Published October 21, 2016 in The Legal Intelligencer. To read the full article, please click here. 

“Imagine that you are an artist—and you rely on a few commissions each year to pay your bills. You are excited to find out that your work was chosen by a museum to be on display for several months. You work incredibly hard on creating the exhibit and sign a contract with the museum that says they will insure your art while it remains on display. While showing your exhibit to a friend from out of town, you notice that a sculpture in the exhibit is damaged. You immediately contact the museum and request a plan of action: you want to see the security footage and you would like more information about submitting an insurance claim. The museum gives you the run around—they tell you that the security cameras aren’t operating, that there is no evidence to support your claim that your sculpture was damaged while on display, and that there is no insurance information they can provide for you at this time. The museum continues to be evasive when you ask about submitting an insurance claim, and you feel like you are getting nowhere. It does not seem as though the museum is going to submit an insurance claim on your behalf, and you know that the repairs will cost several thousand dollars and countless hours of your time…”

“Since PVLA also assists small arts and cultural nonprofit organizations, we often handle cases involving arts organizations, such as art galleries or studios. These organizations must be aware of particular types of public liability insurance needed to protect their space. For example, organizations that offer workshops or classes often require some type of third party public liability insurance to cover the host premises and their students. Products such as professional indemnity, product liability, and employer insurance are available for arts organizations as well.”