Megan Mason on sun 10 dec 06
There is presently a signup for publicity to start an ''open studio tour ''
for the public to drop in for specific days and hours during the holiday
season. I have never been in on one of these since I am not open to the public
and have little parking. I asked if the program had and possible liability
insurance in case someone on an artists property, while visiting, which I doubt
they have even considered from the reaction when I inquired.
Am I being a spoilsport? Am I being too cautious, I don't know but here is
why I ask.
My neighbor was sued when a neighbor child fell off their rail fence while
playing with the owner's children.
I gave pottery classes in my garage to neighbor children, for little more
than the cost of materials, when my daughter was young and one neighbor's
child, who's dad was a lawyer, mentioned to me that his dad told him to have fun
but if he got hurt I would be working for them the rest of my productive
life. I ended classes at home. The same family repeatedly solicited my
pottery as donations for all their silent auctions but I politely declined.
I would love to welcome them in, but I am out in the country and the terrain
of my place could harbor hazards I may not have considered. I do not need a
lawsuit to take what little retirement moneys we have saved.If the group
sponsors had gotten an umbrella policy to cover the event, even if we had to
share cost, it then would interest me.
How do others deal with this sort of issue?
Meg
Lois Ruben Aronow on mon 11 dec 06
You should always have insurance, both for your studio equipment and wares
(in case of fire, property damage, and loss, etc.) This is no different
than having renter's insurance if you rent an apartment. The landlord or
primary leaseholder should hold liability and property insurance.
If you are renting space in a communal studio, they should have insurance
for both property and liability. If the space is in a commercial building,
they are probably required to have it - laws vary from state to state and
city to city.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of
> Megan Mason
> Sent: Sunday, December 10, 2006 6:52 PM
> To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
> Subject: open studios tours and liability
>
> There is presently a signup for publicity to start an ''open
> studio tour ''
> for the public to drop in for specific days and hours during
> the holiday season. I have never been in on one of these
> since I am not open to the public and have little parking. I
> asked if the program had and possible liability insurance in
> case someone on an artists property, while visiting, which I
> doubt they have even considered from the reaction when I inquired.
>
> Am I being a spoilsport? Am I being too cautious, I don't
> know but here is why I ask.
>
> My neighbor was sued when a neighbor child fell off their
> rail fence while playing with the owner's children.
>
> I gave pottery classes in my garage to neighbor children,
> for little more than the cost of materials, when my daughter
> was young and one neighbor's child, who's dad was a lawyer,
> mentioned to me that his dad told him to have fun but if he
> got hurt I would be working for them the rest of my productive
> life. I ended classes at home. The same family repeatedly
> solicited my
> pottery as donations for all their silent auctions but I
> politely declined.
>
> I would love to welcome them in, but I am out in the country
> and the terrain of my place could harbor hazards I may not
> have considered. I do not need a lawsuit to take what
> little retirement moneys we have saved.If the group sponsors
> had gotten an umbrella policy to cover the event, even if
> we had to share cost, it then would interest me.
>
> How do others deal with this sort of issue?
>
> Meg
>
> ______________________________________________________________
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Susan Fox Hirschmann on mon 11 dec 06
When I built my studio in the back yard, I got a comprehensive business
policy for fire/theft/damage and liability. Honestly, I would not consider having
students or customers here without it. Also I teach classes here, sponsored
by the local JCC, and they would not permit me to have their kids without a
proper insurance coverage. I am a lot more relaxed about people in and out, and
am glad that I have it. I also have a "traveling clause" on it, for my
work/display in transit to/from shows.
I am with State Farm, and you can negotiate with them, just like you can
negotiate with anyone! (heck, I even negoitated with the GAs company about
bringing the line in for nothing.) I pay about $500 a yr. for the coverage that I
have and divide it up into bi annual payments to make it a bit easier as I am
either rolling in dough or very poor (so what else is new!?)
If you would like further details about all of this, feel free to email me
off list.
Best of luck!
Susan
Annandale, VA - in heavily legitious Fairfax County, Virginia!
Robert Edney on mon 11 dec 06
I think that there are two ways of looking at this, and you just sort of have to pick one. The first is that if you have any potential liability and anything to protect you would be foolish to let anyone set foot in your home who wasn't a family member, and you should even be suspicious of some of them. This is how it seems to be going these days, and the insurance carriers love it. The other point of view includes a reality check: Often, insurance companies will settle a law suit just to avoid legal expenses. That's a subtle way of taking the rest of us to the cleaners. Such settlements encourage people to file even very silly suits, relying on the insurer to settle for some amount of money just to be rid of the expense and the nuisance. In other words, it saves the company money, but raises the bar for what these companies base their fees on. It's a pretty good deal for the companies. Given that, the other way of looking at it is that even with all the litigation
going on in this country, law suits against people like potters holding open studios are rare. So long as you are prudent, the risk is probably minimal. Even if something happens, if you handle it well and there's no real injury to speak of the likelihood of a suit is minimal. One way to approach any accident is to avoid your insurance carrier (if you have one) unless you really need them. It even makes some sense (I know I'll get some heat for this) to not carry liability insurance and to protect whatever assets you have in some other way (judgment proof). That way, any attorney brought in won't see much hope of collecting anything, and as such suits are often contingent the attorneys sometimes avoid getting involved in anything where there is no deep pocket. So, you make your choice based on what you know, and you decide if it's worth the risk. For me it is, simply because I don't want to live in a padded room. Lastly, remember that you have a lot of control in
this in how you set things up for a tour and where you let people go. Many lawsuits are based on the person being sued having done something incredibly negligent or just plain stupid. That's something you should avoid anyway.
Robert, who is having an open studio this coming weekend
Megan Mason wrote: There is presently a signup for publicity to start an ''open studio tour ''
for the public to drop in for specific days and hours during the holiday
season. I have never been in on one of these since I am not open to the public
and have little parking. I asked if the program had and possible liability
insurance in case someone on an artists property, while visiting, which I doubt
they have even considered from the reaction when I inquired.
Am I being a spoilsport? Am I being too cautious, I don't know but here is
why I ask.
My neighbor was sued when a neighbor child fell off their rail fence while
playing with the owner's children.
I gave pottery classes in my garage to neighbor children, for little more
than the cost of materials, when my daughter was young and one neighbor's
child, who's dad was a lawyer, mentioned to me that his dad told him to have fun
but if he got hurt I would be working for them the rest of my productive
life. I ended classes at home. The same family repeatedly solicited my
pottery as donations for all their silent auctions but I politely declined.
I would love to welcome them in, but I am out in the country and the terrain
of my place could harbor hazards I may not have considered. I do not need a
lawsuit to take what little retirement moneys we have saved.If the group
sponsors had gotten an umbrella policy to cover the event, even if we had to
share cost, it then would interest me.
How do others deal with this sort of issue?
Meg
______________________________________________________________________________
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
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