From the way it sounds, I doubt you would need the insurance as long as you don't build anything that people actually use or that can fall down and hurt someone. I'd ask your insurance agent though. If you do decide to get the liability insurance, be very specific with what you actually do. My first quote for product liability was over $13,000 a year! I told them I was a small fab shop and they lumped me in with all welding including that on nuclear power stations and gas lines. Once I explained that just made railings and furniture and such it came down to about $1200 a year. A lot more than I'd like to pay, but a whole lot less then $13,000.

Please post what you find out, I'm curious what your insurance agent would say about art and liabilities.

Jake

A lady in a McDonald's restaurant spills coffee on herself, sues, and wins a settlement. Personally, I like my coffee hot. In California, a burglar breaks into a home, slips on the wet kitchen floor and gets hurt; he sues the home owner and wins. If he had entered my house, he would have been too dead to sue me. A lady rents an RV, then while driving it down the freeway, decides to put it on "cruise control," (easy how one can confuse that with "auto pilot"), so she could leave the wheel and make herself a sandwich. Well you can guess the outcome.

We need real tort reform from frivolous law suits. The word "Justice System" is an oxymoron. I don't speak from ignorance, but from tragic first hand experience. I hope that some greedy plaintiff, and his ruthless, unscrupulous, ravenous (these adjectives are really euphemisms because I know I'm speaking in mixed company) attorney doesn't get their claws into you.

It's a shame that as artists, we have to temper our creativity because of liability. We need less lawyers, and more artists in this world. If you don't believe me, open your local yellow pages...

J.R.

PS: Frank, I hope you dulled the knives on your eagle; Eligius, I noticed your Amigo grillwork had some pointed ends; Warren, shave the point off your dragon's teeth and horns (I'll be sure to do the same to mine).

Rodeo,
The jeweler that I apprenticed to, told the story of the man that he apprenticed to. Seems that he had shot a rather large moose. Proud of it he was. He had moose mounted, Great huge thing. His wife would not let him hang his moose in her house, so he hung the moose over his jewelers bench. Seemed perfectly safe and even reasonable for forty years. Until it came loose from the wall, fell on the jeweler and killed him. There was no moose over my teachers bench, there will be no moose over my bench. Seems that the concepts of safe and reasonable are changeable things. Product liability insurance is a good idea if you have assets you'd like to protect, from those who have a slightly differing concept from yours concerning safe and reasonable. Of course you could self insure, which is what you will be doing if you opt out of purchasing a policy. Since the question has come up you can almost bet on "mother being the necessity of invention." 2cents worth Brad

Insurance is only needed if you have something to lose.
The more money you make, the more your house and tools are worth, the more reason to buy insurance.

I have a million dollar liability policy, but the only reason I have it is to get public art jobs- every single one requires a copy of your insurance as soon as you sign a contract. Liability alone for this amount usually runs a grand or twelve hundred a year.

For 15 years or so, I made chairs, candlesticks, and knickknacks, and sold them to a hundred or so stores and galleries around the country- never once did I need, or was I asked for, product liability insurance, and yet I was making products. But my yearly gross was about what a decent insurance salesman makes. If I had been selling a million dollars a year, you can bet I would have had more insurance.

My compromise these days is I have a business insurance policy, which includes liability.
I have to, because of the public art jobs, but also, I have 5 or 6 buildings that are studios on my land, and my homeowners insurance specifically says it wont cover business use. So I have one policy that is fire and theft for my studios and shops, liability, and also covers tools on job sites, breakins to the biz truck, and so on.

I guess what I am trying to say is, for a small scale artist, dont worry about it. If you are making a hundred grand a year on your work, then I would start thinking about insurance. If you own a couple hundred grand in tools, or a few hundred grand in business buildings, then, maybe.
Or, if you have a high net worth- that is, if you have something to protect from lawsuits.

WOW! Thanks everyone for such rapid responses.
Seems like I might have found a website I'll like.
My agent seems to think the policy's unnecessary and as expensive as every one seems to know.
But it is being checked on. When they get back to me I'll post results.
Thanks again,
Rodeo