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Public Liability Insurance for Musicians

Whether you’re a singer, a guitar player, a fiddler or a drummer, if you work as a musician the right public liability insurance policy can protect you from the risk of liability claims if a member of the public is injured (or even killed) at one of your gigs and you’re held liable. 

Similarly, public liability insurance for a musician can cover you if someone’s property is damaged or something happens to their personal belongings at your music event and you’re considered to be at fault.  

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Is musician public liability insurance really necessary? 

Public liability insurance for a musician might seem unnecessary – after all, if someone is injured at one of your gigs surely that wouldn’t be your fault just because you’re performing at the gig? Or if a member of the public has personal belongings stolen at your music event, surely that couldn’t be considered to be your fault, could it? 

The problem is that you can be held liable for those incidents if they are deemed to have occurred due to some sort of negligence on your part.  

For instance, if the injury occurs because a member of the public trips over some of your musical equipment and breaks their arm or their leg, you could face a public liability claim from that individual. If they are awarded compensation for their injuries you would have to cover those costs yourself unless you had public liability insurance for musicians in place at the time of the accident. 

Is this type of public liability insurance only relevant if I’m a self-employed musician? 

If you’re employed by the club, music hall, theatre or other venue where you perform then there’s a good chance you will be covered by that venue’s own public liability insurance, which means you likely wouldn’t need to take out a separate musicians insurance policy. 

By contrast, self-employed musicians generally won’t be covered by the venue’s PLI, which means they should consider taking out self-employed musician insurance to protect themselves against the risk of a liability claim. 

What types of risks does public liability insurance for a musician actually protect me against? 

While policy features can vary a little from one public liability insurance policy to the next, in general, most PLI policies should offer musicians protection against liability claims if: 

• A member of the public is injured or killed at their gig or music event 
• A member of the public’s property is damaged in some way at the event 
• A member of the public’s belongings are stolen, and the musician is held liable. 

It’s important to bear in mind that it’s only if the musician is held liable through some sort of negligence or oversight that a public liability insurance claim is likely to result in compensation being awarded to the claimant, but the best PLI policies can cover the cost of legal fees if you’re ever sued by a gig goer, which could be quite substantial even if the claimant doesn’t win the case. 

Does every public liability insurance policy cover legal fees? 

Some of the cheaper public liability insurance policies for musicians might not include legal cover as standard, in which case you might need to pay an additional fee to bundle this with your policy as an optional add-on. 

However, with many musician PLI policies, this will be included as part of your standard cover, so it’s important to read your policy’s small print to double-check this. 

How much is public liability insurance for a musician likely to cost me? 

The cost of a public liability insurance policy for a musician will depend on a wide range of different variables, which means it’s difficult to give even a rough estimate of how much you’re likely to pay yourself for this type of cover.  

For instance, the types of gigs you perform at, the type of equipment you bring to these events, the location of your gigs and even the number of people that usually attend your gigs can all influence the cost of your musician’s insurance. 

You’ll also have the option to opt for different coverage levels when you’re taking out musician liability insurance, and the level of coverage can influence the cost of your policy as well. 

Given how much the cost of a public liability insurance policy can vary depending on your own unique “risk profile”, the best plan is to compare quotes from a wide range of different public liability insurance companies, and then go with the provider that offers the best coverage at the most competitive price.  

What level of coverage do I need when I’m taking out public liability insurance for a musician? 

That will depend on a number of factors, including the size of your gigs, the “riskiness” of those events, and the level of cover the music venue insists you have. 

It stands to reason that the more people that attend your gigs the higher the risk of a public liability claim – or even multiple claims from a number of different people, so you’ll generally need a higher level of coverage if your gigs are bigger performances with larger crowds. 

When it comes to the venue itself, many will insist that you have either £2 million liability insurance or £5 million of coverage before you can perform there, so those coverage levels are usually good options for most musicians. 

Can I take out musician insurance for a single day? 

Yes, it is possible to take out short-term musician insurance, even if it’s only for a single day. 

However, it’s worth comparing quotes for annual public liability insurance at the same time, particularly if there’s any possibility you might perform at another event at some stage within the next 12 months.  

If I perform at gigs in other countries will my musicians liability insurance still be valid in those countries? 

That will depend on the insurance provider you took your public liability insurance policy out with, and also on which country or countries you will be performing in, but in many cases the best public liability insurance for musicians will cover you for performing at music events outside the UK.  

It’s vital that you check your policy terms about this though, because some policies may only cover you when you’re performing in Europe, while others might offer worldwide cover.