Many insurance policies have a clause stating that theft cover will become inactive if your studio is unattended for more than a given period of time (often 30 days). You should check with your broker to find out whether this could apply to your policy.

Is my equipment insured in storage/at home?

If you have had to take computers, instruments or hardware home or put the kit in storage, your current policy may or may not still cover it. This will depend on the terms of your insurance and could be another thing to approach your broker on.

I’ve started to work online now that we can’t get bands into the studio, how does this affect my cover? Working with clients over the web can be a great way to maintain some income for studios that are set up for it, however, online work is not without its own risks. Cyber scams and social engineering fraud are becoming increasing problems as studios ramp up online mixing and mastering. There is a number of insurers for cyber insurance who can provide cover for money erroneously transferred to scammers, hackers holding your system to ransom and many other cyber incidents.

I have furloughed my staff, do I still need Employers Liability insurance?

Furlough is simply a temporary leave facility, where part of the employee’s salary is covered by a government grant. The staff member is still technically employed and as such, it is a legal requirement in the UK to maintain Employers Liability insurance. However, the reduced payments can be used to recalculate the Employers liability premium at a lower rate than it would be if you were still paying full wages.