Getting the Right Insurance Coverage

On a daily basis, the CERF+ (Craft Emergency Relief Fund + Artists' Emergency Resouces) receives requests from craft artists throughout the country for information and financial assistance in the wake of emergencies that jeopardize their livelihoods. Too often, these fires, natural disasters, accidents, life-threatening illnesses, and thefts leave professional artists on the brink of ruin because they have not properly protected themselves with business insurance. CERF+ currently provides financial assistance only to craft artists, but there is no reason to believe that the same does not hold true for all artists.

While there may be no way to prevent an emergency from taking a toll on your business, the damage can be minimized with appropriate business insurance. Many artists have considered business insurance but have dismissed it as either an unaffordable or a frivolous expense. But as Christina and Michael Adcock, owners of Leaves of Grass in Santa Barbara California, can attest, it is not. In 2002, they lost all of their equipment, materials, tools and inventory in a fire that consumed their studio. They were unable to work for the three months it took for their studio to be rebuilt. Fortunately, they were covered by insurance.

"As craftspeople, we tend to have limited financial resources," Christina relates. "When paying monthly bills, I used to resent all the money we paid for insurance. I now understand the importance of the precaution. Without insurance, I am fairly certain our small business could not have sustained a loss like this" I looked up our business insurance expenditures prior to the fire and was surprised to see that we had spent a little over $300 for the insurance that saved our business." Their losses totaled over $65,000.

This section of the Studio Protector is to inform uninsured artists about the world of small business insurance and to help you navigate the insurance industry to get the protection that you and your business deserve. If you already have business insurance, we hope that this section will help you assess that coverage. While many feel that insurance is an inscrutable industry − a world of fine print and technical jargon − and one that rejects our claims or cancels our coverage after we make the tiniest claim, it is actually an industry that provides protection for our businesses. Be assured that most agents and brokers are working in your best interest and will provide you with honest service and reliable representation, fair prices and reasonable responses to claims. That's more than half the battle