Certificates of Insurance for Gigs: What Venues Actually Require

Every performing musician eventually gets an email from a venue, festival, school, or wedding coordinator asking for a certificate of insurance. Attached is a contract with a paragraph of insurance requirements written in language that is not designed to be readable. Here is what those terms mean and what to do about them. Certificate of insurance A one-page document issued by your agent that summarizes your coverage: carrier, policy number, effective dates, and limits. It is proof, not coverage. It does not change your policy. Additional insured The venue is asking to be covered under your policy for claims arising out of your performance. This requires an endorsement to your policy, not just a line on the certificate. If your policy does not include a blanket additional insured endorsement, each request has to be added individually. Waiver of subrogation You are agreeing that your insurer will not pursue the venue to recover money after paying a claim. Most commercial policies can add this by endorsement, and many include it on a blanket basis. Primary and non-contributory Your policy pays first, and the venue's policy is not asked to contribute. Again, an endorsement question. Typical limit requirements Most small venues ask for 1,000,000 per occurrence and 2,000,000 aggregate in general liability. Festivals, municipalities, and school districts frequently require higher limits or an umbrella. Liquor liability may be required separately if alcohol is served and you are involved in the event. How to make this painless Ask for the contract early. A certificate can usually be issued the same day, but adding an endorsement can take longer. Send us the actual contract, not a summary. The insurance requirements section tells us exactly which endorsements to arrange. Consider an annual policy over per-event coverage. If you play more than a handful of dates a year, an annual general liability policy is usually cheaper than repeated special event policies and lets us issue certificates on demand at no extra charge. Keep a standing certificate holder list. If you play the same rooms every year, we can keep them on file and reissue automatically. Need one today Email music@emerywebb.com with the venue name, event date, and the contract, or call 800-942-5818. Certificates for existing clients are typically issued within the same business day.