[Dixielandjazz] Liability Insurance

Fri May 18 12:56:50 PDT 2007

We got the same thing here about 2 years ago.  One of the places we play 
occasionally sent us a demand for a mill worth of insurance.  We added $500 
to our contract which they didn't send back.  I also spread the word among 
the other bands here and all of a sudden they couldn't get entertainment and 
things went back real fast.  Other than that one place it hasn't caught on 
here in the smaller places.  They should know that they will have to pay for 
it and that it will be reflected in your contract.

If it's becoming universal there then you might see it as sort of a closed 
shop.  Those that can pay it (and pass it on) will close out those who are 
just playing around.  It could be an advantage to include it in your 
advertising if you have to have it anyway.

It's like paying taxes - no one wants to pay them but it does close out the 
guys that work for almost nothing when they get a 1099 from a venue and have 
to pay 15% Social security plus income tax and at least here, State tax. 
It tends to close out the $50 guys.
Larry
St. Louis
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dawn Lambeth" <dawn at usoniajazz.com>
To: "Larry Walton" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Friday, May 18, 2007 2:31 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Liability Insurance

> Just wanted to pop in about the insurance thing, don't mean to be a drag, 
> being so SERIOUS and all, but I figured my experience might be helpful to 
> someone else with the same questions I had.
>
> We had to step up to this last year, and as it typical of these things, 
> when I got our insurance it was all very last minute and I couldn't do the 
> comparison shopping I had hoped to do.  We're probably paying more than we 
> need to, so I'd appreciate any tips from people that have policies they 
> are happy with.  Union and otherwise.
>    I did a bit of calling around - one entertainment insurer I spoke with 
> said that there used to be a lot of inexpensive policies for what she 
> called 'baby bands', little groups like ours trying to eek out a living. 
> But after that the horrific fire at the rock club in Connecticut a few 
> years ago, combined with all the violence in the rap business most of the 
> less expensive policies went away.  If you're a strolling entertainer you 
> can get insured very cheaply, for about $200 in the US (compared to the 1K 
> figure Tom mentioned for a band) -
>   http://www.clownsoftheus.com/insurance.htm
>
> As a pianist I sadly don't think I qualify, maybe if I brushed up on my 
> accordion?
>
> One thing I don't like about our policy is that it does not cover me as an 
> individual musician playing with another group, only by myself or with my 
> group. So were I to be sued as part of another band, I'm outta luck. 
> Getting covered for that was almost as much as the original policy. 
> Worth asking about that scenario if you're in the market.
>    It's depressing to have to have to pay for it, but the truth is, if 
> you're out amongst the public and you have any assets whatsoever in your 
> 'non music' life, it's worth think about getting it.  If an incident 
> happens, the issue isn't going to be whether you were at fault, but 
> rather, if the plaintiff's attorney thinks you have something worth coming 
> after. In our area (central coast of CA), it is becoming increasingly 
> common for venues to require liability insurance of all their event 
> vendors, one hotel told me they were requiring it of all the musicians, 
> even the ones who just play for practically peanuts in the bar.   I don't 
> know if they followed through on that.  And yes, they wanted to be listed 
> as an additional insured, sigh. I've heard this is even more true in 
> nearby urban areas, LA, etc..  They also generally require a separate 
> policy from whomever is holding the event (marrying couple, etc.) I 
> begrudgingly viewed our policy as a biz expense (and maybe even something 
> I could use as asset in the twisted world we live in) but I feel for the 
> bands who aren't doing gigs that pay enough to have it amortize out over 
> many (reasonably paying) gigs over the course of the year.
>
> off the soapbox - NEXT!
> Dawn
>
>
> Dawn Lambeth
> Pianist/vocalist
> The Usonia Jazz Band
> www.usoniajazz.com
>
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