Almost every business needs insurance. There are many risks that your business incurs simply by letting people into the building along with several ways you could be held liable for property damage and a number of various incidents. These occurrences could bring financial harm onto your gallery, and without insurance you could be on the hook for those expenses yourself. Could your art gallery handle the cost of a fire being set in the building or recovering stolen paintings?
What if someone had an accident in your gallery and took you to court? Would you be able to pay for any medical expenses they end up with as well as all the associated legal fees? With an ACT art gallery insurance policy your expenses may be covered. In this post we’ll go over the different kinds of coverage that you may want to look into for your insurance policy.
GENERAL LIABILITY COVERAGE
This is broad, basic coverage; it may cover you in case there are any accidents in your gallery. If someone trips over a bench because they are too busy staring at the art while walking, you could be held liable for their injury. A simple thing like a broken ankle could result in a lawsuit and you would need to hire a lawyer. The legal fees can add up very quickly. According to one site, they can range anywhere from $255 to $520 per hour depending on the lawyer’s experience.
If you go to court and are found liable for damages, you may be responsible to pay for:
This could mean paying out tens of thousands of dollars in expenses. Even if you run a large museum, that kind of hit could really set your books back. Art gallery insurance could give you $2 million worth of coverage to deal with legal fees and any damages you are liable to pay.
- Injuries
- Lost pay from being unable to work
- Other damages
FINE ART COVERAGE
By displaying art, you are taking on the risk of someone possibly stealing that art. Since artwork can be very expensive, fine art coverage is a necessary part of any art gallery policy. How much coverage you purchase will depend on several factors including the worth of the art pieces. Be sure to speak to your insurance agent about how much coverage you need. Click here to learn more.
DAMAGES TO PREMISES RENTED
If you’re an artist and you rent a venue to hold an art gallery then you could be responsible for anything that happens to the building. If the unthinkable occurs and a fire starts, you could be held responsible for the fire and the resulting damage. If you have damage to premises rented coverage as part of your art gallery insurance, then you may be covered.
This coverage doesn’t just cover catastrophic events like fires. Depending on your contract with the venue, if one of your customers breaks a bench or puts a hole through a wall, then you could be held liable to fix that, too. That could be very expensive for an independent artist and could seriously hurt you financially.
OPTIONAL BUSINESS PERSONAL PROPERTY COVERAGE
If you hang your art in a gallery, drop it, and break the frame, that could ruin the piece and set you back quite a bit of money. Since the value of art can be subjective, you may only receive money for the value of the materials you used to create the art. However, since that can be very expensive, business personal property coverage is a great thing to have as part of your insurance policy.
WRAP-UP
The most common things people say about insurance are that they can’t afford it or they don’t think they’ll need it. If you don’t think you can afford insurance then how could you afford a potential liability lawsuit? It only takes one accident to ruin a business and with insurance you can protect yours in the event something unfortunate does happen. Click here to start the process to get insured!
