I just bought a 6 x 12 cargo trailer to use for storage between shows, to travel to the shows and also to alleviate having to load and unload the pottery and my display before and after each show. Should I contact my auto insurance company to add this on or should I buy some other kind of policy to protect my investment if it is stolen or vandalized? If I contact my auto company will they want me to place my vehicle on a business policy, which would be a bigger expense ? How are you handling this as artists? Also any advice on locks for the hitch, we purchased one to cover the ball, what else would we need? Thank you, Jackie
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You have a very good point about the need for agents to determine liability in business. Lets agree that anything can happen anytime. This is why I do not do anything with the public art wise any more other than show the art in a show. Makes me wonder where liability lies in different art show venues for example like you mentioned tents blowing or lets say a steel sculpture fell on a visitor's foot. Then we should consider paper art only? My father was a claims manager and I grew up helping him investigate claims. It taught me to stay clear of people if at all possible and I've become the most conservative person I know. As it is I have no insurance at the moment.
Liability will be different depending on your business. If you have a sign business and let's say you are going onto private individual's property to do business, or they are coming onto yours - that is another whole ballgame. If they are coming to you at a show, that is different. If I have people at my house taking workshops & classes, I didn't originally have coverage for that, although I do now since my studio is downstairs. I still don't allow customers here. So $500 a month without the specifics is too vague, and is it an add-on policy or a stand alone? Do you have a brick & mortar? Hence why I stand by what I originally said - that's what agents are for. There are so many different combinations within "Liability". It's not the same for everyone.
Well that is a reasonable insurance investment but around here I had the lowest liability quotes at $500.00/month. What insurance company do you use?
I'm not talking about "value". I'm talking about the actual replacement costs.
For starters, it cost me $7500 to replace the trailer, and another $12,500 in materials, propanels, canopy, tools and other material that was on the trailer. My trailer insurance runs about $75/year. My business policy: another $300/year. I'd say that's a pretty good return on investment.
You may be a wealthy artist and can afford such insurance but it's too expensive for most. I've been in the commercial sign business for thirty five years and I always declined a job which required me to have liability insurance which was often at least 50% of the cost of the job. If I asked the client for more which would cover it then I'd loose the bid. As far as being an artist you must forget about al this "value" of $20,000.00. I can't see what in art is worth that much unless you haver been paying others to do your work.
Vincent, I have to say that when my trailer and half my stock was stolen, along with a third of my show material, that insurance covered 95% of the loss. It was over $20,000, and I would have been out of business if I hadn't been insured. Not too many people in this business can sustain that kind of financial loss.
Even worse would be a liability suit. Say a storm blew up and blew your canopy into another artist's tent and injured two patrons cowering on the sidewalk. Without liability insurance you'd be paying for the rest of your life, not "moving on".
Forget about it. Just insure it as part of your normal policy. Do not leave it unlocked. If it all gets stolen ....forget about it and move on. You can't predict the future with insurance!
Terry you are so right about the top! We didn't use our trailer very much...but I was going to put a big duct tape number on top of it for that very reason since it's one of those things people who steal wouldn't think about looking to change or get up there to look although most trailers aren't that high up - they still are.
I agree Carol. Having good inventory records and visual proof of the condition of the trailer before and after is key to recovery after a loss.
And the one thing people forget is that while you pay for this insurance, when you have a claim, the insurance company is not there to be your friend (as the commercials try to portray) they are a business protecting their bottom line. So, make sure you take pictures, document everything, who you talked to / when what/you name it. I did...thank goodness for smartphones! And it helps when my dad was chief rater of insurance for the State of MI. Whenever I drop that bomb on an agent - they shut up real fast, but most people don't have that vantage point. So, it's not just about having insurance, it's about making sure you have the proper records to be able to recover your losses, during a stressful time when no one wants you to.
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