Event/Liability Insurance? Looking for the mobile vets…
Hey guys, this is one for the mobile warriors out there in the wedding/school dance game. If you own your own DJ/entertainment company, that’s even better.
I have been working with 2-3 different mobile DJ companies around the area mainly as a “gun for hire,” if you will. I haven’t tied down with any one company exclusively, as working with multiple companies keeps my calendar filled, which puts more money in my pocket.
I recently have discovered that one of the companies I work with does not have event/liability insurance. Given that I am an employee of this company, if something catastrophic were to happen that resulted in injury at an event that I was on staff for, do I open myself up to a lawsuit, or would it be brought against the company? I would assume they would sue the company, and not the employee directly, but I imagine there are many variables involved here (equipment failure vs. negligence, etc.). I just mainly want to see the extent of my liability and the level of risk I run when working these events. Any help would be appreciated.
From what I gather if you contract to another company then you need your own liability insurance. The key difference here is “employ” or “contract” … If you invoice them for each gig then you are a contractor (although here in Australia there are rules about contracting to just 1 company), if you get paid a wage for hours worked (and have annual leave, super etc) then you are an employee.
An employee is covered by the companies liability.
Essentially as a contractor, if you stuff up then the liability is first taken by the company you contract to, who in turn will go you for making the blunder.
I know I worked in a club a few years back and some fire-eaters almost burned down the club, no casualties but some of the dance floor and a wall got scorched - In that case it was the agency that paid out, and the fire-eaters were not employees but self-employed.
Every country will have its own laws regarding this though, I’d honestly advise having a chat with an insurance company and possibly a lawyer. Most likely the venue will have a certain amount of liability, some will even cover performers equipment, but that depends on the policy of the venue.
You should probably have your own Public Liability insurance anyhow well to cover mishaps that may arise directly as a result of your gear or rigging e.g. a lighting fixture falling on someones head.
That being the case you might need to up your fees to make it worthwhile, however could also make this an attractive selling point for your services.