$5 million dollar coverage required now?

To many ads? Support ODJT and see no ads!
rickryan.com

rickryan.com

DJ Extraordinaire
ODJT Supporter
Dec 9, 2009
19,250
17,347
59
Hendersonville, TN
www.rickryan.com
Picked up a last minute Christmas party for the 10th. It's at a downtown hotel, which is one of the only places in town that requires an insurance rider. Problem is, in their contract they're requiring a $5 MILLION dollar policy. In addition, they're also requiring a "play nice" contract and are requiring signature on a 20+ page "A/V Policies" form. Are you guys seeing insurance requirements this steep? I basically told the client that we'll do the standard $2 mill, but if the hotel wants to hard-ball (I suspect she's trying to sell her own A/V guys) then we'll refund and cancel. Just wondering if this is something new that you guys are seeing.
 
My policy is $1M/$2M .. I have never had anyone ask to see it or be named an additional insured.
 
Unless you're signing the hotel's contract, you may not be required to do anything - the client may need to get the insurance. I have seen this at a historic property.

A few venues have asked to see my insurance and asked to be named as additional insured.
 
I too, am the $1M/$2M. The only time anyone has asked for an additional insured addition was for my city sponsored events. Rick is this in downtown Nashville?
 
I've never in over 30 years been asked for an insurance policy. I suspect most in this area don't even carry one. Mine is a $1 Million policy I haven't checked to see what it would be to up it.

From what I'm told (by a lawyer) the law in NS is that the venue must carry insurance that covers outside vendors but where I do work on Federal Government properties quite frequently it's in my best interest to have a policy in place.

I've never carried theft/damage insurance I self insure for that
 
Nope. RVNuccio doesn't even offer a 5 million dollar policy that I am aware of.

It is all stupid anyway. I only see requiring a insurance certificate as a way of "making sure" the vendor is "legit" so that the venue's client doesn't have Cousin Joey the "DJ" come in there.

I have been asked every year for an insurance certificate since 2010 up until this year. In 2016 I have not been asked a single time for it.
 
DJ Ricky B said:
It is all stupid anyway. I only see requiring a insurance certificate as a way of "making sure" the vendor is "legit" so that the venue's client doesn't have Cousin Joey the "DJ" come in there.
Click to expand...

I WISH they would do that here
 
Jeff Romard said:
I WISH they would do that here
Click to expand...

If brides research, they can get single day event insurance for the DJ for like $100. Maybe even less.

I don't know how effective requiring DJ Insurance really is of the DJs in the market.

I have come across I think 7 different venues that have asked to see it, and 5 of them were very high end hotels, 1 is a expensive wedding factory, and the other one only asks for it because they WANT brides/grooms to go with vendors on their preferred list (They get kick backs from vendors). I also booked a Groom who asked about it, and wanted to make sure whatever DJ he booked did have it because he felt that a professional should carry it...I liked that groom. He did a lot of research before making a decision.

I had zero venues ask about it prior to 2010. It's never been an issue, and won't ever be an issue. If a guest get's drunk and runs into my speaker stand. That is their fault. Insurance company will deny their claim if the guest claims a speaker stand somehow hurt them. DJ equipment is not going to cause a venue to burn down. Once the equipment is torn down, the liability coverage ends. If a DJ decides to break a door, or somehow breaks glass loading in or out, insurance isn't going to cover it. More or less the DJ will just end up paying out of pocket anyway.

What else can go wrong? Damage the venue or grounds via doing donuts in the grass? DJ Insurance doesn't cover that...They will have the venue call your Car insurance company.

What about requiring the Photographer to have liability insurance? LOL....WTH can a photog possibly do to a venue, or how can a guest be harmed by the camera or light tripod set up with the flash on it?

If you ask me, the whole event insurance for DJs and Photogs issue is essentially a money scheme. I'd like to see what insurance companies have paid out on claims on DJs over the years. DJ Insurance wasn't even talked about or heard of until ADJA partnered with RVNuccio to create it (As far as I know). Create a "NEED" for DJs to become a ADJA member by getting a discount on insurance. ...Tell Venues to start requiring the insurance, and put it as one of the questions in the "Questions to ask your DJ" article for brides/grooms. ...LOL ...That's the way I see how it all came about back in 2009 or so.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tuna
I don't think ADJA went to the venues and told them they need to ask about insurance. I think there are some people that go into venues and act irresponsibly - damaging things in the venue. It also covers members of the public in case of an accident caused by a dj or his/her actions or equipment.

Do you think the Marriott, Holiday Inn, (insert venue name here) should be on the hook for a DJ's actions or negligence? If you were the hotel / venue, would you want to be responsible for a vendor or vendors?

Venue examples include: subs shaking walls apart, drawing too much power and starting a fire and other scenarios. Things like these are what created insurance for DJ's.

From a 'law' perpective - if something happened to a client / guest, the lawyers would go after all responsible parties but focus in on the ones with the most financial resources.

Venues will generally have their own public liability insurance - but in the event of an accident caused by a dj's actions or negligence, the venue would much rather that it is the dj's premium that takes the hit rather than their own. If the venue's insurance covers it, they may still go after the dj to recoup whatever fee's they believe are the cause / responsibility of the dj.

The fact of having insurance or not does not make anyone any more professional than someone else. In the event of an incident, it does offer a form of protection for one that has it. Keep in mind that we live in a litigious society. One of our own members proclaims to be suing someone because he tripped on a sidewalk. You can easily read about dj's using the insurance discussion as a sales tactic - but again, it does not make them any more or less 'professional' than a dj without it.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: DJ TJ and Jeff Romard
I had a venue ask me to name them on an insurance policy, and also send a business license earlier this year... I was sort of blown away by that request. I can't imagine how much time they spend chasing vendors around trying to get that information. They really had no right to ask for it, but I didn't feel like putting up a fight and sent it along.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jeff Romard
Albatross said:
I had a venue ask me to name them on an insurance policy, and also send a business license earlier this year... I was sort of blown away by that request. I can't imagine how much time they spend chasing vendors around trying to get that information. They really had no right to ask for it, but I didn't feel like putting up a fight and sent it along.
Click to expand...

Not to take the venues' side but they certainly have a right to require insurance. It is a valid liability issue but the main thing is, it's their house and their rules. Personally, I think requiring a biz license is a bit much but adding their name to a rider takes about 5 minutes, done online with the insurance carrier's website. In my case, the A/V rider and indemnity statement are what I'd deem excess but again, it's their house. Now the real problem I have with this particular case that I'm dealing with, I don't even see it possible to purchase a $5 million dollar policy. $2/$2 is the max that Nuvvio even offers, and they're the industry standard.

Thinking back, this venue has been a problem for me before. Seems I remember having to punt another gig because of their excessive demands. In reality, it's almost certainly a situation where they have vendors that give them a kick-back and this is their way of forcing customers, at gun-point, to meet their demands.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dunlopj
DJ Ricky B said:
If brides research, they can get single day event insurance for the DJ for like $100. Maybe even less.
Click to expand...

I don't worry about the cost it's negligible in the big scheme of things I was wishing venues would ask for insurance it would eliminate 80% + of the DJ's in my market

ittigger said:
I don't think ADJA went to the venues and told them they need to ask about insurance. I think there are some people that go into venues and act irresponsibly - damaging things in the venue. It also covers members of the public in case of an accident caused by a dj or his/her equipment.
Click to expand...

It was either the ADJA or the WED guild, I can't recall which, that did lobby venues to get them to ask for insurance about 10 years ago. As with most things they do it fell by the wayside
 
  • Like
Reactions: dunlopj, DJ TJ and DJ Ricky B
rickryan.com said:
Not to take the venues' side but they certainly have a right to require insurance. It is a valid liability issue but the main thing is, it's their house and their rules. Personally, I think requiring a biz license is a bit much but adding their name to a rider takes about 5 minutes, done online with the insurance carrier's website. In my case, the A/V rider and indemnity statement are what I'd deem excess but again, it's their house. Now the real problem I have with this particular case that I'm dealing with, I don't even see it possible to purchase a $5 million dollar policy. $2/$2 is the max that Nuvvio even offers, and they're the industry standard.

Thinking back, this venue has been a problem for me before. Seems I remember having to punt another gig because of their excessive demands. In reality, it's almost certainly a situation where they have vendors that give them a kick-back and this is their way of forcing customers, at gun-point, to meet their demands.
Click to expand...

May want to inquire more - this may be something the guest has to purchase.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jeff Romard
Jeff Romard said:
It was either the ADJA or the WED guild, I can't recall which, that did lobby venues to get them to ask for insurance about 10 years ago. As with most things they do it fell by the wayside
Click to expand...

I believe groups such as ADJA, WED and perhaps others may have approached some venues and talked to them about things, but there are places (like the Smithsonian, historic facilities and other venues that require all vendors to carry insurance) - where I'm pretty sure ADJA and other DJ type organizations had nothing to do with it.
 
ittigger said:
I believe groups such as ADJA, WED and perhaps others may have approached some venues and talked to them about things, but there are places (like the Smithsonian, historic facilities and other venues that require all vendors to carry insurance) - where I'm pretty sure ADJA and other DJ type organizations had nothing to do with it.
Click to expand...

I might be remembering wrong but I'm sure I participated in a thread about it many years ago. I'll have to look back when I have more time
 
  • Like
Reactions: ittigger
ittigger said:
May want to inquire more - this may be something the guest has to purchase.
Click to expand...

Nah. I've already put in a call to the client. In addition to the $5mil, the A/V rider requires that I pay their staff to plug my gear into building power. I'm going to talk with the client and give them the option of having these conditions stricken. If they can't (or won't), I'm refunding the money and cancelling. At least I'm starting to understand why they didn't flinch at $750 for 3.5 hours. Most companies around here won't pay over $400 to $500 for this type of party.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dunlopj and ittigger
Jeff Romard said:
I might be remembering wrong but I'm sure I participated in a thread about it many years ago. I'll have to look back when I have more time
Click to expand...

All I'm saying is that I find it hard to believe ADJA has had that type of reach when they can't get half of what they want in motion. 20 years ago, it was a little more difficult to get information out.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jeff Romard
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back