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Insurance

Before you start operating it is essential that you look into insurance and what it is you need to do legally to ensure you and your practice are covered in the event that something goes wrong.

The type of insurance policy/policies you may consider taking out will depend on what it is you’re doing. Below are some of the insurance policies that are essential to various arts practices:

Public Liability Insurance

Public Liability Insurance covers your practice in the case of injuries to others or damage to third party property. This type of insurance is especially essential where there is possibility of incidents occurring as a result from activities relating to your practice.

It is also essential that you find out if you’re covered by someone else’s policy, and to what extent you are protected. Insurance cover may be provided in some circumstances, for example if you are exhibiting at an organised event, are being auspiced for a grant, or are working in a space owned and run by another party. It is best practice to check with organisers or owners to find out what their policy covers. You may find that you need to seek extra cover for anything that is not included under an existing Public Liability Insurance policy.

Public Liability insurance does not usually cover employees or volunteers, so you usually need to organise other insurance to cover these parties.

Product Liability Insurance

This type of insurance may be applicable if you are selling products. Product Liability Insurance covers damage to people or property as a result of faulty products.

Other Insurance Policies

Workers compensation insurance

Property (building and contents) insurance

Transit insurance

Although you may not need extra cover when first starting out, it might pay to look into the different types of insurance as your venture expands and develops. There are a number of insurance companies and it can be quite an expensive task to obtain all the cover you need; however, there are several outlets available to artists that may offer insurance at a reduced rate or include it as part of professional membership.

Such outlets include (but are not limited to):

National Association of Visual Artists (NAVA)

Artsource

Ausdance

Duck for Cover

Community Arts Network WA

For more information about insurance and why you might need it head to the Arts Law Centre of Australia website where you can find an in depth fact sheets about all of the legal issues surrounding insurance.