Liability

Along with your property insurance, obtain general liability or casualty insurance to cover you in the event that someone accidentally sustains an injury in your space and sues you. The insurance company will provide the attorneys to defend you and the monies for any settlements.

Liability insurance also protects you if you are inadvertently responsible for damage to other people's property. For instance, if you accidentally start a fire in your studio that damages three other studios, the tenants in those studios and the building owner will expect compensation from you. Your liability policy will cover you in such a situation.

Most homeowner’s insurance policies will provide a level of liability coverage if you own a residential space. However, if you are a renter, you might need to obtain separate liability coverage. If you are operating a commercial space such as a gallery or theater, and your premises are regularly open to public access, you must obtain a commercial general liability policy, or CGL.

It is wise to have your liability policy written as a primary coverage policy. If you have a variety of policies through several companies, chances are that some portion of your coverage will overlap. In the event of a claim, your providers might spend valuable time bickering over which company pays what. If you have a liability policy written to provide primary coverage,  the provider of the primary coverage policy will be the first to address and pay a stated claim. If a balance remains, your other provider(s) will then take effect and pay all or a portion of the balance.