By Trevor Drake, “Insurance Professional”
The simple answer to this question is unfortunately, “NO.” We see many instances where a DJ is playing a gig where an incident happens and the DJ is named in a resulting lawsuit because they were on site during an incident.
In our current state of affairs, we often find lawyers using the “sue ‘em all, and let the court sort ‘em out” tactic when filing lawsuits. This means that even if you had nothing to do with the “incident” you may still be required to defend yourself in court. Here is an example, let’s assume there was fight at a New Year’s Eve celebration where you were DJ-ing. The injured party will seek legal counsel to file suits against the parties involved in the altercation, the venue, the bartender (if alcohol was a contributing factor), the band / DJ, the security staff etc.… All in hope of one or more parties settling outside of court proceedings. When this happens, your liability insurance will kick in and represent you in the lawsuit and even assist with payouts if a judgement is made against you.
The General Liability coverage offered from Brown & Brown through N.A.M.E. becomes a terrific value when you receive notification that you have been named in a lawsuit. With liability limits from $1 million to up to $5 million per occurrence, you can sleep well at night knowing that your business / personal assets will be protected when the inevitable happens.
I have had the opportunity to speak with a few entertainment professional that have been working in their respective fields for many, many years and feel that they know what they are doing and therefore do not need insurance coverage. But as you can see, you can do everything right, and still be involved in a situation where someone sees your business as an opportunity for a quick payday.
Be certain that you are insured for general liability. Be certain that you are doing business with a reputable licensed insurance provider. A good insurance provider will have no problem providing you with a copy of their state issued insurance license and their errors and omissions policy.
You can contact Brown & Brown of Pennsylvania at (844) 334-7877 with any questions or comments that you may have.
