Public Liability Insurance for Musicians

What is Public Liability Insurance?

Public liability insurance (PLI) is a type of cover that protects professionals and businesses from potential claims made against them. Claims could be made by contractors, clients or members of the public and might concern anything from accidental injury to damage to their property as a direct consequence of work.

If you're a musician, public liability insurance provides the peace of mind to perform in any public space or venue. When it's combined with other specialist insurances, musicians' public liability insurance enhances opportunities for networking, performing and recording music.

Is Public Liability Insurance necessary for musicians?

Employers, local authorities and performing venues increasingly require written evidence that performing musicians have public liability insurance before they can play.

Obtaining public liability insurance as a musician means that you will be protected against the financial consequences of:

• Claims against you for the bodily injury of any person who is not your employee
• Damage to property while performing either solo or as part of a group, band or orchestra
• Damage to property while teaching in a public or private place, including at home

Do music teachers need Public Liability Insurance?

Likewise, it might be written in a contract that a music teacher needs public liability insurance cover before working in a school or public building. This is frequently paired with a requirement for professional indemnity insurance, especially for employed music teachers.

We provide the right policies and further guidance on Public Liability Insurance for music teachers.

Music teachers make up an integral part of the MU. We're keeping track of the latest music education news to keep at the forefront of issues faced by music teachers across the UK.

Secure your career with our Public Liability Insurance for musicians today

We offer public liability insurance to all MU members with a limit of indemnity of £10 million per individual member.

Public liability insurance is always included in your Musicians' Union membership. When you're signed into your online account, you can access your PLI certificate online at any time. You can get a personalised certificate and download as many extra copies as you need, free and directly from our website.

Download or print your PLI certificate

How to make a claim on a Musicians' Union Public Liability Insurance policy

Our music public liability insurance policies are provided by our legal partner, Hencilla Canworth GI. If you want to make a claim, you should get in touch with Hencilla directly via email or by calling 020 8686 5050.

To increase your chances of making a successful claim on your musicians' public liability insurance policy, you need to meet certain terms and conditions. You must:

1. Contact the insurer immediately after any event which may result in a claim.
2. Notify the police if you've suffered any loss, destruction or damage caused by malicious persons or thieves.
3. Within 30 days, provide your insurer with a written claim containing as much information as possible about the loss, liability, destruction, damage, accident or injury, and the total amount you'd like to claim.
4. Immediately send to your insurer, unanswered, all communications from third parties in relation to any event which may result in a music public liability insurance claim.
5. Not admit or repudiate liability, nor offer to settle, compromise or make payment which may result in a claim or pay any claim under this policy without our written agreement.
6. Allow your insurer to take over and conduct the defence or settlement of any claim in your name. You will also allow us to prosecute any claim for indemnity or compensation against any other person, at the insurer's expense, and you must provide any information or assistance required.

If you fail to fulfil any of these conditions in relation to any claim, you will lose your right to indemnity or payment for that claim.