As the owner of a dance studio, you’ve most likely prepared yourself for every possible contingency that might occur. You’ve got a first aid kit, an ambulance on call, and ice packs ready for anyone who might slip and fall in your studio. That’s because dance, whether it be traditional, zumba, belly dance, pole dance, acrobatic dance, or any other type, is dangerous, especially when dancers are inexperienced or unused to practicing in a studio. And, although you might prepare to help your dancers as much as possible, the best way to protect your business is to take out insurance on your dance studio.
What is dance studio insurance?
Dance studio insurance is meant to protect your business from liability in case your dancers injure themselves and later want to file a lawsuit against your studio. In these types of cases, your attorneys will do their best to negotiate a lower settlement, but whatever compensation you have to pay will be covered by the insurance. Without dance studio insurance, this money will have to come out of pocket, which can severely harm your studio’s finances since such lawsuits can lead to hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages.
Dance studio insurance also has other purposes and coverage areas besides personal injury to dancers. For example, it can protect against an advertising injury lawsuit, in which a plaintiff can claim that your studio misrepresented itself in advertising and demand compensation. It can shield against claims of property damage, brought about by a client whose personal property was damaged in your studio, whether through negligence or malicious intent. And, it can help pay for the legal fees associated with carrying out litigation in all of the above categories and situations.
In several specific cases, a studio would especially benefit from having insurance due to the high costs of the lawsuits involved. For example, the death or injury of a volunteer, dancer, or spectator is especially complex and involves high legal fees and large settlements, which would bankrupt a studio that doesn’t have insurance. Claims of general negligence – and the costs of investigating them – would all be covered by insurance, as would the maintenance and usage of the studio itself.
How else do I protect my studio?
Thankfully, lawsuits are the most drastic measure taken by someone against a dance studio, and usually accidents can be prevented before they ever escalate to that level. There are several steps you can take to make your studio as safe as possible, and protect your dancers before they ever get to the stage where they feel like they need to file a lawsuit against you to pay for medical costs and other compensation.
First, consider the weather: now, in the middle of winter, there is an enormous potential for slips and falls to occur because of rain and snow that may be tracked in to the studio. Make sure to have a separate area for your dancers to remove their outerwear to keep water away from the main dance studio floor, and clean up any spills or wet areas immediately. Make sure your dancers are also looking out for any apparently slippery areas that they can then report to you.
Just taking small precautions like these can have an enormous impact on not only the experience that your dancers have with your business, but also on the legal status of your studio. Keep your dancers safe and happy, and avoid costly lawsuits, by taking steps to prevent injury. Also make sure to insure your studio and have a contingency plan in the case that those accidents do happen.
How do I proceed?
To insure your studio, contact Marine Agency to determine what type of insurance is best for you. Our Dance Schools and Studio Insurance is meant for all studios of all sizes and lengths of operation, but you will gain the most information specific to your business by speaking to one of our representatives and gaining insight into your particular situation.
You also have the option of adding on extra coverage for greater production. This includes but is not limited to equipment coverage, excess liability, independent contractors, sexual abuse, non-owned/hired vehicle liability, increased aggregates, and increased medical expense benefit. Because some (or even all) of these coverages may apply to you (and may in fact be highly recommended by an insurance agent), you may not know until you go through all of the options available to you and consider which coverages you are most likely to need depending on the type of studio you have.
Ready to get started? Contact Marine Agency today!
