Musicians Insurance in Massachusetts

What is Musicians Insurance?

Professional musicians regularly place at different locations, and they’re frequently out at all hours of the day and night. The rehearsals, travel and gigs that are part of playing professional all come with some risks. For example, instruments can be damaged and musicians can cause damage to other people’s property. Musicians insurance helps protect professional musicians in Massachusetts from a variety of risks that they face.

Musicians insurance is a specialized type of commercial insurance. Because these are specialized policies, musicians should work with an agent who focuses on this type of insurance when selecting coverages and purchasing a policy. A knowledgeable agent will have the expertise necessary to guide musicians toward a policy that makes sense for their particular situation.

Who in Massachusetts is Music Insurance Right For?

Broadly speaking, most Massachusetts musicians who play professionally ought to consider the benefits of carrying music insurance. Not having coverage can leave a musician exposed to substantial risk, and this is normally the most appropriate type of insurance for professional musicians.

Moreover, professional musicians usually shouldn’t rely on their homeowners or renters insurance for professional coverages. The property and liability protections in these personal policies often exclude business-related or professional endeavors, so many of these policies won’t cover an instrument that’s used professionally or harm that a musician causes while at a gig.

Music policies may offer musicians protection for themselves, their instruments and their businesses.

What Coverages Does Music Insurance Make Available?

While coverages can vary, there are a couple of coverages that most music insurance policies make available:

Public Liability Coverage, which might cover lawsuits arising from injuries or property damage that a musician allegedly is responsible for
Instrument and Equipment Coverage, which might protect instruments and other necessary equipment against damage

Public liability coverage is sometimes called “general liability coverage.” Some policies might offer other coverages that are worth considering as well.

What Sorts of Incidents Are Covered by Music Insurance?

Since coverages, terms and conditions can vary, the precis protections that a particular music policy offers can also vary. Depending on a policy’s terms, it may cover incidents like the following:

A bandmember trips and is injured while bringing their instrument into a home recording studio
A passerby trips and is injured by a cord on stage during setup prior to a gig
A musician makes a disparaging and false comment about a business during a show
A band’s equipment overloads a building’s electrical system and causes damage to the system

Are Musician Policies Expensive?

Premiums for musician policies differ because they’re based on several different factors. The value of a musician’s equipment, the amount of liability protection they want and their previous claims history can all affect premiums.

In general, however, premiums for musician policies normally are quite affordable. An independent agent can tell a musician exactly how affordable a policy that meets their needs would be.

What Does “Worldwide Coverage” Mean?

The term “worldwide coverage” is found in the property protection section of some musician policies. This term generally means that the property protected by the policy -- which might be an instrument and related gear for a musician -- is covered almost anywhere that the property is taken in the world. There often still are a few excluded areas, but these tend to be places like war zones. In general, worldwide coverage likely extends protection for covered equipment to just about anywhere that a musician will probably go.

Worldwide coverage is usually an important term to look for, because musicians frequently take their instruments and gear to different locations. With this coverage in place, it’s probably not necessary to worry about whether bringing an expensive instrument to a show or concert leaves the instrument uncovered. The instrument probably will be protected.

How Can Massachusetts Musicians Get Musicians Insurance?

If you need help securing musicians insurance, contact the independent insurance agents at Roger Butler Insurance. Our agents have the expertise necessary to help you find potential policies that offer the coverages you need, and they can show you policy options from multiple Massachusetts insurers so that you get the best policy that’s available