Wedding venue band public liability insurance

pink_phantom

We are in a quandry. We have found a venue that we love, is reasonably priced and just what we are looking for. The only problem is they have asked that any bands we book have their own public liablity insurance. None of the other venues requested it and we wanted a friends band to play at the wedding but they don't have public liability insurance as they said normally the venues they play at covers them? So we don't know where we stand because normal wedding insurance won't cover it. Should we tell the band to get the insurance because it is only a fun band and not a business and would be very costly?

Horace

It sounds as though the venue dont have their own public liability insurance and if you want your chosen band to play and the venue have said that they need this insurance then that's what they have to have.

Normal wedding insurance won't cover public liability insurance at all, public liability insurance is a form of business insurance.

There are two alternatives here either you change the venue or your band gets some public liability insurance (its not overly expensive), try asking your venue why they want bands to have public liability insurance - they should be able to tell you. Does the venue have an entertainments license?

If your friends band plays at other venues then that sounds to me as though they are a business although you say that this is just for fun.

Floss

I thought that any business that operates within the "venues" field had to have public liability insurance?

What would happen if someone had, for example, fallen over a damaged floor tile and sustained a nasty injury?

joolesw1972

I don't know much about public liability insurance but our venue (a golf club) told us that we could either use one of the DJ's that they had already approved or if we wanted to find our own, they would need insurance up to five million!!! As this would be the cost of rebuilding the golf club! I guess this isn't covered by their own insurance? The ones they already use are reasonably priced, so we decided to go with one of them, but that doesn't help you!

I think Horace is right, talk to the venue. Could you get the band to check out the insurance & see how expensive it is?

pink_phantom

Ok. Thanks for the replies. I shall have to clarify with the venue.x

geri1965_2

Floss wrote: »

I thought that any business that operates within the "venues" field had to have public liability insurance?

What would happen if someone had, for example, fallen over a damaged floor tile and sustained a nasty injury?

No, it'a not compulsory. If there was a claim and they didn't have PL insurance they would have to deal with it themselves.

Skint_Catt

My OH's band has public liability to cover themselves - lots of venue's don't have their own so ask the band to provide this. I think its about £50 a year for £2million PL.

The venue's PL insurance would cover the venue - not if someone tripped over a speaker wire for the band as they are separate entity's.

pink_phantom

Skint_Catt wrote: »

My OH's band has public liability to cover themselves - lots of venue's don't have their own so ask the band to provide this. I think its about £50 a year for £2million PL.

The venue's PL insurance would cover the venue - not if someone tripped over a speaker wire for the band as they are separate entity's.

Thanks for this. Could you tell me where you get the insurance from please?

Horace

I spoke to an entertainments agency today who told me that all bands have to have public liability insurance - what if a speaker falls on someone or their lighting rig or someone trips over a cable then the band would be liable.

Insurance can be obtained from people such as the Musicians Union (although I am not 100% certain on this) and from companies such as Hiscox.

Skint_Catt

pink_phantom wrote: »

Thanks for this. Could you tell me where you get the insurance from please?

The Musicians Union as above.