It takes a lot of work behind the scenes to help orchestras achieve the artistry that makes the music soar. One of the little-seen but indispensable areas that orchestras too often neglect is insurance—it may not be the most glamorous part of life at an orchestra, but insurance is essential.
Yet orchestras are often underinsured, or have insurance that does not meet their particular requirements. The broad range of highly specific insurance needs of orchestras often include things like:
• “Non-standard” property insurance for items such as sheet music, audio visual equipment, props, merchandise, stock and musical instruments;
• Performance interruption coverage to protect income streams during physical and technological disruptions such as fire, flood, power, and telecommunications failure, prevention of access to a venue, failure of a safety curtain, sound and lighting;
• Liabilities for audiences, freelancers, volunteers, merchandise and venues;
• Money: protection for box office income, per diems, program/merchandise sales;
• Protection for touring activities.
Orchestras may also need to consider cancellation insurance (especially when presenting their own concerts) and professional liability coverage to defend against allegations of libel, slander, infringement of copyright, or breach of confidentiality—particularly for online activities that are exposed to global legislation in unfamiliar territories.
In addition, many orchestras do not have the “right” coverage on areas of their operation that need insurance. For example, the term “employees” needs to include volunteers, freelancers, tour managers, all of whom are crucial in terms of workers compensation policies. However many “desks” of fiddles an orchestra may have, if they’re listed on the insurance policy as “clerical” staff, it’s not the right coverage. And many orchestras’ insurance is automatically renewed at the previous year’s rates, despite zero claims. Worse, the orchestra may have a change in circumstances that the insurance company is unaware of, potentially leading to invalidation of the policy. In the highly competitive insurance field, such oversights may lead to orchestras paying too much in premiums.
In September, the League of American Orchestras,
in partnership with La Playa Insurance,
launched an insurance program to help orchestras.
Making sure your insurance meets your orchestra’s particular needs may sound a bit daunting, especially you don’t have the staff to take it on. Specialist insurance brokers can help to identify and manage risks, while tailoring a policy to your orchestra’s needs. They fine tune coverage, secure better terms from insurers, and are able to present a realistic picture of risk for orchestras—not all music-industry risks involve trashing hotel rooms! Insurers, in turn, respect the insights of specialist brokers and trust that they are presenting a “good” risk that’s being managed sensibly.
That’s why, in September, the League of American Orchestras, in partnership with La Playa Insurance, launched an insurance program to help orchestras. To date, over 100 League members, from the New York Philharmonic to numerous youth orchestras, have consulted La Playa to get a free insurance health check. If an orchestra is in good shape that’s great, but some orchestras are finding that something is missing or too expensive in their current coverage, and the La Playa team can help.
Full details of the League insurance program are available at http://www.laplayainsurance.com/league/.
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