You’ve made it. You’ve gone from part time DJ to full-time pro at last. You’ve got a regular residency, the business is starting to take off and you’ve even invested some of your hard-earned money into a home studio to start creating your own records. Life, as they say, is good for the professional DJ.
Congratulations – you’re one of the lucky few to get this far in your chosen career. However, there is a cautionary note that may cause you to put the champagne on ice for a little while – the cost of your insurance.
Your profession dictates how much you’ll pay for your insurance, whether that’s your home and contents cover, through to your car insurance, life cover and even your professional indemnity insurance. And unfortunately, anyone in the artistic and creative industries can quickly discover that while they might have thousands of adoring fans, insurance providers are not one of them.
Why do creatives get charged more?
While there’s little research into whether musicians and DJs get charged more for their insurance, the acting profession has long been locked in battle with the insurance industry over this very point. The actor’s union Equity has repeatedly asked the Financial Ombudsman to look into the matter, but has been stonewalled with the reply that they cannot investigate an entire industry, only individual cases.
When pressed, the insurance companies often cite various ‘risk factors’ when it comes to insurance assessment for the creative industries. Everything from late-night or unusual working hours (a common experience for DJs) through to the need to travel long distances or spend extended periods of time on the road driving from one gig to another have all been mentioned. Yet there are no clearly defined reasons given as to why this should result in actors, musicians and DJs being penalised more heavily than other professions that work equally ‘unusual’ hours or travel just as far on the road.
The obvious answer for any creative professional looking for insurance, including DJ insurance cover, is to speak to a specialist broker who can source affordable and fairly priced cover, particularly when it comes to motoring insurance and personal liability. In the meantime, creative professionals will have to continue to pressurise the industry to get a fair deal for their insurance.