSURANCE EXPERTS to get you the right insurance to protect you as a Calgary musician. Our experts are available now to help you navigate the business insurance journey.
Please share this article with your friends
Talk to an Insurance Expert
Call Us Now 888-595-3104