Sound Sense :: Insurance :: supporting community music

Important note about insurance during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic

Limitations on public gatherings and performances, and requirements for social distancing and strict hygiene measures mean that Sound Sense members are having to make radical changes to the way they go about their work.

We would like to reassure you that Sound Sense's Public Liability Insurance continues to operate as normal for all your music teaching, community music and music therapy activities as long as you are complying with the relevant government guidelines for reopening and safe working. You should demonstrate this by completing a COVID-19 risk assessment for each activity you plan and you can find further information to help you with this on our Working Safely page.

Your Public Liability Insurance also covers you for delivery via online platforms, such as Zoom and Skype, and you may find this useful for situations in which face-to-face community music activity is not yet safe and/or practical.

Public liability insurance - the professional way

Organisations often require community musicians, whatever their field of practice, to carry their own public liability insurance. This is to protect against any compensation arising out of injury to third parties and damage to third party property. Having public liability insurance isn’t just peace of mind, it marks a musician out as a professional.

Taking out public liability insurance as an individual can be very expensive. That is where the strength of Sound Sense as a professional association comes in. Detailed discussions with a specialist insurance broker have resulted in the development of a public liability insurance scheme, arranged by Sound Sense exclusively for its members.

Individual Sound Sense members paying the appropriate subscription are automatically covered by £10m public and products liability insurance. The policy meets the demands and needs of individuals working on any activity connected to community music, music therapy, or teaching of music requiring insurance against their legal liabilities to pay compensation arising out of injury to third parties and damage to third party property.

If you are already a Sound Sense member, you'll find further information on your insurance benefit in the Members Area. Login here to gain access.

Members Public Liability Policy Summary 2020 - 2021

Download pdf file (152k)

Members Public Liability Policy Details 2020 - 2021

Download pdf file (318k)

All you need to know about Sound Sense insurance

How do I know someone is covered by the Sound Sense members’ public liability insurance scheme?

Look up the name of the member at Find a musician. Those covered by the scheme carry the flag Insured Through Sound Sense.
If you need a printed certificate, ask the Sound Sense member to provide this. But because a member’s subscription may lapse or be cancelled at any time, you should still check Find a musician to make sure their insurance is currently in force.
To check that Sound Sense itself is covered, view their master certificate of insurance here

What does the insurance cover?

In brief, and subject to the terms and conditions of the full policy, the policy covers relevant Sound Sense members for their legal liability for damages including claimant legal costs for accidental Injury to any person or accidental loss or damage to third party property while:

undertaking any activity connected with the organisation or participation in community music activities
or music therapy
or while carrrying out general teaching of music
or for any other musical activities provided your income from those other musical activities does not exceed £12,500 a year.

The cover is for £10,000,000 any one claim (any one period in respect of products liability) with an excess of £250 for property damage claims.

The cover is worldwide excluding the United States of America and Canada, provided the member is usually resident within the UK. Relevant overseas members are covered for work undertaken in the United Kingdom but not work in any other territory

Who does the insurance cover?

It covers only named members paying at the "Individual" rate (previously known as "Individual, earning") and who are up to date with their subscriptions. It does not cover, for example, all the members of a band or a choir.

If I join, when does my insurance start?

If you pay through our PayPal account, we can confirm your membership, and the start of your cover, usually within a couple of working days.

If you pay by direct debit, your insurance cover commences as soon as your Sound Sense membership is recorded on our database, usually within ten working days of us receiving us your properly filled-in enrolment form.

Note that if your direct debit mandate is rejected or your PayPal payment is reversed you will be treated as not having joined and never having been covered by our insurance.

Is cover retrospective?

Sound Sense took out this insurance from 1 April 2009, and incidents occurring before that date are not covered by this insurance; music therapy work before 10 October 2012 is not covered. Any incidents occurring after those dates but while the member was not paying subscriptions in the appropriate category are not covered: you can check this for any particular date and member by contacting Sound Sense. For incidents occuring before 1 April 2014 the limit of cover was £5,000,000.

Who provides this insurance?

Hencilla Canworth act as insurance brokers for Sound Sense, and this policy is underwritten by Argo Direct Limited on behalf of ArgoGlobal SE and Covéa Insurance plc.

Hencilla Canworth Limited and Argo Direct Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. ArgoGlobal SE is authorised by the Malta Financial Services Authority to carry on General Insurance Business under the Insurance Business Act, 1998. Covea Insurance plc is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.