In general, the majority of artists do not tend to insure their artwork or their studios.
However, this poll had a very low response despite the fact that one of the responses was 'no insurance' - which was the option picked by 42% of the respondents. Hence it's probably too low to be reliable.
An explanation for the low response might be that this reflects a bade case of 'head in sand'. I'll expand on that.
Below is the chart for the poll results - right click the image and open in another tab to see it more clearly
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| March 2012 Poll: What aspects of your art and art business do you insure? |
What you insure
The top three categories of art that you insure are:
- art studio (via your household insurance)
- artwork in exhibitions or galleries
- public liability (presumably this is tutors or gallery owners talking?)
What you ignore
The top three art-related matters that you ignore are:
- business interruption (your studio has just burned down, destroying all your tooks, art materials and stock - and you have no insurance)
- employers liability - (because you've not quite round to starting up an atelier complete with studio assistant as yet)
- equal third
- product liability - presumably because so few of you are supplying products
- art studio (business) - presumably reflecting that relatively few have separate premises for their art studio
Why do people ignore insurance? Maybe because it all seems too difficult? Or maybe because it seems too expensive relative to the risk? If you'd like to learn more try taking a look at the links below.
Why do you think people don't get to grips with insurance for their art and art business?
Artists' Insurance - Resources for Artists- UPDATE 2016: Insurance for Art and Artists
- MAKING A MARK: Insurance for Artists - can you help? 18 Feb 2012
- MAKING A MARK: POLL: Do you insure your art and art business? 06 Mar 2012
quote: public liability (presumably this is tutors or gallery owners talking?
ReplyDeleteFor classes and galleries certainly - but also for opening your studio to the public or putting on an exhibition yourself, in some areas you need this, in case of people having an accident and suing etc
Village halls are often already covered but not all venues are.
Unless individuals' sole form of income is from their art, it is unlikely that specific insurance policies will be carried that cover art or art supplies. Most art and art supplies, if produced and held in a home studio, are presumed to be covered under the general household policy, even if not specified. There could be problems if a claim was made on finished pieces if value was not previously declared or insured or if additional costs of inventory were not supplied at the time or insuring or renewal.
ReplyDeleteAdditional cost becomes a factor. Insurance is expensive and artist income is rarely in the rankings of well paid jobs. And if you teach classes or workshops from a home studio, liability is required. I know that in having a farm property where individuals may come onto the land to buy or visit, I have to have a million dollars in insurance. I would imagine its similar if individuals come to your home studio for instruction. External premises usually already have insurance in place for events such as this, but not always the case.
I believe that artists who make their main living from producing art may have a different outlook and/or need to provide insurance to protect livelihood and inventory, as well as meet regulatory requirements to have liability insurance if they invite people to attend classes.