Building and Contents Insurance
Building insurance covers the fabric of the building in case of structural damage. The policy usually covers the rebuilding cost. Contents insurance will cover your possessions whilst they are within the boundaries of the building.
Musical instruments can sometimes be included in home contents insurance if the item is specified and cover provided whilst the item is out of the home.
The same type of 'all risks' policy can also cover specialist tools required for installation.
If you work from home, anything that you use professionally should be insured separately from your general home contents policy. There are specialised working from home policy packages that will provide specialist cover and will not invalidate your other policies.
If you are working in a venue, you should check whether or not the venue's insurance covers additional tools, equipment, costumes or props brought in for the exhibition/rehearsal/event.
Contents insurance can be difficult to find for rented workspace in a group studio building where there are a number of key holders. You may only be able to obtain insurance cover if you construct a secure storage facility within the studio for valuable items.
It may be necessary to enquire as to whether you may need to name particularly valuable items specifically.
Insurance has also moved into the online arena and it is very easy to organise your insurance policies online.
Talking to a financial adviser may be helpful. Most income protection insurers publish a wide range of information on their products, but all are required to issue a 'Key Features Document' to help you make comparisons between policies. Before you decide to take out a policy, your financial adviser or insurance company will give you information about the policy you are considering. This will give you important details about the policy you are considering and what the policy covers. This information can help you compare different companies’ policies. Your financial adviser or insurance company will be able to answer any questions you have.
For all questions, visit the Association of British Insurers website. www.abi.org.uk
Health Insurance
Health and Personal Injury Insurance can be very expensive but may be necessary to cover loss of earnings of a self-employed practitioner (for example, musician or dancer) who, if injured, would be unable to claim sick pay.
You are unable to claim for pre-existing medical conditions, so, for example, a musician with noise-induced hearing problems would find it difficult to claim for reduced hearing over time.
WHAT IS INCOME PROTECTION INSURANCE?
It is a policy designed to give you a regular tax-free benefit if you are injured or too ill to work, resulting in a loss of earnings. There are three main types of product available:
- Those designed to replace a proportion of your lost earnings;
- Those which cover some of your living expenses – for example, your mortgage;
- Those which provide cover for housepersons.
Being too ill to work is likely to affect your earnings. What this effect may be, and how soon it will happen, will depend on your personal circumstances. Income protection insurance is designed to reduce the impact of this loss of earnings.
Under an income protection policy, you pay regular premiums to an insurance company and, in return, they agree that – subject to certain conditions – they will pay you a benefit if you are too ill to work.
At the heart of an income protection policy is the definition of incapacity. Which definition applies to you will be decided when you take out your policy. A number of different definitions of incapacity are used by insurance companies.
WHAT OTHER KINDS OF HEALTH PROTECTION PRODUCTS ARE THERE?
Insurers may combine different kinds of policy. However, the broader the cover, the greater the cost.
The main categories of product on offer can be split into long-term products, sold for more than one year at a time, and general insurance products, which are renewed annually. The different types are:
A. Long-term insurance products:
- Critical Illness
Critical illness insurance pays out a lump sum if you get any of the illnesses specified by your policy, provided you meet the definition of the illness in your policy and you have kept up your monthly premiums. You can use the lump sum or the income however you wish, for example, to pay off or maintain repayments on your mortgage. - Private Medical Insurance
Private medical insurance is designed to cover the costs of private medical treatment for what are commonly known as acute conditions. - Long Term Care Insurance
The insurance is designed to finance long-term nursing and other dependent care. A claim is payable if your health prevents you from caring for yourself.
B. General insurance products:
Accident, sickness and unemployment cover
Accident, sickness and unemployment insurance typically provides benefit for a limited period. A common form of this type of insurance is Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance which usually covers your mortgage payments for a maximum of 12 or 24 months in the case of accident, sickness or redundancy. There is usually a waiting period before payments are made of either 30 or 60 days.
You will need to decide which of these risks concern you, and then select the product(s) which meet your needs.
SOURCE: Association of British Insurers
Exhibition Insurance
Most exhibition venues have a works of art policy that provides insurance cover up to a certain agreed financial limit. Check that the total value of the exhibited works and the presentation equipment falls below this limit and that any high value items are individually specified. Have a look at Insurance Part 1 from the first September edition for more information on Public Liability Insurance which is closely related to exhibition insurance.
Artists working with new media should check that the venue's insurance covers all the required presentation equipment as some policies specifically exclude electronic equipment (for example, DVD/video players, projectors, computer equipment, speakers etc).
To reduce costs, some venues exclude transport to and from the gallery in their policy (referred to as 'nail-to-nail' insurance) and, therefore, this may need to be arranged separately.
Tools used during an installation may also be excluded from the venue's policy.
Many policies provide 'all risks' insurance that covers works of art against fire, theft and accidental or malicious damage, including during transport. However, check the limitations of the insurance with your broker/venue as the policy may only cover theft if a work is stolen from a locked van or from the venue when it is closed and alarmed.
Check whether the exhibition venue has public liability insurance cover for the duration of the installation and the exhibition. If not, then the risks for third party injury must be assessed and you may need to arrange this cover yourself.
SOURCE: Arts Council England, Business Link
Insurance Part 2