A museum is a demanding business. You have to look out for stampedes and slip-and-fall accidents when hosting an auction event .Fire and sprinkler leakage can happen and damage the rare books donated by libraries.
Art gallery, exhibition, and museum insurance coverage protects you from financial losses caused by lawsuits, property damage or loss, employee injuries, and other risks.
Policies you can get from this tailored coverage are general liability, workers’ compensation, employer’s liability, commercial property insurance, and more.
Museum Liability Insurance
Your museum and art gallery will admit people. You have liability over the bodily injuries or property damage of people who experience an accident while on the premises of your business.
Operate without worries by getting general liability insurance. Your museum and art gallery will find this insurance useful when:
- An exhibit of your museum goes haywire and injures an attendee
- An accident happened during an activity in your museum, and the participants sustained injuries
- An attendee falls from your museum’s stairways
Museums and art galleries get general liability insurance to cover claims for bodily injuries or property damage. Every time you face a claim, general liability insurance takes care of these costs:
- Medical treatment of the attendee or any other third party who sustained an injury
- Refunds for the damaged property of the claimant
- Settlements
- Defense costs such as attorney fees, investigation fees, court filing fees, etc.
- Court judgments
Limits Of General Liability Insurance
| Value | |
| General liability per occurrence limit | $250,000-$1 million |
| General liability aggregate limit | $1 million-2 million |
| Products and completed operations limit | $2 million |
| Advertising injury coverage limit | $1 million |
| Medical payments | $3,000-$15,000 |
| Deductible | $0-$2,500 |
Museum And Art Gallery Commercial Property Insurance
A commercial property policy will also be included in your museum and art gallery insurance. Get this to protect yourself in case something happens to the establishment where the equipment, artifacts, books, and artworks are displayed and stored.
You can use commercial property insurance to recover losses and pay for reconstruction or repair expenses in case the building is damaged or destroyed due to:
- Fire
- Theft
- Vandalism
- Civil commotion
- Riot
- Sinkhole collapse
- Volcanic action
- Vehicle
- Aircraft
- Rain
- Hail
Limits Of Commercial Property Insurance
| Value | |
| Building coverage limit | $25,000-$1 million |
| Contents coverage limit | $5,000-$500,000 |
| Outdoor property coverage limit | $2,500 |
| Valuable papers and records coverage limit | $10,000 |
| Accounts receivable coverage limit | $10,000 (on premises)
$5,000 (off premises) |
| Coverage limit for property of others in your custody | $50,000-$100,000 |
Workers Compensation Insurance for Museums And Art Galleries
Workers’ compensation insurance takes care of costs if an employee of your museum and art gallery sustains a work-related injury or disease.
Workers’ compensation insurance provides the funds you can use to cover these costs when an employee sustains a work-related injury or disease:
- Employee Medical Treatment- cover first aid treatment, emergency medical care, and surgeries when an employee sustains an occupational disease or injury.
- Hospitalization- cover food, room, and nursing fees if an employee needs to stay in the hospital after sustaining an occupational disease or injury.
- Medication-cover the cost of medication so that an employee can get needed medicines without using his own money or asking money from your business.
- Rehabilitation-Your museum and art gallery can use workers’ compensation insurance to cover rehabilitative care, so that its employee can fully recover and resume working.
- Lost Wages-Coverage for lost wages comes in the form of a weekly allowance equal to two-thirds or 67% of the average weekly wage.
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Commercial Crime Insurance for Art Galleries And Museums
Theft is the biggest threat when it comes to running a museum and art gallery. This is why you need to get multiple levels of protection against it.
Commercial crime insurance is an effective deterrent against financial losses if an employee or third party commits a crime against your museum and art gallery. The risk covered are:
- Employee theft, larceny, skimming, forgery, and social engineering
- Burglary or theft committed by third parties
- Fraud
- Computer fraud
- Robbery
Art Exhibition Insurance
Limits Of Art Exhibition Insurance
| Value | |
| Art exhibition general liability per occurrence limit | $1 million |
| Art exhibition general liability aggregate limit | $2 million |
| Art exhibition advertising injury coverage limit | $1 million |
| Products and completed operations aggregate limit | $2 million |
| Non-owned/hired auto liability coverage limit | $1 million |
| Rented premises liability coverage limit | $1 million |
| Medical payments coverage limit | $5,000 |
Also called art show insurance, art exhibition policy is a specialized type of special events insurance that covers art shows held in museums and art galleries.
You typically get this as a short-term coverage that lasts for hours, days, or weeks. Art exhibition insurance offers the following:
Museum And Art Gallery Insurance Cost
On average, museum and art gallery insurance cost $46 per month or $552 per year for a $1 million general liability coverage. Factors that affect pricing are revenues, size of business operations, claims history, and more.
Help others make better decisions
Best Museum Insurance Companies
CoverWallet
CoverWallet’s tailored museum insurance policies offer four options – general liability insurance only, general liability and commercial property insurance, business owner’s policy with workers’ compensation insurance, and a custom plan.
CoverWallet allows you to cancel a policy. Furthermore, it has an online claims filing and insurance payment process.
Average cost: $30 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Pros
- Allows you to find and buy the offers of carriers underwriting tailored coverage for museums, art galleries, and art dealers
- Stable rates
- Cancel your policy anytime
- No hidden charges
- Sells a tailored museum, art dealer, and art gallery insurance offering four insurance options
Cons
- Not an insurance company but an insurance broker
Tivly
Most reputable insurance companies such as Thimble, Progressive, and NEXT will refer you to Tivly if they can’t cover your museum and art gallery.
Tivly has very broad underwriting policies. Policies you can get from this carrier are general liability, commercial property, workers compensation, and others.
Average cost: $33 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Pros
- Responsive customer service
- A partner of many reputable insurance companies
- Call and compare museum and art gallery insurance quotes over the phone
Cons
- You need to call to get a quote
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Hiscox
Hiscox provides coverage for art galleries and art dealers. Policies you can get are general liability and cyber liability insurance. There’s also a business owner’s policy that bundles general liability and commercial property insurance for art galleries and art dealers.
Average cost: $36 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Pros
- 14-day money-back guarantee
- Worldwide coverage
- Upgradeable general liability insurance
Cons
- Doesn’t provide coverage for museums
Thimble
It offers general liability, commercial property, and workers compensation insurance for art dealers and art galleries.
Thimble’s policies are customizable. You can add or remove optional coverages, choose policy limits and deductibles, and even pause or cancel your policy anytime.
Average cost: $40 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Pros
- Customizable policies
- Quick to issue an estimate of your rates
- Manage your insurance online
- Decide to have no deductibles
Cons
- You can only contact customer service online
Markel
Markel’s museum and fine arts insurance is perfect if you’re running a non-profit art gallery or museum. Policies included are general liability insurance, professional liability insurance, special events coverage, and abuse and molestation insurance.
Average cost: $42 per month
Our rating: 9/10
Pros
- Covers 18 types of museums
- Comprehensive coverage for museums and art galleries
Cons
- No online quotes for most of its business insurance for small museums policies.
