Practice makes perfect, but performers still need insurance

Selling insurance to rock bands, choirs, troupes of jugglers, magicians and clowns may not be fun and games, but it can be interesting work

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Founded in 1952 specifically to provide coverage for motorsports, K&K Insurance is not afraid of bar bands.

There may be something just a little ironic about a bar asking a band to provide proof of insurance, but that is the nature of the world today and it plays to the obvious favor of insurance agents.

“K&K offers e-commerce websites so that agents can simply go online and fill out a quick application and purchase coverage on behalf of their clients instantly,” said K&K Marketing Manager Lorena Hatfield. She said agents can use paper applications if they want to, they can call in and speak with someone if they want to, but that they can also get coverage for most performing groups entirely online.  “It makes it very convenient for the agent, and they can earn a commission through our website.”

Knowing that many agents have never secured this type of insurance for a client before, K&K Senior Vice President for Mass Merchandising Mark Beck said the company allows even agents who have never done business with K&K to go online and buy insurance once they complete a simple online registration process.

“They need to register so they can save any quotes they might work up, as well as save any purchases they make. There isn’t any kind of prescreening process. It is an open market and they can conduct business with us easily, even the first time they do it,” he said.

“We don’t insure big national touring groups,” said Nick Pentsos, sr. regional sales manager at K&K. “This program is more for your local groups. When you are insuring a wedding you may have a band that also needs insurance. Local bars that have bands on the weekends often require those bands to have insurance.”

Pentsos said there is a limit of $200,000 in annual revenue for bands buying insurance online, and that K&K can insure performing groups with revenue up to $500,000, but that groups at that level need to complete and submit a paper application.

“There are not a lot of carriers focusing on the smaller groups that we focus on,” Beck said, adding that a lot of times, a band or performing group will buy their first policy just to cover a specific gig where the owner of the bar or venue requires coverage, but that they can save a lot of money by buying an annual policy that will cover then anywhere they perform. Like with all of its event and performer policies, K&K will provide additional insured certificates for the venue owners at no extra charge.

K&K may not be afraid of bar bands, but the company does like to know what it is getting into. “We look them up online to see what they are up to,” said Pentsos. He said there are a few genres of music K&K tries to stay away from.

Coverage for performers tends to be focused on bodily injury and property damage. “Sometimes bands set up their own lighting, and a lighting structure may fall on the audience. We’ve had damage to the building before, and those are the kinds of things this coverage is for,” Pentsos said.

“Once in a while you’ll get a crazy band member who will throw a pair of drumsticks into the crowd and hit somebody, so there is negligence on the part of a band member, and we will cover that.”

In order to buy coverage online, a performing group must have no more than 30 members and at least one member must be at least 18.

Coverage is available for such performing groups as choirs, barbershop quartets, dance groups and the like. K&K has different plans for individual performers such as a single clown, singer or DJ. 

“All these little garage bands playing festivals need coverage, and there are not a lot of insurers focusing on the smaller performers, small dance studios, people like that,” said Beck.

“When you talk about expertise, it is important to mention that K&K has an in-house claims staff with extensive experience in our very specific sports and leisure activities,” said Hatfield.  “We are very familiar with the ins and outs of handling claims and resolving issues correctly and as quickly as possible, and that is not something every insurer can say, especially not the standard carriers. This is what we do,” she said.

“Our people understand performers,” said Beck. “They won’t say to your client ‘you do what for a living?’ They understand these kinds of people and the unique aspects of their business. They are very experienced in the industries they serve.

“From the agent’s perspective, working with someone who does just this, nothing else, can be very helpful. Our underwriters can help them through the process. If an agent has never worked with performers, we can walk them through what to look for, what to ask for, etc.”

He said online coverage for groups like this is liability only, and does not cover damage to their instruments or other property they own.

“I’ve heard from underwriters that when we talk to bands, they often don’t even know what they are buying,” said Hatfield. “Programs like this are really an opportunity for agents to educate their clients who are being told by venues they need liability insurance.”

“A lot of people are reinventing themselves,” said Beck. “They may have had a career in accounting and now they are playing in a blues band on weekends. They will go to the agent who handled their accounting business and say ‘I’ve got this side project that I need coverage for.’”

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