Recording Studio Business Insurance

Insurance risks of starting a recording studio:

Know what to include when choosing the right Recording Studio Business Insurance.

So maybe you have just opened a new recording studio, or perhaps you are one of the nearly 5,000 established recording businesses in the USA.  Either way, you have the potential to earn substantial revenue over the years as your business grows. Because of new technology, you are most likely in the midst of investing in very costly and newer high tech quality equipment. That being said, you should want to protect that investment in quality in the same way you protect your business and other assets from damage or loss.

Many factors are considered when tailoring a recording studio business insurance package. Your business dwelling, size of business, your past experience in business, and the number of employees and customers you have are all considered when pricing your policy.  You will want to protect yourself and your business with general liability insurance protection, building property and business personal property to help minimize your losses in the event of an unfortunate lawsuit.  Also, some financial institutions mandate that specific insurance limits be included in your policy when you apply for loans as you build your business. 

Recording studio business insurance is important in the industry.  You will want to protect yourself against lawsuits from 3^rd parties as well as losses that occur to your property and equipment.  Even if you use your home as your place of operation, a business insurance policy might be necessary to protect you from losses that arise out of that portion of the home that is used for business purposes.  Spend time with your legal counsel to review and know your risk exposure.  Our professional staff at InsuranceTrak Services will also spend time with you to evaluate your insurance needs to assure that your money is well spent on insurance protection that will give you and your recording studio business excellent coverage that can even prevent bankruptcy in many unfortunate situations.

What is the cost to insure your recording studio?

Here are a few things that will determine your premium:

1. Gross annual sales
2. Where you conduct your business
3. The size of your premises
4. How long you have been in business
5. The amount of insurance you purchase to protect your business and your deductibles
6. The insurance company you choose to be insured with

We provide excellent service and can explain in detail:

1. What should be covered based on your personal situation?
2. All options available in your state.  For example, do you have proper worker’s compensation coverage?
3. Deductibles – how do they work and apply to your losses and what is best for your business and personal situation?
4. What is actually covered in your policy, and what is not covered by your policy and why?
5. Riders: what is available that is not covered by your basic policy?
6. Liability limits? There are several types of liability insurance available including, the most common, general liability insurance (for example, if someone is injured in your studio or if they suffer damage to their property while on your premises).  You might want to consider product liability insurance if you sell or lease equipment or musical instruments.  There is also coverage for your operations liability exposure that may cover you for situations that involve lawsuits (for example, a lawsuit filed by an unsatisfied customer if they claim they have incurred losses or damages as the result of a business transaction with you).  InsuranceTrak will explain what the limits and options are and you can decide if you need to adjust limits based on your personal situation.
7. Other types of liability coverage can include liquor liability insurance that would protect you in the event you host a party or special event and serve alcoholic beverages. If your business owns or leases vehicles that are used to travel to off site events, commercial auto insurance is available.  If anyone uses personal automobiles for business, there may be an option to protect your recording business by adding Hired and Non-owned auto liability coverage for vehicles driven by employees but not owned by the business.

Risk management for a recording studio:

There are a number of risk management controls you can put in place:

• Privacy Statement
• Information Security Policy (you can find some great templates for Information Security policies on SANS website)
• Customer Contract Revision Provisions
• Standard Customer Contracts
• Standard Agreements for Vendors
• Recall Plan
• Vendor Certification Process
• Quality Control Program
• Obtaining Customer signatures on each phase of the project.

But just having all these controls in place isn't enough.  Sure they'll help you from preventing potential claims or lawsuits, but these days you can pretty much be sued by anyone for any reason.  Next, we'll help you to identify some of the potential claims that could arise and how your insurance coverage would protect you in the event of a claim.  We'll first look at the common types of business insurances.  Then, we'll look at potential claims and how these different business insurances can protect you.

Types of business insurance for a recording studio:

Below is a list of common types of business insurances:

• General Liability Insurance. This insurance covers your business against claims for bodily injury and property damage.  When adding property coverage to a General Liability policy, this is often referred to as a Business Owner Policy or BOP insurance.  There are many facets to BOP insurance.  General Liability protects your small business from injury or damage caused by your employees cause or injury to 3rd parties while on your premises.  Often a BOP will include products and completed operations liability insurance which helps to protect from injury or damage done by your products or completed operations once they are out of your control.  There are many other coverages that can be afforded by having a business owner policy like commercial auto insurance, commercial property insurance and even loss of income insurance.
• Commercial Auto Insurance. As a business owner, you need the same kinds of insurance coverages for the car you use in your business as you do for a car used for personal travel -- liability, collision and comprehensive, medical payments (known as personal injury protection in some states) and coverage for uninsured motorists.  While the major coverages are the same, a business auto policy differs from a personal auto policy in many technical respects.
• Workers Compensation Insurance.  Most states require that an employer has Workers Comp in place for their employees.  Workers Comp covers the medical and lost wage costs (similar to disability) when an employee suffers a work-related injury or illness.  There is also another part of Workers Comp that doesn't come up often in discussion which is Employers Liability Insurance.  

Insurance claim examples for a recording studio:

Below are some likely claims examples and how your business insurance coverage would protect you in the event of a claim:

• General Liability Insurance claims-  Let's say that one day a customer or a vendor is in your office for a routine visit.  The night before the visit, your cleaning crew left a very slippery floor and didn't use non-skid wax. The customer is walking around your premises and they trip and fall.  They are severely injured and are rushed to the emergency room!  Having General Liability Insurance can protect you by paying for legal defense if the customer or vendor decided to bring a lawsuit against you for their injuries.
• Property Insurance claim- Let's say that one night your circuit breaker malfunctions and starts an electrical fire.  The fire spreads throughout your location burning your possessions and the building.  If you have Property Insurance then the damages for these damages are covered.  They will typically cover not only the cost to replace your damaged content but also the cost to clean the debris from the location.
• Worker's Compensation Insurance claim- Let' go back to the first claim example for General Liability insurance and say that your cleaning crew left a very slippery floor the night before work and didn't use non-skid wax. One of your employees slips on the slippery floor and gets injured.  Workers Compensation insurance can pay for the employee's medical costs and lost wages from being out of work.  

Recording studio business insurance is just one of the many business types we provide business insurance services for.  InsuranceTrak Services is able to provide you with a variety of quotes from several top insurance providers.  How do we do this?  We can save you money with our advanced state of the art software.  We will search multiple carriers for the best recording studio business insurance coverage at the best price.  We will provide you with quotes from various insurance companies based on your individual needs.  By obtaining a variety of quotes from different companies you will have the advantage of choosing a provider that could result in substantial savings with better coverage than you could have ever experienced.  The policy you choose for your recording studio business insurance will serve as a security blanket and should be designed to fully protect you.