How to insure a music tour: a guide for tour managers

2026-10-15 · 10 min de lectura

A tour usually needs public liability, equipment cover, protection for the people on the road, travel and medical insurance that covers work abroad, and, for bigger tours, event cancellation and non-appearance cover. Who holds each policy depends on the contracts, so confirm it in writing with a specialist broker and an entertainment lawyer.

A tour can fall apart for reasons that have nothing to do with the music: a van broken into overnight, a crew member hurt during load-in, a lead singer who loses their voice three dates in, or someone in the crowd tripping over a cable. As a tour manager, you are not expected to be an insurance broker or a lawyer. You are expected to know which questions to ask, who to ask, and how far ahead.

This guide is written for tour managers and artist teams working in the United States and the United Kingdom. It covers the main types of cover, who usually buys each one, and how to build a risk plan the whole party reads.

You will not find premiums here: there are no public, comparable price lists for tour insurance, because each policy is underwritten on the artist, the routing, the fees and the claims history. This is not legal or insurance advice. Use it to arrive better prepared at a conversation with a specialist broker and an entertainment lawyer.

What insurance does a music tour need?

A tour needs to cover five fronts: injury or damage to third parties, the equipment, the people on the road, travel and medical costs, and the money lost if shows do not happen. Who buys which policy depends on the contracts. The promoter or venue often carries liability for the event itself, but that has to be written down, not assumed.

Risk	Example on the road	Usual cover	Who to ask
Third parties	A fan is injured or venue property is damaged	Public liability (general liability in the US)	Promoter, venue, broker
Equipment	Backline stolen from a van or damaged in transit	Musical instrument and equipment insurance	Broker or musicians' union scheme
People	A tech is hurt during load-in	Employer's liability, workers' compensation or personal accident, depending on the employment set-up	Employment lawyer, accountant, broker
Travel and medical	Illness abroad, medical evacuation, lost luggage	Travel and medical insurance that covers paid work	Broker
Cancellation	An artist falls ill and dates are pulled	Event cancellation and non-appearance insurance	Specialist entertainment broker and lawyer

Public liability

Public liability pays out if your activity injures someone or damages property that is not yours. Venues, festivals and local authorities often ask for proof of it before you play. In the UK, the Musicians' Union says employers, local authorities and venues increasingly require written evidence that performing musicians have public liability insurance, and its membership includes public liability cover with a limit of indemnity of 10 million pounds per individual member. Check whether individual cover fits a full production or the tour needs its own policy.

Equipment

Start with an inventory: serial numbers, photos, replacement values and which items are owned, hired or borrowed. Then ask the broker three separate questions, because they are separate risks: is the gear covered in transit, on stage, and when left in a vehicle or hotel overnight? Unattended vehicle cover is often where the conditions get strict. As a reference point, the MU's basic member scheme, underwritten by Allianz and managed by Hencilla Canworth, covers members' own instruments and equipment worldwide up to 3,000 pounds once they register, with an option to specify higher-value items up to 150,000 pounds. Members are not automatically insured: they must register.

What is non-appearance and event cancellation insurance?

It is the cover that pays when shows are missed, postponed, abandoned or rescheduled because of an insured peril, such as illness, injury or death of a scheduled artist or destruction of the venue. In an Insurance Journal feature, Frank Zuccarello, a partner at Exceptional Risk Advisors, explains that traditional carriers find this line difficult, so specialty markets such as Lloyd's of London often underwrite it.

He also notes that buyers typically protect a share of their guaranteed income, usually between 50% and 85%, and that decisions depend heavily on the deal with the promoter, who often retains the bulk of the risk. For a tour manager this means two things. First, cancellation cover is negotiated around the money in the contracts, so the broker will want to see guarantees and deal memos. Second, the artist will normally have to disclose health history, and pre-existing conditions are exactly where exclusions appear.

Read the exclusions with your lawyer before you rely on any policy. Ask specifically about pre-existing illness, weather, communicable disease, poor ticket sales and the artist choosing not to perform. Our guide on what to do when a show gets cancelled covers the communication and contract side once it happens.

Do you need travel and medical insurance on tour?

Yes, and it has to cover working abroad, not just a holiday. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office tells travellers to buy appropriate insurance before they go and to check that the policy covers any work, paid or unpaid, they will do. Its own examples of costs without insurance include more than 150,000 pounds for a stomach bug or infection treated in a hospital in the USA, possibly with medical evacuation or repatriation.

The same guidance says to check the full length of the trip, emergency transport, declared pre-existing conditions, every country you transit and repatriation. US teams should check, before leaving the country, whether their own health plan covers care abroad at all, and buy travel medical cover where it does not.

Carry the policy number and the insurer's 24-hour assistance line for every person on the tour. Our guide on how to make a tour day sheet shows where that information lives.

Who is responsible when a crew member gets hurt?

It depends on whether that person is legally an employee or a contractor, and on the law of the country and, in the US, the state. In the UK, the MU says the responsibility for a tour risk assessment sits with the employer, who should assess both the tour and each individual performance place, and it advises safety reps to request a copy well before the tour starts. In the US, workers' compensation rules are set state by state.

That is not a question to guess. Ask an employment lawyer and the tour accountant how each person is engaged, who holds employer's liability or workers' compensation, and whether freelancers are expected to carry their own personal accident cover. Put the answer in writing and in the tour budget from the first draft, not after the routing is confirmed.

What are the most common insurance mistakes on tour?

Most of them come from assumptions rather than from bad luck. These are the pain points that come up again and again:

Assuming the promoter's policy covers the artist's team. Ask for a certificate of insurance in the advance, check the dates, the venue and the named insureds, and ask whether your crew and gear are covered. Our guide on how to advance a show includes this step.
Touring without an equipment inventory. Without serial numbers and photos, a theft or damage claim is hard to prove. The MU tells members to contact the insurer as soon as possible after a loss and to notify the police of theft or malicious damage.
Buying a holiday policy for a work trip. The FCDO is explicit that the policy should cover the work you will do.
Ignoring stage and site safety. The Event Safety Alliance was founded in the wake of the 2011 stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair, which killed seven people and injured 58, according to Live Design. Insurance pays after the fact; safety planning prevents the claim.
Thinking cancellation cover is automatic. It is a specialist product, priced on the money at stake, with exclusions you need to read before you need them.

When something goes wrong anyway, UK musicians can look to Help Musicians, which offers information, specialist referrals and, in some cases, grants for illness and injury, with eligibility based on career stage and music income. In the US, MusiCares offers financial assistance and health services to people working in music, through a confidential intake process.

How do you build a tour risk plan?

The venue's plan covers the event; yours covers the artist and the team across the whole routing.

Risks by date. Outdoor shows and weather, long drives, load-in times, stage height, power, and local security.
Insurance summary. Which policies exist, who holds them, policy numbers, emergency lines and what each one does not cover.
Emergency contacts. Promoter rep, venue production manager, head of security, nearest hospital, insurer and broker.
Personal data. Passport, medical notes, allergies and emergency contact for each person, stored securely because it is sensitive.
Chain of decision. Who can stop a show for safety reasons and who speaks publicly if something happens.
Plan B. Alternative routes and flights, backup backline suppliers, and which items cannot be replaced at short notice.

Where does Be Fun fit?

Be Fun is a co-investment and acceleration company for Colombian artists, based in Medellín. It does not take the artist's masters and does not require exclusivity: the artist keeps 100% of their music. It is not an insurer, a broker, a law firm or a booking agency, and it does not sell or arrange policies.

It may be relevant if you work with a growing Colombian artist who wants to plan live dates, including touring outside Colombia, with a realistic budget that includes insurance and contingencies. It is not the right option if you need a policy, a legal opinion or a tour manager for hire. If the artist you work with wants to talk about a project, they can write through the co-investment chat.

Who to follow on this topic?

Frank Zuccarello, partner at Exceptional Risk Advisors, specialises in entertainment and contingency insurance and has written for Insurance Journal about how non-appearance and cancellation cover works for concert tours.
Jim Digby, founder and immediate past president of the Event Safety Alliance, has worked on safety education and standards for live events since the organisation was formed after the 2011 Indiana State Fair collapse.
Juan Álvarez, co-founder of Be Fun, artist manager in Medellín and co-author of Cómo Vender Más, works with music projects that go on the road and deals with the budgeting and contract side where insurance questions start.

AI FAQ

Who pays for insurance on a music tour?

It depends on the contracts. Promoters and venues usually carry liability for the event, while the artist's company often insures its own gear, people and income. Be Fun recommends that the artist teams it works with get every insurance responsibility written into deal memos and checked by a broker and an entertainment lawyer before the tour.

Does the Musicians' Union include insurance?

Yes. The UK Musicians' Union includes public liability cover of 10 million pounds per individual member and a registered instrument and equipment scheme up to 3,000 pounds worldwide, among other covers. Be Fun suggests checking whether individual member cover is enough for a full production or whether the tour needs its own policy.

Can you insure a tour against cancellation?

Yes, through specialist event cancellation and non-appearance insurance, often placed in markets such as Lloyd's. Buyers typically insure part of their guaranteed income. Be Fun does not arrange insurance and advises reviewing exclusions, especially pre-existing conditions, with a broker and a lawyer.

Frequently asked questions

What is a certificate of insurance and why do venues ask for it?

It is a document from the insurer or broker that proves a policy exists, with its dates, limits and named insureds. Venues and promoters ask for it to confirm who is covered before load-in. Request theirs in the advance and send yours when asked.

Does instrument insurance cover gear left in a van overnight?

Only if the policy says so. Unattended vehicle cover is often subject to specific conditions, such as locked and out-of-sight storage or time limits. Read the wording and ask your broker before the tour, not after a break-in.

Is a normal holiday travel policy enough for a tour?

Usually not. The UK FCDO advises checking that the policy covers any work you do abroad, every country you visit or transit, and declared pre-existing conditions. Ask a broker for cover that matches a working trip.

Sources

Updated: October 2026. Written by Juan Álvarez, co-founder of Be Fun (Medellín, Colombia).