Marie HallowesOperations Director
I work with a number of performing arts groups, as well as sitting on a performing arts group myself! I would be delighted to help any theatre or dance groups.
Theatre Insurance | Performing Arts Insurance
A full theatre insurance policy is a combined policy that blends a range of insurance covers. It will include employers liability insurance and public liability insurance as standard but then will be built around the needs of your particular theatre.
The first priority will be assessing your need to insure your theatre buildings. Some theatres have no need for this but other companies are based in substantial buildings that they own or are responsible for insuring and some of these properties might even be listed.
The other assets of the theatre will no doubt include usual theatre contents such props, stage equipment, costumes, set and possibly musical instruments. Your theatre insurance will need to ensure these contents are fully insured as well as considering the office contents, computers, laptops and more. Some of these contents might tour with the theatre group and this will need to be considered in your insurance arrangements.
One recurring question we answer is whether a volunteer constitutes an employee? This is important to theatres of performance art groups that have volunteer crew members. The answer to this is not always straight forward but for most insurance companies, theatre volunteers will be treated as employees and therefore employers liability insurance is very important. We wrote a blog on whether volunteers are employees in the eyes of the law here.
It is also important for theatres that might handle cash, to consider the total money you might have on the premises or in transit at any time. We will discuss this issue with you and make sure your theatre insurance product has adequate cover for this exposure.
If your theatre suffered a fire, how would you continue to pay the employees and meet your other costs? Your building insurance would reinstate the property but that might leave it unusable for a long time. Business interruption cover is designed to protect your income or pay for additional costs to keep you active, following another insured claim. We would discuss this cover with you and help consider the consequences of the ‘worst happening’.
Travel insurance for theatres – We would normally organise travel insurance separately from your core theatre insurance product but if your theatre does have international travel planned, we can assist in organising appropriate protection for the group and the individuals touring.
Finally, you might want to consider a personal accident benefit for your theatre. This benefit would pay a lump sum or a monthly fee to somebody that suffers an accident while undertaking theatre activities.