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Do musicians need insurance?

Whether you're touring abroad or starting your career in music teaching, you deserve to work with full peace of mind. Obtaining specialist insurance policies for musicians means you can feel confident about the safety and integrity of your work.

Insurance for musicians is rarely a legal requirement, but we recommend getting covered regardless of your niche. Public venues might ask you to have public liability insurance before you perform there.

You might also have instruments and technical equipment you'd like to insure for music performances both in the UK and internationally. With the right musicians' insurance, you can focus entirely on your work – we'll cover the rest.

When you join the MU, you'll benefit from access to a wide range of insurance policies through our partner organisations and solicitors, including Hencilla Canworth.

Which types of insurance for musicians does the MU offer?

The Musicians’ Union offers access to a variety of essential musicians' insurance policies and schemes. These include:

  • Essential insurance for musicians

Every musician should consider obtaining public liability insurance before teaching or performing. We also support our members with access to professional indemnity insurance and personal accident cover.

  • Music instrument cover

We understand that your musical instruments are valuable in more than one way. Protect your career and your assets with our musical instrument and equipment insurance.

  • Hearing Health Scheme

MU members benefit from our Hearing Health Scheme, which makes it more affordable to protect your ears from the inevitable noise exposure that comes with the job.

Which insurance for musicians is available with the MU?

Personal accident insurance for musicians

This policy insures you in the event of a serious injury or death following an accident. It includes cover for:

  • Reasonable and necessary dental expenses
  • Certain broken bones listed in the policy wording
  • Convalescence in hospital lasting more than 4 days following an accident

Please see the policy wording for specifics regarding what is covered.

Find out more about personal accident cover

Travel insurance for touring musicians

Through the MU, musicians can get travel insurance from Hencilla Canworth for as little as £20 for single-trip cover.

This will come under the Voyager scheme, which is designed for travellers in the entertainment industry and provides cover for standard leisure, business and cruise trips under one policy.

If a venue or hiring organisation asks you for an endorsement to confirm that you are a musician or singer, Hencilla can provide you with this upon request.

Find out more about travel insurance for touring musicians

Summary of MU member insurances

Musicians' insurance for MU members

FAQs

The Musicians’ Union offers access to a variety of essential musicians' insurance policies.

MU membership includes comprehensive public liability insurance up to £10 million, covering you for accidents or damage during musical activities. This protects you when teaching, performing, or rehearsing.

We also support our members with access to professional indemnity insurance which is essential for teaching work, and personal accident cover.

We understand that your musical instruments are valuable in more than one way. Protect your career and your assets with our musical instrument and equipment insurance.

Need more details? Check your member benefits, our insurances page or email membership@themu.org.

Musicians' insurance is not a legal requirement. But if you start your career without cover, you could face a difficult recovery in the event of unexpected claims, loss or theft of your equipment, or injuries incurred while performing.

At the Musicians' Union, we recommend obtaining relevant and tailor-made insurance for musicians regardless of your experience or schedule.

If you work as a freelance or employed musician, insurance will help you maximise your career and worry less about potential consequences or unexpected issues. 

Each musician needs their own MU membership for individual insurance coverage and access to other membership benefits. Band equipment may need separate coverage. Contact us to discuss the best protection for your group.

We understand that your musical instruments are valuable in more than one way. With MU membership you can get insured against loss, damage or theft up to £3,000 with our musical instrument and equipment insurance.

You must register with Hencilla Canworth to be covered. If you don’t register, you’re not covered.

MU members may be able to claim financial benefits in the event of an accident at work through our Personal Accident Cover scheme. Find out more and contact the MU if unsure.

Yes, this cover is automatically activated for all current members. Find out more about PLI cover and download the PLI certificate via My MU.

As a current member you can download a personal copy of your Public Liability Certificate at any time. Just login to My MU and select download your PLI whenever you need to.

Each insurance cover is subject to Terms and Conditions, so members are advised to check the latest policy wording for the specific cover or contact us.

Our musical instrument insurance provides cover worldwide, provided you are a UK resident. Find out more under Territorial Limits in the musical insurance policy.

Touring musicians should get travel insurance built specifically for those working in the industry. Cover for instruments and equipment could also be invaluable while you're on the move, but it's important to check that foreign travel is included in the terms too.

If you work as a performing musician, you should consider specialist musical instrument insurance to protect your assets and career. Public liability insurance could be invaluable for freelance performing musicians and could even be a requirement to perform in certain venues or for particular employers.

Professional indemnity insurance protects teaching musicians against claims of professional negligence and covers legal costs and compensation if needed. MU membership includes this automatically.

The MU does not provide car insurance – but MU members have access to exclusive benefits on car insurance for musicians and bands through our bespoke insurance partnership with Howden. 

For every policy introduced through this partnership, Howdens will donate £10 to the Musicians’ Union Benevolent Fund, helping to protect and support MU members in financial hardship. 

The MU does not provide home insurance – but our partnership with Howden also includes exclusive benefits on home insurance for musicians and bands. For example, homeworking is covered, including music teaching and home studios.

Get MU membership today

From gig players to part-time teachers and professional instrumentalists, MU members can access specialist insurance for musicians. This includes Public Liability, Instrument and Equipment Insurance, Accident Insurance, Tax Investigation Insurance, and Professional Indemnity Insurance for music teachers.

Explore our member services

  • Get public liability insurance for musicians
  • Access expert legal support
  • Be represented in your profession
  • Access expert career advice, resources, and training events
  • Connect, network, and get to know the community of musicians

Learn about all membership benefits

Get MU membership today