As an independent artist, your health and your gear are your most valuable assets. If you loose them, you’re out of a job. So if you earn your living by playing, teaching or recording music, you should protect yourself and your gear with musicians insurance. Whether you perform full or part time or on a semi-professional or more casual level, it’s a good idea to consider purchasing insurance as a safety net to cover potential loss or damage.

Insurance can be purchased for the following:

• Instrument & Equipment insurance: You’re on tour in an unfamiliar town and someone breaks into your van and takes off with your gear. Now what? Your instruments are the key to your career; without them, you can’t play. Instrument and equipment insurance will come to your aid if your instruments are lost, stolen or damaged.

• Classical instrument and equipment insurance: You just played a huge concert hall and put your 75-year-old cello in the green room. It vanished. Now what?
• Studio liability: Do you own, operate, or rent recording or rehearsal studios? Studio liability protects you from third-party lawsuits involving bodily injury and/or property damage at your studio.

• Health insurance: If you’re not healthy, you can’t play. If you can’t play, you can’t work. Health insurance is a very important part of keeping your career moving forward. Don’t over look it.

• Travel and Accident: As a musician, you’re on the road a lot, travelling to and from shows. This type of coverage provides you or your beneficiaries payments in the event of accidental death or injury.

• Special event liability: You play a lot of shows. What happens if a member of your audience is hurt at one of your gigs? This is where public liability insurance may help.

The bottom line: As an indie artist in a shaky economy, insurance will give you a great peace of mind.

Tip: check out http://www.musicproinsurance.com for more information.

Tell us what you think! Do you have insurance for your self, your studio or your equipment? Has it helped you?

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The SongCast Crew