Insurance (again, sorry) - trying not to get shafted

[nigelj]

Hi all,

 

A summary of my situ - I do lighting for a hobby for amateur societies. I'm covered on the society's insurances for me, any helpers, and what we do, and hired in gear is either covered on their property cover or they take out an extension for a specific show if the replacement value is higher than their standard cover. All has been great so far!

 

I have a small wedding to light in December where the situation is different (will be same or similar to many of you). The venue require contractors (me) to have PLI. I've looked at the previous threads on here and have contacted Doodsons, Precision/Crewcover and a couple of others...all the cover seems about the same level for about £250. Except BECTU who told me that theirs would cover me for theatre work, but NOT for anything they class as private work (e.g. a wedding!), so although theirs would be cheaper it would be useless if I had to claim later this month!

 

I'm happy getting my own PLI to cover me for work I do anywhere (in the UK), so that aspect isn't the issue.

 

BUT...I also need cover for the gear I'm hiring in for the wedding (about £10k replacement value). Crewcover say on their website that they include 'equipment under your control', but they don't make it clear that hired in gear would NOT be covered as they consider this to be equipment where you have an insurance liability from the hirer (or something like that...I can't remember exactly what matey said)...he said the cover is for e.g. ladders, hoists, tools etc. owned by you or the venue.

 

I then spoke to Doodsons about 'property' cover and their annual cover is about £450, and 2-week cover almost as much as the annual PLI (minimum premiums apparently!).

 

I can use the hire firm's cover for the gear (£65-ish), but before I arrange this wanted to ask you chaps with far more experience than me if there's any other angles that I haven't explored or firms I should try. I'm waiting for a quote from my Professional Idemnity insurer (for my 'real' job) but I expect they'll be even more expensive.

 

Any pointers would be gratefully received.

 

Cheers

[Mazz]

Hi,

 

Most hire companies should be able to offer you insurance for the kit, as an extension of the cover they already have in place,, at a price.

I offer this service to clients wishing to take equipment to Europe.

[GR1]

Just use the hire company's insurance. It will typically be 5% of the hire cost. It is difficult to get insurance yourself for a one off event because the insurer finds it difficult to assess the risk and usually ends up at near to 100%. The hire company's usually bear the risk themselves on the basis that even they can't get insurance and that over a year they will break even on what they have to replace.

[McIvy]

Nigel,

 

As above. I'd go with the Hire company's add-on cover for their own Insurance.

 

That way, in the unfortunate event of a claim, if there are any difficulties, they can shoulder the problem sorting. Bear in mind however that you have to comply with the Insurance Terms ( ask for a copy!), as any breach of the insurance policy still leaves you picking up the tab for any lost or damaged kit. I'm thinking here of restrictions in cover for unattended vehicles, other security etc

 

Do make sure you have bought the annual PLI cover for all types of events, though. I would recommend this to anyone working or volunteering in the industry, despite the overall cover that your regular venue might have. You have no control over someone else's Insurance arrangements and I doubt you know the full extent of cover and limitations?

 

Hope that helps.

 

McIvy

[nigelj]

Cheers, guys.

 

I've indeed arranged hire company insurance...was a bit of a haggling mission though! Originally I was told it would be 20% of the hire cost (it's a very small job so only £400 hire) - £80 was acceptable. Then the insurance cost suddenly grew to £160 which was not OK - apparently when the cabling which is not charged on the hire was added into the value at retail price, it all became much bigger? There's no way the cabling value is the same as the fixture value, so that didn't add up in my mind - maybe I'm missing something in the calculation/thought process?

 

Anyway - I'm insuring the fixtures, truss and hazer through the hire company, and I'm taking the risk on cabling as I know there's nothing going to happen to it. If a cable gets damaged (which it won't) I'll just replace it! So the insurance is now £78 + VAT, which the happy couple are covering.

 

My PLI is with Crewcover.

[Pete McCrea]

It might be worth you just putting a shopping basket together at somewhere like VDC Trading of the cable you'll have on the hire just so you have an indication of what it could cost, if someone took the cable trunk to the local scrap yard. You could be very surprised...

[ImagineerTom]

Pikeys are unlikely to steal specialist (ie hard to dispose of) theatre equipment but a load of cables are very easy to dispose of and completely untraceable. For accidental damage insure the kit, for theft you should be insuring the cables...

[nigelj]

Noted, thanks.

 

I've thought about this. I'll collect the kit in the morning, rig midday in the wedding venue which will have hotel staff in and out getting ready during the afternoon. I'll be back at 1630 to fire everything up, guests arrive at 1730, I disappear whilst they're eating (in the space where the kit is) then come back at 2030 to play with the lights during the disco, and drink and dance with the happy couple. Then I'll take it all out when the party finishes and it'll be in my house overnight before being returned the following morning. I reckon not much chance for anything to get nicked!

[Jivemaster]

Don't you believe it, if it's not screwed down it can walk. If it is screwed down there is a battery powered driver or sabre saw to liberate anything.