Insurance for Musicians

Do musicians need insurance?

Whether you're touring abroad or starting your career in music teaching, you deserve to work with full peace of mind. Obtaining specialist insurance policies for musicians means you can feel confident about the safety and integrity of your work.

Insurance for musicians is rarely a legal requirement, but we recommend getting covered regardless of your niche. Public venues might ask you to have public liability insurance before you perform there.

You might also have instruments and technical equipment you'd like to insure for music performances both in the UK and internationally. With the right musicians' insurance, you can focus entirely on your work – we'll cover the rest.

When you join the MU, you'll benefit from access to a wide range of insurance policies through our partner organisations and solicitors, including Hencilla Canworth.

Which types of insurance for musicians does the MU offer?

The Musicians’ Union offers access to a variety of essential musicians' insurance policies and schemes. These include:

• Essential insurance for musicians

Every musician should consider obtaining public liability insurance before teaching or performing. We also support our members with access to professional indemnity insurance and personal accident cover.

• Music instrument cover

We understand that your musical instruments are valuable in more than one way. Protect your career and your assets with our musical instrument and equipment insurance.

• Hearing Health Scheme

MU members benefit from our Hearing Health Scheme, which makes it more affordable to protect your ears from the inevitable noise exposure that comes with the job.

Which insurance for musicians is available with the MU?

Personal accident insurance for musicians

This policy insures you in the event of a serious injury or death following an accident. It includes cover for:

• Reasonable and necessary dental expenses
• Certain broken bones listed in the policy wording
• Convalescence in hospital lasting more than 4 days following an accident

Please see the policy wording for specifics regarding what is covered.

Find out more about personal accident cover

Travel insurance for touring musicians

Through the MU, musicians can get travel insurance from Hencilla Canworth for as little as £20 for single-trip cover.

This will come under the Voyager scheme, which is designed for travellers in the entertainment industry and provides cover for standard leisure, business and cruise trips under one policy.

If a venue or hiring organisation asks you for an endorsement to confirm that you are a musician or singer, Hencilla can provide you with this upon request.

Find out more about travel insurance for touring musicians

Summary of MU member insurances

Musician Insurance FAQs

Do I need music insurance?

Musicians' insurance is not a legal requirement. But if you start your career without cover, you could face a difficult recovery in the event of unexpected claims, loss or theft of your equipment, or injuries incurred while performing.

At the Musicians' Union, we recommend obtaining relevant and tailor-made insurance for musicians regardless of your experience or schedule.

What's the most important insurance for musicians?

If you work as a freelance or employed musician, insurance will help you maximise your career and worry less about potential consequences or unexpected issues. At the MU, we urge professionals to consider the following musicians' insurance policies:

• Public liability insurance could be invaluable for freelance performing musicians and could even be a requirement to perform in certain venues or for particular employers.
• All music teachers should consider professional indemnity insurance. This type of cover protects you against unexpected claims that might arise from complaints concerning an event at work.

What should I insure for music performances?

If you work as a performing musician, you should consider specialist musical instrument insurance to protect your assets and career. In addition, public liability insurance will protect you against damages to third-party property or injury to a third-party person incurred while you work.

What's the best insurance for musicians on tour?

Touring musicians should get travel insurance built specifically for those working in the industry. Cover for instruments and equipment could also be invaluable while you're on the move, but it's important to check that foreign travel is included in the terms too.