Public liability insurance for circus performers and other high risk artists

When your livelihood depends on being insured you make the investment as part of your business expenses, and are usually able to pass this cost on to your customers which makes it not only affordable but worth your while. But what if you are a high risk professional on a low income and can’t pass the costs on? Many performance artists struggle to find the cover they need in order to conduct their business – particularly “high risk” artists. So if you are a circus performer or other high risk performance artist, where can you go for advice? Is there anyone out there willing to insure you? If so, can you afford it?

Public liability – social impacts

The changes in Government policy in recent years have made it harder and harder for independent performers, associations and very small businesses provide their services. The costs of public liability insurance can be crippling. In some places school fetes, country market days, small outdoor festivals the like have been cancelled or consigned to history. Add to that the fact that the business you engage may be classified as high risk and a policy that was nearly out of reach becomes not only unaffordable but also impossible to find. Almost no one wants to insure high risk performers – sad but true.

Who needs special liability cover?

High risk performers who may require this public liability insurance include: sword swallowers, aerialists, fire performers of any type, acrobats, spruikers, magicians, clowns, stilt-walkers, story-tellers, hula-hoopers and so forth. There is actually a long list of performers who need public liability insurance who are overlooked by the major companies, and yet they continue to work. How can that be?

As a result of need, there are a select, very few insurance companies who are prepared to take a risk on performance artists. Not surprisingly, the organisation most of these artists go to for their cover is a volunteer, community-based association born from within the ranks of the artists themselves, known as Duck For Cover. Duck For Cover is underwritten by SLE Australia and their broker is AON.

What does it cost?

Duck For Cover has three categories of cover – with the most extreme artists grouped in Category Three. To be eligible for cover you must become a member of the association then pay an annual fee for your public liability. The fee scale is dependent on the category your activity falls under. It can range from the very reasonable to the rather costly at the extreme ends of the scale. A fire performer (Category Three), for example, can expect to pay upwards of $500 a year. The association is a not-for-profit venture and this is how premiums are kept to a minimum.  

Given that quotes from the larger companies (who really don’t want to insure you) can reach into the thousands of dollars this is not a prohibitive sum (at the extreme risk end of the scale) to be able to receive payment for a creative service. To make it worth your while, of course, you will need to structure your business to generate at least that amount in income from your activity each year.