Music and Audio insurance – what kind and at what cost

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Music and Audio insurance must be included in the list because you can’t always know exactly what could happen in the future.

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With the protection provided by liability insurance and all the other kinds of insurance we will tell you about, you can protect your business and yourself in case something unwanted happens.

Like any business owner, for your Music and Audio enterprise, you must consider how much financial liability you are taking on.

Business Insurance for Music and Audio

If your Music and Audio business runs without proper insurance, you are taking a tremendous chance not just of losing some money but of a complete wipe-out.

This is because the laws in every state are very strict in enforcing liability on the owners of businesses for the upshots of their actions. 

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for small businesses to highlight what the main kinds of insurance that you need are, and where possible, a rough guide to how much you can expect to pay.

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your Music and Audio business?

What this means, for any Music and Audio business owner, is that if some company claims that your work caused them some physical or economic damage, a court can award damages far beyond the total size of your business.

Your Music and Audio business is not protected by laws in the same way as states are, where edicts can place a “cap” on the maximum level of liability.

In some states, like Montana, there are specific monetary levels that limit the amount an adjudicator can award in any case against the state.

In a court case, it’s purely the duty of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a claimant more than they have claimed.

When you are running your Music and Audio operations, you can’t deny responsibility for the outcomes of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent in advance the money necessary to have your business running as an LLC, all of that liability belongs to you as a person.

What does Music and Audio insurance protect you from?

For your Music and Audio business, the most important kinds of insurance are meant to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

As well there are some official kinds of insurance that various states require.

In the next few paragraphs, we will describe the most important points any Music and Audio business owner should remember when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main types of insurance for your Music and Audio businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Music and Audio business is dealing directly with other people, and that means you generally have the danger that some accident can happen to them bodily or else something of theirs can be damaged.

In such a case, they can require compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your Music and Audio business covers you against claims coming from injury to clients or damage to their property.

It protects your Music and Audio business from the claims themselves and also to any associated court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

In many cases, it can also help you to qualify for extra business from city and state organizations, where contracts insist on proper liability insurance.

The normal level of general liability insurance for your Music and Audio business would be with a boundary of $1 million for a single claim and a total of $2 million for the whole year.

See the table in the costing section below for average prices of general liability insurance for your Music and Audio insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Music and Audio business

In the event where a customer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your Music and Audio business for them, you can quickly have to fight a court case.

Even if the lawsuit against you is ruled in your favor, the cost of defense can be substantial, and the impact on your reputation can be damaging.

Every small Music and Audio business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover a once-off claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of Music and Audio insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Music and Audio operations.

Product liability insurance

Whatever goods you sell or advice you give about the goods, you are running a risk that clients may claim that what they received didn’t meet your description of function, or that your guidance was basically incorrect.

You need to be aware of the specific laws of product liability in your own state.

For example, in California, all businesses in the supply chain can be held culpable for results caused by products claimed to be defective.

To cover yourself against any following lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Music and Audio

Only you can know exactly how much insurance you need.

Best advice is to contact experienced insurance agents, brokers or company representatives for guidance.

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Music and Audio business

Be careful! – practically all policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any happening like theft or accidental damage when the van is being used for business purposes.

The best way to make sure that your vehicle is insured for both its own value, and the valuable contents, is by taking out a proper commercial vehicle insurance package.

Commercial truck policies guarantee the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

Also, in case of any accident, the car itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is insured if your truck is involved in an accident.

Most states, other than Virginia and New Hampshire, require this type of insurance.

The required value of the insurance is worked-out for the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your declared level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your Music and Audio business needs specific and costly equipment, you know how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The equipment may be subject to malicious damage, deliberate fire, theft, other such unpredicted acts.

Also, acts of nature like lightning strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other highly damaging natural events can wipe-out your whole business in one stroke.

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such specific gear quickly out of your own pocket, you need full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy whatever needed to keep your Music and Audio business running.

It is difficult to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s basically dependent on how much you have invested in your Music and Audio business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any Music and Audio business that owns or rents space in a building needs a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the space, you may already have a substantial capital investment, along with a big liability if there’s a mortgage.

Every physical building location needs to carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against unexpected occurrences like fire and storms, and against criminal damages like theft and vandalism.

If your Music and Audio business deals in areas of high risk, like Texas or South Carolina, additional coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Illinois, where unlimited cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of Music and Audio business premises, there is a need for more extra cover than in warmer climes.

Although the level of cover depends entirely on the value of the property, it’s not possible to say what cover your need, but we have been able in the table in the cost of Music and Audio insurance section below to give some indication of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Music and Audio business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Music and Audio business

Is your Music and Audio business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business fluctuating?

Using short-term insurance makes perfect sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for Music and Audio – are special policies where you can cover a designated period when you want to be covered.

By only paying for that period of cover, you will save by having less premiums but still having adequate risk cover.

The important feature of short-term insurance is that you purchase the cover for a defined period – a designated date, or a week or month starting on a specific date, for example for 30 days beginning on the specified date.

When you are expecting periods of higher business activity, get the existing cover improved.

Talk to your insurance agent, broker or the company’s representatives to see what options you have.

Business Owners Policy BOP for your Music and Audio business

You have the chance to combine several of the important kinds of small business insurance in one policy that is known as the business owner’s policy – BOP.

A BOP integrates commercial property and public liability insurance by amalgamating these coverages into one insurance policy, which can save you money.

BOP insurance will protect you if any claims of injury or property damage are made.

It is mostly the right choice for small and medium-sized Music and Audio businesses, such as yours.

There are some limits that will dictate whether BOP is suitable for your own business.

BOPs will not cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle risks.

Also, the size of your business will rule whether you are allowed to take out BOP cover.

The typical business that is eligible for a BOP policy must have less than one hundred employees, and under five million dollars in annual revenue.

In addition, you must separately take out the necessary worker’s compensation, health and disability insurance as determined for your state.

Workers Compensation insurance for your Music and Audio business employees

In almost all states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your Music and Audio business has one or more employees.

Workers compensation insurance covers the enterprise against any costs that arise if a worker experiences an injury or becomes sick as a result of work.

The benefits cover medical expenses, death benefits, lost wages, and vocational rehabilitation.

Failure to meet a state’s requirements in this regard can leave you as the employer required to pay penalties levied by the states.

Some states, such as North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming only permit coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.

In these states, you may not get your workers compensation obligations from private insurance companies.

Workers compensation charges are worked out based on the employee’s pay, and usually come out at around $1.00 per $100 per month.

However, you must see the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every Music and Audio insurance requirement is unique, there are enough examples of standard quotes from insurance companies for us to give approximate guidelines, including what are the cheapest rates offered.

Of course, you should always check with a broker what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have collected for the main types of insurance your Music and Audio businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
Public liability insurance $315 – $710
Commercial insurance $930 – $2365
Product liability insurance $325 – $805
Equipment insurance $325 – $1405
Commercial vehicle insurance $1555 – $3220
General liability insurance $750 – $1210

Cost of insurance for your Music and Audio operations depends on many different factors.

We have estimated these figures for small freelance Music and Audio businesses.

In larger states like New York, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, while in smaller states like Utah, they usually are about 20%-30% cheaper.

The location and size and type of your Music and Audio business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.

You should talk to professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

Also you can let the internet do the work for you by searching for insurance companies near where your business is located.

Another reliable source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your town.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for Music and Audio operations?

This is a wide term used to describe standard insurance policies designed to protect Music and Audio business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my Music and Audio business have to have insurance?

Some of the kinds of insurance are not mandatory for you to open your business, but they can protect you from risks in your business operations.

Some other forms are required by state law, such as workers compensation and vehicle insurance.

What does a small Music and Audio business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides insurance against lawsuits or claims filed by a client for bodily injury, property damage, or negligence.

The precise cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the recommended policies for Music and Audio insurance.

How much will Music and Audio business insurance cost?

As well as the size of the business, several other factors, such as location and claims history, are used to determine your policy’s cost.

You should consult with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

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