Why do artists need insurance?
A commission complaint
As a freelance artworker, your clients love what you do, and you’ve built your reputation through years of creations. Unfortunately, a new client takes issue with your illustrations and launches a legal complaint, alleging that problems with your work amount to negligence. Even if you feel their comments are inaccurate, you could still face legal costs and disruption. Including professional indemnity insurance in your policy helps to protect your standing by funding a defence in such scenarios and reimbursing related expenses.
Exhibition accidents
An esteemed contemporary art curator invites you to display an immersive piece at a well-known venue. It’s an exciting prospect, which could raise your profile as an emerging talent – but on the opening evening, the portable containers that transport your art fall over and injures an attendee. Though art galleries may not seem like hazardous places, any interaction with people brings the potential for accidental injuries and property damage. Hiscox public liability insurance can protect an artist against the financial impact of lawsuits.
Disaster in the studio
Fine art requires fine equipment, whether it’s a full-size kiln to fire ceramics, a loom for weaving textiles or high-quality canvases and paints. Something as simple as a burst pipe in the studio could put valuable items at risk, leaving you unable to fulfil orders. As an artist or maker, your studio and tools are central to your livelihood – property insurance can cover the cost of locating burst pipes, while contents insurance protects what’s important inside your premises.
What insurance is available for artists?
Professional indemnity insurance
Art may centre on expression, but when you receive payment for a service, your work could also be assessed for its financial impact. If a client believes there were errors in your work, that you passed off someone else’s trademark, or misused information, they might sue. Even words can leave you exposed – for instance, if you provide curation advice to artistic institutions. Professional indemnity insurance can protect an artist by helping with legal fees and financing compensation demands.
Public liability insurance
Every business has a responsibility to the public, no matter how small. This means, if your activities caused injury to guests or clients, you could need to fund legal proceedings. Property damage can also cause problems for artists – a photographer may trip on a ceramic slip in your open studio, shattering their lens. Public liability insurance can give an artist protection to craft with confidence, while product liability insurance helps defend against complaints related to items you’ve created.
Employers’ liability insurance
Whether you’re a painter, sculptor, printmaker or graphic artist, finding success could lead to challenges keeping up with orders – after all, you only have one pair of hands. If you decide to seek support, you may need insurance beforehand. Artists who employ staff, even on a voluntary or casual basis, usually need employers’ liability insurance under UK law (external link). This helps if a staff member says they became ill or injured because of their work.
Other relevant policies for an artist include cyber insurance, property insurance for your studio and personal accident cover, which can provide economic reassurance for freelance creatives.
These are just some of the types of business insurance that we can offer an artist. Build a policy that’s tailored to the needs of your business with Hiscox.
Get your quoteInsurance for artists: FAQs
Does Hiscox business insurance cover my art exhibitions?
Yes, the right combination of business insurance policies can cover an artist for events such as exhibitions.
For instance, if your exhibition is taking place from a studio you own, then commercial property insurance with contents cover insures your art and collections as well as your business equipment. Contents insurance can also help if your art is damaged in transit or at a one-off exhibition location.
Art show organisers may also benefit from our special exhibition insurance, which may be particularly useful if your event is cancelled or disrupted.
Why do artists need public liability insurance?
Artists may need public liability insurance if their work involves contact with people from outside their business, such as customers, suppliers or venue owners. If there is potential for your business activities to accidentally cause slips, trips and breakages, then public liability insurance can provide beneficial protection.
The more your business interacts with people, the more potential there is for things to go wrong. Therefore, this type of cover may be particularly important for artists who run events such as educational workshops, exhibitions and open studio days.
Will artist insurance cover my specialist equipment?
Our commercial contents insurance insures an artist’s specialist equipment as well as their art. If you have valuable machinery, such as a kiln, loom, printing press or projector, then these are covered for damage from events such as fire and flood.
There’s theft cover, too, so your paints and canvases are insured in the event of a break-in.
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