Musicians Insurance
Professional musicians must have the right protection against losses due to stolen or damaged gear, missed gigs, lawsuits, and other disasters.
Written by
Christine Lacagnina has written thousands of insurance-based articles for TrustedChoice.com by authoring consumable, understandable content.
Reviewed by
Paul Martin is the Director of Education and Development for Myron Steves, one of the largest, most respected insurance wholesalers in the southern U.S.
As a musician, you might not lead an entirely ordinary life; instead, you go to gigs, rehearse, travel, and transport gear between many locations. But whether at home or on the road, many different incidents could derail your ability to perform and cost you more than just money. As such, musicians need insurance that's not ordinary, either. Relying on a basic homeowners insurance or renters insurance policy simply won’t cut it.
You need a knowledgeable independent insurance agent who can help you find the right insurance for musicians so you can entertain without worry. They can help you get set up with all the coverage you need to keep playing. But first, here's a closer look at musicians insurance, what it covers, and more.
Why Do You Need Musicians Insurance?
Most likely, your music is your life and also your business. As a business owner, you need to protect your livelihood and your ability to continue to perform and earn a living. As a musician, you can’t leave expensive or rare equipment unprotected or leave yourself vulnerable to pricey lawsuits. Here are just a few examples of how you might lose your equipment and your livelihood:
- Your home or studio catches fire or gets damaged by severe weather
- Your equipment gets stolen from your home, studio, or while out on the road
- Your van or tour bus gets stolen with your gear inside
- Your expensive guitar gets stolen out of your vehicle
- You get injured during a concert and can't perform for several weeks
- You get sued by a concert-goer for claims of some type of harm
- You get sued by a concert venue for a claim of starting an electrical fire with your equipment
All of these possible scenarios and many more create the need for a comprehensive musicians insurance policy for all professionals in this industry.
Why Home Insurance or Renters Insurance Policies Aren't Enough for Musicians
You might think that most of these circumstances would be covered under your homeowners insurance or renters insurance policy, especially if you have a home-based studio. Your home insurance policy might offer some coverage, but you probably won’t be able to fully replace your damaged gear with items of equal value.
Most homeowners insurance policies have per-item or category limits. This means that, for example, you might have coverage for musical instruments or equipment up to a limit of $2,500. So, if your $10,000 vintage guitar gets damaged in a fire, you might only receive $2,500 from your home insurance company to replace it, which obviously wouldn't be nearly enough.
Further, most homeowners insurance policies specifically exclude coverage for business property. If your musical instruments and gear are used for your business, they may not be covered by homeowners insurance. Without getting the right coverage for your gear, you might have to pay thousands of dollars out of your own pocket if something were to happen to it.
What Does Musicians Insurance Cover?
Musicians insurance is designed to cover the unique risks musicians face while in the studio and on the road. It covers your expensive instruments, equipment, and gear at appropriate values wherever you take it. Liability insurance for musicians protects you from the costs of lawsuits that can arise when you associate with and play for the general public. A couple of essential business insurance coverages for musicians include:
- Instrument and equipment coverage: This is specialized commercial property insurance designed for musicians and music professionals that protects your instruments, gear, and equipment from theft. It can also pay to replace your equipment if it gets damaged by fire, weather, vandalism, or accidental breakage (e.g., a trip and fall while carrying an amp or spilling a beer on your keyboard).
- Inland marine insurance: This protects you from property losses that occur no matter where you take your gear and while it is in transit. In addition to protecting your gear while you are at a venue or playing a show, you might need coverage for equipment that's being transported by car, van, or tour bus, equipment that's locked in a vehicle overnight, and equipment loss or damage during air travel.
- General liability insurance: Your general liability insurance for musicians must be designed for the unique risks faced by the industry. If you perform as an independent contractor (i.e., no venue or company considers you an employee), you're probably on your own if you get sued. You can get sued because of an incident during one of your shows (e.g., a fan gets injured by an unruly crowd) or due to any of your operations (e.g., a delivery person trips over a cord in your studio and breaks an ankle). This coverage might also sometimes be referred to as public liability insurance for musicians.
- Business auto insurance: If your band or business owns a company vehicle, such as your tour bus, it must be covered with the right kind of car insurance for musicians. This is essentially a special form of commercial vehicle insurance designed to protect the vehicles that transport you, your band, and your equipment and gear between locations. This coverage can reimburse you for incidents related to accidents, lawsuits, vehicle theft or damage, etc., due to listed perils.
- Business interruption insurance: This coverage can help replace lost revenue during temporary suspensions in operations. In the case of a musician or band, it might provide coverage if you cannot perform a gig due to a broken down tour bus, a band member injury, or damaged or malfunctioning instruments and gear.
An independent insurance agent can help you get set up with all these types of coverage and more, including health insurance for musicians if you need it.
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How Much Does Musicians Insurance Cost?
You might think you can’t afford specialized musicians insurance, but it could easily be more costly if you had to replace your gear or pay to defend yourself in a lawsuit out of your own pocket. The cost of a musicians insurance policy can depend on how much gear you need to cover and its value, as well as other factors like your location, prior claims history, etc. An independent insurance agent can work with multiple business insurance companies that specialize in coverage for musicians to get you the best rate available.
An Independent Insurance Agent Can Help You Find the Right Musicians Insurance
An independent insurance agent can work with you one-on-one to determine the types and amounts of musicians insurance coverage you need. Independent insurance agents can get quotes from multiple insurance companies so you can evaluate the cost and coverage options and make the best choice. They can also help you file claims and update your coverage as necessary. Your agent takes the protection of your gear and your gigs just as seriously as you do.