$5 million dollar coverage required now?

steve149 said:

Ricky .. Are you related to Mix?

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No, I don't believe in trying to sue someone because I tripped on their sidewalk.

I take responsibility for my own actions.

^^^^For instance, Big Dan will be hearing from my attorney (Bernie).

I was driving on the highway the other day, looking at ODJT on my phone, and trying to understand one of our regular contributors' stories about his niece's grandson's girlfriend's birthday party at the club, the one where the bartender is cool but the bouncer always asks for trap music instead of old school (I don't know why he does that!), and I ran into the back of the car ahead of me (he was going way too slow), which caused the car behind me to run into the back of me (he was going way too fast and kept creeping up to my bumper), which caused a chain reaction accident with about twenty cars, and the PA I rented for the free gig I was doing came crashing to the front of the van and went straight through the windshield, and caused more damage to my vehicle and the one in front of me. Plus, I got a ticket!!

So, I'm obviously suing Dan. And All Y'All, while we're at it!

GJ

DJ Ricky B said:

Most clients do not ask, or really care about having it. That is because liability insurance is not an issue.

Many clients will easily save a few hundred and hire a DJ who carries no liability insurance over a DJ who does have it.

Most clients who ask about it are the ones who are told by their venue that they will require the certificate of insurance sent in by whatever DJ they bring into their venue. The only real reason venues ask for it is because it "helps ensure" the DJ is a pro, and not Cousin Joey with a speaker system. Also, it gives them leverage (although, only a little leverage) to get clients to go with their preferred vendors.

Car Insurance is needed, and required by law. Accidents happen everyday out there hundreds, maybe even 1.000+ times a day across North America.Wedding and Mobile DJ Event accidents do not occur everyday...not even a single issue nationwide every day. Likely not even a single issue monthly nationwide.

It is Pay to Play.

You can feel good about purchasing insurance for yourself, however it makes no difference between you and non insured DJs.

What if the client of a venue told the venue they are not hiring a DJ, and having Uncle Tom set up a rented speaker, and computer hooked into it.

Bride's family will still have to run a extension cord which certainly will not be taped down into a wall socket. I bet a thousand dollars a venue will NOT tell the client "No you can't do that" and a venue certainly isn't telling the bride that Uncle Tom needs to be insured.

What if the bride wants to set up their own rented up lights as up lighting What if the Bride wants to buy Star Showr winter lights effect at Wal Mart and set it up to point at the wall?

If the bride's family is setting stuff up, it's okay, but if a hired DJ is being brought in, they must be Insured? I don't buy that nonsense!

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Ricky,
I get it. You're simply not adequately prepared to advance in this business; perhaps any business. Liability insurance in not about you - it's about the people upon whose property you work, the patrons that surround you, and the community in which you operate. You're clearly unwilling to do what it takes to be an effective and trustworthy participant in the business community and I'm sure other business people recognize that. (All for less than $200 /yr no less. WTF?)

You exclaim that people don't ask - we'll, I suggest you consider they don't have too. There are many things that come across as self evident and you probably telegraph the level at which you choose to operate in a variety of subtle ways.

A lot of people won't buy your nonsense.

DJ Ricky B said:

No, I don't believe in trying to sue someone because I tripped on their sidewalk.

I take responsibility for my own actions.

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Well, I happen to believe in my right to sue you. It's also a statistical certainty that you'll encounter more incidents where you are at fault than persons making a false claim. So, how well protected do you feel with your high and mighty morality?

Proformance said:

Ricky,
I get it. You're simply not adequately prepared to advance in this business; perhaps any business. Liability insurance in not about you - it's about the people upon whose property you work, the patrons that surround you, and the community in which you operate. You're clearly unwilling to do what it takes to be an effective and trustworthy participant in the business community and I'm sure other business people recognize that. (All for less than $200 /yr no less. WTF?)

You exclaim that people don't ask - we'll, I suggest you consider they don't have too. There are many things that come across as self evident and you probably telegraph the level at which you choose to operate in a variety of subtle ways.

A lot of people won't buy your nonsense.

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Yawn.

It's the people too irresponsible to properly insure themselves and their operation that leave the rest of us on the hook to clean up their financial mess when their colossal gamble comes up lemons. Thanks, Ricky.

Big Dan said:

IMHO, it would be foolish not to carry insurance it today's litigious society. The investment in insurance is so little compared to the potential benefits it's a no brainer.

I'm the guy who always thought mandatory car insurance isn't fair to people who drive responsibly and follow traffic laws. The more I think about auto insurance the more I think the states are right. Your average person cannot afford to pay a personal injury settlement nor the medical bills another party may have due to an accident.

Those with a few bucks (still paycheck to paycheck but with a little wiggle room) are likely to have cars financed to the teeth. If they lose use of the car in an accident they likely cannot just 'write it off'. It may even put their ability to earn a living in jeopardy due to not having transportation.

While I'm generally not cool with the government protecting me from myself auto insurance just makes sense for the 99%. The 1% can afford to write off cars, medical bills, etc and most states have provisions to allow them to self-insure but it still isn't necessarily a wise decision. Anyone I know with assets to protect even if it's just a home and small savings is well insured.

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I don't see the government requirement for insurance as protecting people from themselves, although it does that too. But it's more about required insurance because you can do a lot of damage, even if you drive a beater, and everyone should have a reasonable expectation that anyone driving has insurance that can cover any damage they caused.

Insurance companies can be easy to dislike, especially when having to file a claim. I filed 1 claim with Allstate after paying them for 27 years. And they fought tooth and nail to reduce their payout to well below the value of the vehicle. A good friend of mine bought a brand new car, took it home, and a tree fell on it less than 3 hours after he bought it. His insurance company wanted to pay him $5000 less than he paid, saying he paid too much. Yet they knew what he paid and took his money.

But business liability insurance gives me the piece of mind that if crap hits the fan and someone sues, I have a much better chance of being protected. Not only do I want to protect what I have, but any future earnings.

Scott Hanna said:

But business liability insurance gives me the piece of mind that if crap hits the fan and someone sues, I have a much better chance of being protected. Not only do I want to protect what I have, but any future earnings.

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There's more to it than simply protecting yourself - insurance protects other people from our own failings. For example, Ricky claims that if he breaks something he takes responsibility and pays for it himself. Well, what happens when Ricky breaks something that is beyond his ability to pay - even out his lifetime earnings?

His lack of mature planning leaves the injured party (and often ALL of us as consumers and taxpayers) on the hook for that bill.

Likewise, if he's bankrupt for not having adequate insurance we again as a society have to take up the mantle of his now impoverished condition. Ricky's selfish perception is that insurance benefits only the other party but, in large measure it protects his livelihood from his own misfortune, and society from the failings of either party.

Proformance said:

There's more to it than simply protecting yourself - insurance protects other people from our own failings. For example, Ricky claims that if he breaks something he takes responsibility and pays for it himself.

His lack of mature planning leaves the injured party (and often ALL of us as consumers and taxpayers) on the hook for that bill.

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I thought I said exactly that in the first paragraph

Scott Hanna said:

I thought I said exactly that in the first paragraph

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Perhaps, I chose to leave government mandates out of it because, in many unlicensed professions like this one there may be no legal obligation to carry liability insurance. It is still Caveat-Emptor and if the decision to put a policy in place is based solely on the consumer's or venue's diligent inquiry I think it calls into question the general integrity of the vendor's professional claims.

We like to think that people can simply sue the vendor, and they may. However, if there was no legal or contractual obligation for the vendor to be insured or post surety bond then there's no regulatory framework to further protect the community from risky vendors. These guys just keep changing their names and popping up somewhere else to do more damage.

So it was with home-improvement contractors until at least a minimal license and bond requirement was instituted. Still, so many jobs (like DJing) don't rise to that level and therefore it will always be up to us to self-regulate and promote the best practice.

Car Insurance is Necessary, and absolutely everybody who is driving in the United States should be insured if they are driving a vehicle. There are thousands of accidents every day. Driving is also a PRIVALEDGE. If you don't want to pay for car insurance, then don't drive

Life Insurance is necessary if you want your family to be taken care of with you death expenses, plus have some left over to help them out when you pass away

Health Insurance is Necessary if you want to be taken care of when you get sick, or injured. I believe those of us who are under the age of 45 who consider ourselves to be in Strong Health certainly SHOULD NOT have to carry health insurance if we feel we don't need it, or simply can't afford it though. Those of us over the age of 45 should probably have Health Insurance because as time marches on the need for health insurance will be greater. ...However, on the flip side, there are many out there who believe Health Care should be provided by the state. Citizens in most countries do not pay for health insurance like we do in USA.

Home Owners Insurance. Also Flood Insurance...Totally Necessary. Burglaries, Fires, Floods, Disasters do happen pretty frequently all over the place. The odds are not that low that something won't happen to you.

Mobile DJ Insurance is about as important as Travel Insurance, or an even better comparison would be Insurance on outstanding Credit Card Balances.

I would whole heartedly operate without it IF I didn't have 1 to 2 venues a year requesting an insurance certificate. According to everybody here, I guess I'm lucky I run into those 1 or 2 venues because if I didn't, I would be operating without insurance. Of course, nothing would ever happen.

Mobile DJs operate in the most free market I can think of. There are no established certifications. No government regulations or mandates. NO required degrees. In most states we don't need to charge sales tax. Liability Insurance again, is not required

...Except when you work at a venue that requires DJs to have it. The only reason they are asking is because it is the only "qualifier" to make sure the DJ the bride chooses is a professional since the bride did not go with a preferred vendor from their vendor list.

Go to a local bar, and ask if they require the bands that work there in their public location if the bands have insurance before they are allowed to play there. What if the drummer loses a drum stick, and it flies across the room and polks a customer's eye out?


Pro: We have liability insurance through RVNuccio. Pay for 5 sound system set ups since we COULD have that many DJs out on a given Saturday.

However, we only carry the insurance because there are those 1 to 2 venues a year that asks for it.

We never carried insurance back in the day. It wasn't necessary, and it's not necessary today. We were fine. Everyone was fine. Every DJ I have ever met was fine. That is because nothing happens.

There are less instances of insurance companies having to pay out on Mobile DJ related claims than there are of people winning the Mega Millions and Power Ball JackPots.

DJ Ricky B said:

.. if [venues didn't require it], I would be operating without insurance. Of course, nothing would ever happen.

..we only carry the insurance because there are those 1 to 2 venues a year that asks for it.

We never carried insurance back in the day. We were fine. ...nothing happens.

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Your attitude and disposition is precisely why these venues require PROOF of insurance.
Most venues and suppliers stop asking me for proof after they become confident in my reliability on the issue.

There are less instances of insurance companies having to pay out on Mobile DJ related claims than there are of people winning the Mega Millions and Power Ball JackPots.

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I don't win Power Ball because I don't buy tickets and likewise, the number of uninsured DJs coincides with the lack of payouts.
I hear about plenty of horror stories regardless - it's just the rest of us who end up paying those bills.