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Insurance for Artists

General Public and Products Liability Insurance for Artists

Artists often require General Public and Products Liability Insurance to help protect themselves against potential claims arising from their actions due to negligence. This Insurance may provides peace of mind, allowing artists to pursue their craft confidently, knowing they are covered in case of accidents or damages resulting from their negligence.

About

LCIS takes pride in supporting the arts community and arranging Insurance coverage for prominent art organisations and their members throughout Australia.

This page provides an overview of the extent of insurance cover arranged by LCIS for peak Artist groups throughout Australia, as well as for their individual members.

If you have any questions regarding what's covered under this Insurance Policy, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Why artists need it?

General Public and Products Liability Insurance is designed to help protect you in the event that something goes wrong, resulting in injury to someone or damage due to your negligence. This Insurance can help defend against potentially costly claims arising from your actions or inactions.

This type of Insurance is essential as it may help safeguard you if an incident occurs that causes harm or damage. Public Liability Insurance covers costs related to injury or damage inflicted on a third party, (where you are negligent) while Product Liability Insurance addresses costs associated with injury or damage caused by a product you have sold or supplied due to your negligence.

Unlike the General Public and Products Liability Insurance we arrange, it is important to note that some insurers only provide Public Liability coverage. This means you may not be protected against any damage or injury caused by the products you sell.

This is what Insurance for Artists can help protect you from:

Legal Costs

May help provide cover for legal costs in the event that a claim is made against you including for claims alleging negligence.

Property Damage

May help provide cover damage to property caused through your negligence. 

Personal Injury

May help provide cover if you have caused injury to someone due to being negligent.

Third Party

May help provide cover for claims made against you by third parties where you have found to be negligent. 

Damaged/Goods

May help provide cover for damage caused by your negligence to other people’s property in your care, custody or control (excludes hired equipment).

selected option

We provide bulk Insurance arrangements for sole trader Artists who have memberships with various Art Groups around Australia.

Applications for membership are assessed by the individual art groups, and if you wish to take out a membership that includes Insurance, this is where LCIS comes into the equation.

Visual artists, designers, crafters, and arts practitioners need to demonstrate adequate Insurance to utilise premises for an exhibition, tender for a public/private artwork, or set up as stallholders at community markets, etc.

To be covered under a bulk artist Policy, you must be operating as an individual. Members under the umbrella of a family trust, operating a Ltd or Pty Ltd entity, or employing regular staff are not covered under this Policy.

The intention of this Policy is to cover the following:

•  An artist working from their own studio or operating at a bench in a shared workshop.

•  While the intention is to cover a single-person art practice and not where the artist is an employer of regular staff or operates as part of a larger business such as a partnership, there is an exception to this rule;

•  When the artist is installing a public artwork, these commissions usually require assistants for installation. The Policy will allow up to 3 people assisting as either casual employees or volunteers in the installation of public art. It is not intended to cover contractors the artist engages to install an artwork.

•  Artists operating out of their studio or workshop and having points of sale, generally exhibitions via a community or commercial gallery, but the artists may also sell from stalls at markets.

Visual Artists, Designers, Craft Practitioners

Denotes an individual who produces artworks mainly in paintings, prints, sketches, pottery, sculptures, glass, mixed medium, and projected/illuminated images.

Curator
The role of a Curator is to manage or oversee an exhibition or collection. They gather the items representing the artist's output over the years or theme a showing with items from various artists. Assets once assembled are in the custody of the gallery or museum. The Curator provides the intellectual direction for the exhibition

Arts Administrator
An Arts Administrator denotes an individual who is responsible for facilitating the day-to-day operation of the organisation and fulfilling its mission. The general duties of an Arts Administrator can include staff management, marketing, managing budgets, public relations, fundraising, program development and evaluation and board relations.

Installer
An Installer denotes an individual who provides professional art placement and installation services in public and private collections, museums, galleries and festivals. The Installer will handle finished artworks in various materials such as canvas, paper, prints, photographs, glass, fabric, metal, electrical devices, lighting etc. The Installer will be responsible for installing secure hanging systems, gallery tracking systems, and lighting to display artworks.

Conservator
A Conservator denotes an individual who is professionally responsible for the preservation of artworks. The Conservator has been professionally trained to reverse damage and stabilise works that have suffered from environmental conditions or decay over time to prevent degradation or destruction of art, craft and design. Conservators work in museums, art galleries, libraries, archives, and private practice. Sometimes, Conservators will need to collaborate to determine the best treatment options for objects made of a variety of materials - e.g. painted furniture or a bark painting might require the expertise of a paintings and objects Conservator, or the treatment of an upholstered chair might find a textiles and objects Conservator working together.

Registrar
A Registrar denotes an individual professionally involved in caring for and managing fine art or ethnographic objects in public and private collections, museums and galleries. A Registrar's duties are multifaceted and may include, but are not limited to, collections inventory and documentation, exhibition coordination, logistical organisation for transport and insurance of loans and courier accompaniment of loans or entire exhibitions travelling to other institutions. In a museum, a Registrar is often the link between the Curator, Conservator/Restorer, Museum Technician and Lender.
Performers/Musicians
Individual Performers or Musicians engaged in public performances, etc.

Writers
Writers engaged in activities associated with the art and craft of writing. The limitations on teaching/training activities as 12 classes per annum with up to 20 people per class where teaching skills – excluding Defamation.


Scope of cover:

Public Liability:
• The maximum Limit of Liability is $20,000,000 any one Occurrence.
• If you are found negligent for causing an injury to someone attending your stall or if you cause damage to a third party's property.

Product Liability:
• The maximum Limit of Liability is $20,000,000 any one Occurrence and in the aggregate for all Occurrences during any one Period of Insurance.
• If you are found negligent for causing injury or sickness to your customers from the goods you sell.

Sub-limit of Liability:
• Property in physical or legal control: $250,000 any one Occurrence.
• For example, if you have borrowed a camera and you are negligent in causing damage. 
• Excludes coverage for the loss or damage of your own goods or hired equipment. To protect your own items against fire, theft, and other risks, you will need separate Business Pack Insurance.

Deductible/ Excess: 
• $500 each and every claim or series of claims arising out of one Occurrence (Inclusive of all defence cost and supplementary costs). 
• The amount of money that the Policyholder is required to pay towards a claim before the Insurance coverage takes effect.

Who and what we cover:

✅ Insurance for art groups can be arranged for sole traders. Additionally, the Insurer accepts partnerships, provided that both partners are members of an art group and the Insurance is arranged through LCIS.

✅The Policy is designed to cover only Australian residents living in Australia, as well as individuals who hold eligible visas to work in Australia.

⚠️If an artist is installing artwork and requires extra assistance, our Insurer may extend the General Public and Products Liability Policy to include coverage for three assisting volunteers. Please note that these volunteers are not covered under Personal Accident Insurance; only the artist, who holds the Artist Personal Accident Policy, is covered. Any other individuals or volunteers should obtain their own Personal Accident cover or will need to claim through Medicare or any available health insurance.

❌ All contractors and sub-contractors working with the artist must have their own General Public and Products Liability Insurance Policy and/or Personal Accident Insurance. 

❌ The General Public and Products Liability Insurance Policy does not include cover for Professional Indemnity. Artists who offer professional advice or services for a fee should consider obtaining a separate Professional Indemnity Insurance Policy.

❌ Artists engaged in teaching, curating, registrar work, restoration or repair, appraising, or valuing should also obtain a separate Professional Indemnity Insurance Policy.

❌ This cover is specifically designed for independent visual artists and creators who produce unique, handmade artworks and installations. However, it does not extend to "commercial" work, such as that performed by commercial photographers, graphic designers, and commercial signwriters.

List of activities that are likely to be considered acceptable under this Policy:

✅ Painting and drawing.

✅ Murals/street art.

✅ Iron work (i.e. blacksmith).

✅ Sculpture - made from any material.

✅ Mosaic.

✅ Artist books – handmade (Paper – bookbinding or making for example).

✅ Dressmaking and millinery, handmade costume - handmade for performance/events.

✅ Multimedia digital work - usually displayed on screens.

✅ Art workshops. Workshops for children limited to 12 workshops a year with up to 10 children per class. Adults classes unlimited.

✅ Ceramics.

✅ Holding Exhibition of own artworks.

✅ Glass works (glass artists/glass blowers).

✅ Sound - not a composer, ephemeral or experimental.

✅ Working in an art studio.

✅ Paper works.

✅ Light/Projections - usually combined with digital work.

✅ Having open studio days for people to visit artists studio.

✅ Photography, digital or analogue, hand-processed, moving image, video, digital.

✅ Jewellery, hand-crafted, limited production.

✅ Artwork commissions.

✅ Printmaking.

✅ Leather work.

✅ Self-published artwork catalogues.

✅ Performance - often with objects. In a visual arts context (gallery, public space, ephemeral, spatial exploration; unticketed), rather than as an actor or dancer.

✅ Prints of artworks - artists will sell limited edition prints of their work, or images on cards, bags, shirts etc.

✅ Participating in art prizes. Speak on an artist panel, participant in art exhibitions, participate in artist residencies.

✅ Installation - placement of objects in space. Objects may be collected from nature, reclaimed or new.

✅ Cake designers.

✅ Selling artwork at local galleries and markets.

✅ Textiles - including handmade clothing, weaving, spinning, handcrafts, felting, batik.

✅ Furniture - handmade, usually wood.

✅ Selling art supplies - small scale, not importing goods.

✅ Traditional signwriting where it is handmade/bespoke, excluding commercial/large scale signwriters.

✅ Making objects from natural materials - weaving, shellwork.

✅ Location of workshops – schools, halls, dedicated art workshop spaces, home studio, businesses, leased premises, outdoors.

✅ Working with fabricators and engineers to create art installations and moulds where required from artwork designs working with professional installers to install an artwork where appropriate.

✅ Sending artwork to and from venues, nationally and sometimes internationally (transit Insurance to be arranged separately).

✅ Marketing arts practice – website, Facebook, art forums, local galleries and media opportunities.

Excluded activities or products not covered by the Policy:

❌ Any artist with an ABN other than a Sole Trader.

❌ “First Day” artists with little to no professional experience or training.

❌ Any artist employing staff. Contractors are acceptable as long as the contractors have their own insurance.

❌ Any products which are mass-produced. This is intended for handmade/bespoke items.

❌ Artists whose work is deemed to be pornographic in nature.

❌ Engineering or manufacture of machines, vehicles, robots or parts of machines, vehicles or robots.

❌ Manufacture of childrens’ goods/toys/clothing.

❌ Manufacture or installation of load-bearing structures.

❌ Manufacture of any sports/ recreation equipment including bicycles.

❌ Manufacture of weapons of any kind.

❌  Manufacture of electrical goods.

❌ Any products which are imported directly by the member.

❌ Art therapists as their primary practice and the provision of mental health advice.

❌ Any participation with the public which includes devices, machines or is physically strenuous.

❌ Any installations involving the use of gas/smoke/fog machines.

❌ Project/production management for large scale artworks.

❌ Any business employing staff (the policy is intended for sole traders only).

❌ Product design used by other companies to manufacture goods.

❌ Any activities which a reasonable person would agree is high risk for bodily injury or property damage.

❌ Commercial art galleries.

❌ Commercial photography.

❌ Feature film-making working with a filming crew.

❌ Drone/RPAs use.

❌ Activities that are primarily event management.

❌ An artist who is primarily a framer.

❌ An artist doing a “performance” involving participants doing breath work to induce “trance state”.

❌ An artist whose primary activity is selling art supplies.

❌ A dance floor manufacturer.

❌  Guitar pedal makers.

❌ Lighting installation at music events/festivals. Installing lighting/large art works into hotels.

❌ Knives or weapon makers.

❌ Bicycle servicing including accessories.

❌ Sound and audio engineers.

❌ Guitar pedal makers.

❌ Furniture assemblers.

❌ Artists using fork lifts /scissor lifts over two meters from the ground level.

The following additional activities can be included where specified:

Curating Exhibitions – Developing exhibition and program.

Registrar – Artwork inventories, handling policies (accepting and returning artworks).

Conservator - Conservation of artwork or crafted items that has been damaged or need to be cleaned (evidence of this training needed upon application).

Curating – Developing a public program for a curated exhibition.

Registrar – Provide basic valuations of artworks in a collection or managed register of work.

Installer - Installation of artwork in a gallery or exhibition space.

Curating – Gallery volunteer workshops for artwork handling and management.

Curating Touring art exhibitions.

Registrar – Cataloguing and researching artwork housed in a gallery or collection.

 

Important note for Artists regarding additional coverage for children’s workshops:

If an artist wishes to request extra coverage for children's workshops beyond the standard 12 workshops included in the Policy, the following conditions apply:

✅   If the artist is engaged by a school and teachers are present during the workshops, these sessions will not count towards the annual limit of 12 workshops.

⚠️  Please note that a maximum of 10 children per class is still enforced, unless additional assistance is provided.

Let us help you find the right Policy that’s tailored to your unique needs

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Artists

Great question! The Insurance we can arrange is designed for sole traders and small partnerships, especially those who are part of an art group. If you’re a hobbyist or a small collective of artists, you can arrange your Insurance through us, as long as both partners are members of an art group.

This Insurance is specifically for independent visual artists and creators who produce unique, handmade artworks and installations. If you’re a hobbyist or an  individual artist working on personal projects, this may be for you!

To be eligible for Insurance under the bulk artist Policy, you must:

✅Operate as an individual;

✅Be a member of a participating art group;

✅Only engage in the approved art mediums and activities listed in the Policy Wording and guidance on this page.

However, it doesn’t extend to cover:

❌If you operate under a family trust, as a limited (Ltd) or proprietary limited (Pty Ltd) entity, or employ regular staff, you are not covered under this Policy;

❌Undertake commercial work, like that done by commercial photographers, signwriters or graphic designers;

❌Coverage does not extend to activities that are among the excluded activities listed in the Policy Wording and the list of Policy exclusions.

You have a Duty to Disclose all activities to us.

Yes, certain activities, such as mass production, work deemed pornographic, and high-risk activities, are excluded from coverage. It’s important to review the Policy details and exclusions to understand what is not covered.

Please refer to the Policy Wording and the list of exclusions for the full terms and conditions.

If you are installing artwork and have a few friends or volunteers assisting you, we can extend your General Public and Products Liability coverage to include up to 3 volunteers.

However, for your volunteers to be covered in the event of an accident, they must have Volunteer Personal Accident Insurance. This type of Insurance may provide financial support if the Volunteer is injured and unable to work due to an accident.

It may help cover medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, and lost income if they are unable to work as a result of an injury sustained while volunteering in an official capacity.

No, this Policy doesn’t cover Professional Indemnity Insurance. If you’re providing professional advice or services for a fee, it’s wise to look into a separate Professional Indemnity Policy to protect yourself.

If you’re working with contractors or sub-contractors, they need to have their own General Public and Products Liability Insurance Policy. It’s important to ensure everyone involved in your projects is adequately covered.

Any participation with the public that involves the use of devices, machines, or is physically strenuous is not covered under the Policy.

Please refer to the Policy Wording and the list of exclusions for the complete terms and conditions.

No, any installations involving gas, smoke, or fog machines are excluded from the Policy.

It’s a good practice to review your Insurance Policy annually or whenever there are significant changes in your practice, such as new projects, equipment, or locations.

General Public and Products Liability Insurance is designed to offer protection in the event that something goes wrong, covering costs related to injury or damage to a third party resulting from your actions or negligence.

It also addresses expenses associated with injuries or damages caused by products you have sold or supplied. Many public projects, exhibitions, and events may require artists to have Insurance as a condition of participation, which can help protect both the artist and the venue from potential liabilities.

Since artists often work in various environments such as studios, galleries, public spaces, this Insurance may help provide coverage across these different settings as a result of your negligence.

Yes! This Policy is designed to cover artists and arts workers who teach or pass on skills through classes or workshops. Workshops for children are limited to 12 per year, with a maximum of 10 children per class. There are no limits on adult classes.

Yes, selling artwork at local galleries and markets is covered under this Policy.

Members who use kilns or open flames in their artwork can choose to obtain additional cover under the Policy.

The available options include electric or open flame cover for kilns, as well as open flame cover for jewellery, ironwork, or glasswork.

This cover is not included automatically, so you must inform us if you undertake any of these activities.

Under the Policy, you are permitted to work at heights of up to 15 metres.

However, please note that a $1,500 excess will apply to any claims arising from incidents that occur between 5 and 15 metres.

Yes, the Policy excludes the engineering or manufacture of machines, vehicles, robots, children's goods, toys, clothing, load-bearing structures, sports recreation equipment, weapons, and electrical goods.

In addition goods imported directly by the member are not covered under this Policy.

Please refer to the Policy Wording and the list of exclusions for the full terms and conditions.

No, the Policy does not extend to commercial art galleries or commercial photography.

The Policy excludes feature filmmaking with a filming crew, as well as the use of drones or remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs).

The Policy does not cover cancellation of workshops or events. Consider additional Event Cancellation Insurance for that purpose.

No, the General Public and Products Liability Insurance covers liability for third-party claims.

Damage to your own equipment or materials is not covered under this Policy.

The Policy can provide coverage for various work environments, including studios, galleries, and public spaces. Just ensure that you disclose all relevant locations in your application.

❌ General Public and Products Liability Insurance does not provide coverage for the loss or damage of your own goods or hired equipment. This means that if your own items, such as artwork or equipment, are lost, stolen, or damaged, you will not be able to make a claim under the General Public and Products Liability policy

✅ To safeguard your assets against risks such as fire, theft, and other potential hazards, it is essential to secure separate Insurance. This is referred to as a Business Pack, which is specifically designed to cover your property and assets. It offers the necessary coverage and financial protection in the event of any unfortunate incidents.

The Business Pack Insurance Policy is a Insurance solution designed to meet the unique needs of organisations, particularly those in creative fields such as art studios and workshops who have assets of value. We can work with you to tailor this Policy depending on the types of risks your property and assets are exposed to. By getting a Business Pack Policy, it can help have the peace of mind that your studio or workshop has cover.

To get a quote and protect your assets, download the application form via this website, complete the relevant sections, and return it to us via insurance@lcis.com.au.

Explore other Insurance products for Artists we can arrange:

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Personal Accident - Voluntary Worker Insurance
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Property & Asset Insurance (Business Pack)
The above statements are issued as a matter of information only and for full terms and conditions you should refer to the Policy Wording.
LCPA# 25/126

 




Local Community Insurance Services (LCIS) is a division of JLT Risk Solutions Pty Ltd (ABN 69 009 098 864 AFS Licence No: 226827) (“JLT”) and is a business of Marsh McLennan. This insurance is issued via this website by JLT Risk Solutions Pty Ltd (ABN 69 009 098 864 AFS Licence No: 226827) (“JLT”) under an authority to bind cover on behalf of the insurer. In issuing and underwriting this insurance, JLT acts as agent of the insurer and not as your agent. 

If JLT cannot issue insurance to you as an agent of an insurer because the underwriting information you have provided means that the insurable risk falls outside of our Binding Authority, JLT can instead arrange your insurance on the open market as your agent. In this instance, JLT will be acting in a dual capacity, as an agent for the insurer in collecting the information and then as your agent in arranging the insurance. JLT will also be acting in such a dual capacity in circumstances where you have obtained multiple insurance policies through JLT, where some of those policies have been issued by JLT as agent of an insurer and others have been arranged by JLT as your agent. All insurance coverage is subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions of the applicable individual policies. JLT cannot provide any assurance that insurance can be obtained for any particular client or for any particular risk.

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