Music teacher insurance

Public liability insurance for music teachers

In case you or your employee injure someone or damage their property.

What’s typically covered by music teacher public liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

• damage to someone’s property, caused by your music teaching business
• an injury or illness caused by your business activities or products
• accidental damage or injuries caused by your employees

For example:

• a student cuts their hand on your broken front gate, and makes a claim against you
• one of your clients slips and falls on your rain-wet practice room floor, injuring their lower back

If you do employ anyone, you’re usually required by law to have employers’ liability insurance too.

Read more about public liability insurance

Employers’ liability insurance

In case an employee gets sick or injured while working for you.

What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

• an injury or illness that happens as a result of working for you (including temps and casual workers)

**Employers’ liability insurance is required by law if you have people working for you. Without it, you could be fined up to £2,500 a day for each employee.**

For example:

• one of the music teachers you’ve hired injures their shoulder while unlocking your premises
• your trainee teacher slips on your wet music room floor, breaking her arm

Professional indemnity insurance for music teachers

In case a client loses money because of your advice, services or designs.

What’s typically covered by professional indemnity insurance?

Claims against your business for professional negligence or a loss-causing breach of contract. This can include:

• advice which turns out to be incorrect
• mistakes in your work that cost others money to fix

For example:

• one of your students sits and fails a teacher training exam, and holds you responsible for the costs incurred

Read more about professional indemnity insurance

Business and office equipment insurance

In case something happens to equipment like your instruments, or laptop.

What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?

• accidental damage to the equipment you use to run the business, including your instruments
• theft, flood, and fire damage

For example:

• your keyboard, headphones and laptop are stolen from a practice room you’re working in
• you leave your work tablet on a train while on your way to a client’s school, and it’s never recovered

Read more about business and office equipment insurance

Tools insurance

In case your tools are lost, stolen or damaged.

What’s typically covered by tools insurance?

• loss, damage, or theft of your trade tools and specialist professional equipment

For example:

• your instrument repair and maintenance kit is stolen from the front seat of your locked car, while you’re parked outside a client’s house

Read more about tools insurance

Legal expenses insurance

In case you face legal costs in connection with your music teaching business.

What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?

• legal costs attributed to your music teaching business
• property damage, nuisance, or trespass – specifically, the associated legal claims and compensation payouts
• tax and compliance disputes, and investigations you need help with
• access to expert advice – including a tax advice phone line, confidential 24/7 legal phone line, and crisis PR support to help you protect your professional reputation

For example:

• HMRC begin an investigation into your tax payments, and you need to pay for legal representation
• you bring a claim against a hired space when your guitar is damaged by their staff, and need to recover legal costs

Read more about legal expenses insurance

Personal accident insurance

In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at work or elsewhere.

What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?

• accidental injury or death at or outside of work, for anyone covered on the policy
• lost income, medical costs, and hospitalisation benefit

For example:

• you break your arm while swimming, and can’t work at full capacity for eight weeks
• an employee slips on some loose sheet music, and needs time off for a back injury

Read more about personal accident insurance

Can I just cover my most expensive tools?

Make sure you cover the total cost of replacing all your tools or you’ll only get a proportion of your claim paid out if something happens to them. Learn about tool cover.

Which type of workers do I need insurance for?

Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement if you employ people.

If you have people working for you, including bona fide subcontractors (BFSC), labour-only subcontractors (LOSC), part-timers, or full-time staff, employers’ liability insurance is required by law.

Read on for our simplified guide to the difference between labour-only subcontractors and bona fide subcontractors.

Will tools insurance cover all my equipment?

Depending on what you use to do your work, you may need other covers.

You may need more than tools insurance – for example, business equipment insurance if you have a work laptop, plant insurance if you use machinery.

Does music teacher insurance cover my work correctly?

Make sure you’re picking the right cover to protect you properly. It’s important to know that if you have another trade or job, you’ll need additional cover. For example, do you need to consider private tutor insurance or artist insurance?

Do I need cover for other types of work?

If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered:

• Nursery insurance
• Insurance for working with children
• Dance teacher insurance
• Childminder insurance
• Nanny insurance
• Driving instructor insurance

Other types of insurance

• Limited company insurance
• Self-employed insurance
• Freelance insurance
• Consultant insurance
• Contractors insurance
• Sole trader insurance

Which public liability cover limit should I choose?

Think about the maximum possible loss your business could face in the event of a claim, and make sure you take legal fees and damages into consideration. You can choose from three levels of coverage – £1 million, £2 million, or up to £5 million.