[Dixielandjazz] Liability Insurance

[tcashwigg at aol.com]

Hi Tom:

Once again the fear factor raises it's ugly head to make it even more 
difficult for starving musicians to earn a living,  the museum is no 
doubt operated by a group of non-profit minded twits with an anal 
retentive lawyer on the board of directors telling them that they must 
insist upon all musicians having liability insurance:   The idea being 
that the more pockets there are to dip into in the Highly Unlikely case 
that a Band of Musicians actually did do something so stupid as 
Shooting off fireworks inside a dive nightclub and set it on fire 
burning many folks trying to get out.   It is a gain a classic case of 
over reaction and making it Politically correct to demand it of ALL 
musicians.

It is a diabolical organic communist plot to further destroy most olive 
music opportunities for employment by driving the costs up even higher 
for everyone just so some ambulance chasing lawyer will have ADDITIONAL 
pockets to pick in the event he can find a reason to file a suit.

The museum no doubt already has more insurance than they will ever need 
if they are legally able to rent out the venue for such events in the 
first place.   In bidding for the gig, simply tell the Bride and groom 
that they need to cover it,  unless of course your band is a known 
terrorist band with a history of riots and malicious behavior normally 
associated with Dixieland Bands,  Are they afraid gramma is gonna hurt 
herself doing the Hootchie Cootchie or the Limbo at the reception ?   
The museum should be able to include you on their own policy as an 
additionally insured for free, but they will charge you about $50.00 or 
more if they think they can get it, to defray the costs of their own 
policy.   Some of them are also playing the old Self Insured game and 
have no insurance policy at all, but merely pass on the requirement to 
everyone who uses their facility and they simply take money and the 
risk that nothing is likely to happen to need it anyway. :))  Cities 
across the country do this all the time to evade the high costs of the 
insurance from Insurance companies, and pass the problem on down to all 
the little folks and make them provide the insurance and name them as 
additionally insureds.


   Just like the rental car agencies do every day selling the driver 
additional insurance and the money is going straight to their profit 
coffers since they already have full coverage on the vehicles anyway.   
The cost of their insurance is mysteriously about the same cost as the 
rental fee or sometime more. :))

Ok seriously if you really need it for more than one gig I'll tell you 
where to get it, but if it is for only one gig, probably better off to 
pass on the gig or tell them to take it elsewhere for the reception, 
which should change the tune of the Museum director quickly, unless 
they are totally brainwashed and stupid.  ( Which often is the case ).  
  First rule of thumb to operate a Non-profit is have no common sense 
and do whatever the lawyers tell you to do which will insure that you 
indeed NEVER make a profit nor anyone else doing business with you
either.

If you play or wish to play State and County Fairs with your band, join 
the International Fairs and Expositions organization and you should be 
able to apply for the insurance policy form them under their umbrella 
policy much cheaper than finding it on your own.   Your
membership in the organiZation is worth far more than the insurance 
policy, but it is a nice benefit to utilize if you need it.

I belong to the Western Fairs Association and get mine thru them for 
$825.00 a year,  it is a two million dollar liability policy, but also 
allows me to use it for promoting my own events and concerts festivals 
etc.   If you book one good fair date thru the membership association 
it is worth the money to do so.

Cheers,

Tom Wiggins







-----Original Message-----
From: tduncan at bellatlantic.net
To: dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
Sent: Tue, 14 Nov 2006 9:15 AM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Liability Insurance

    Here comes this question again . . . I lost the postings I had saved 
and the
archive search function on DJML isn't operating . . . So . . .

I am bidding for a wedding reception to be held at a New York area 
museum
and they insist that the band provide a certificate of insurance and 
carry
personal liability insurance. Not all of my band members are AFM which 
does
include personal liability insurance as I understand it; so, I 
understand
that one option is for each band member to join the union.

I have requested a quote on per event only coverage and annual coverage 
and
await an answer on that, but I am not sure if I am contacting a 
reputable or
competitive source. Can anyone suggest an insurer that might cover a 
band
for one event or for the year? Another option could be for each member 
of
the band to purchase their own personal liability insurance. Can anyone
suggest a source for that?

I hope that others who have addressed this same problem can be of help 
to me
and, I would suspect, others on the list.

Thanks,

Tom Duncan
201-836-6076
www.doctordubious.com
doctordubious at verizon.net 



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