I am doing a craft fair shortly 3 dayer,I don’t normally do them ,I wondered if anyone could tell me roughly how much it would cost for insurance for it , the value of stuff is about £3000. Any views on Insurance generally would be welcome ,do you or don’t you take a risk and not have it ,I am tempted.
Thanks
Paul.
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Take the risk, if they don’t ask for it, they will have their own. Or artists newsletter are the cheapest I believe. An instant and online service.
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A-N membership (less than £50 per year) comes with public and product liability insurance but not stock insurance. If the organiser requires you to have insurance it will be the liability insurance and they will ask to see the certificate to prove you have it (you often have to do that when your application is accepted). So it is up to you whether you do or don’t want stock insurance - ask yourself ‘how nickable or breakable are my items?’. Your wooden boxes would probably be considered low risk on both fronts but Ian Wallace would be able to do you a quote.
Thanks Sue, thats what I’m thinking ,if something got nicked ,I would just have to spend many hours ( which I have now) replacing it.
Paul
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Thanks Sasha, the organisers advise insurance but its not a requirement. I have had boxes nicked at 2 craft shops where I used to sell them in the past,but I eventually get over it. I will have my chess sets at this one which are more expensive but it would have to be a break-in to take them as they are very heavy in the chests.
We used to joke when I have done craft fairs at Sandringham in the past in Marquees and left overnight,wouldn’t it be awful if there was a break-in overnight and they left all my stuff alone, I’d want to give up.
Paul
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I have had work at an art exhibition in the past, where thieves did break in after hours and took several thousands of pounds worth of paintings, clearly targetting some work in preference to others. Not mine, fortunately. The eye-opener was that most people’s insurance only valued the paintings at the cost of the materials that went into them, framing, etc, not the time spent on making them, and certainly not the sales price. So some people were left well out of pocket, and the thought of their work being desireable enough to steal didn’t make up for it!
So it can indeed happen…
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Yes Helen,probably not a wise joke to make,it was made on the basis that we hadn’t experienced it. I might come to regret it even more eventually.
Paul.
Mine is about £50 for the year and covers for up to £30,000 of sales a year, unlimited number of events. It is as much about people being injured by your stuff as well, display falling on them, falling into your stall and damaging stock etc. Probably cover for transportation to and from the event, and so on. I’ve been asked for it on booking and took it out to get access to more events. I do one venue that doesn’t ask for it and watched a toddler grab a lamp shining on a display and get burnt doing it. Now granted the mother was completely ignoring her child and its surroundings, til the scream. The poor stall holder was mortified, but if mum had taken action, he would not have been covered.
I have public liability insurance as many organisers require it and ask for certificate when booking but I don’t have stock insurance and am not aware of any losses over the years and I’m pretty hot on stock control. Cheaper to make sure when you stock your stand that everything is accessible to you and that easily pinchable stuff is not too easily located for that.
One of the reasons for being hesitant apart from being tight,is this will probably be the last one that I do so i will pay a years premium for 1 event.
Paul
I used to work in insurance, and aside from those insurances that are legally (motor) or contractually (home) required I avoid buying it unless it is absolutely required. Self insurance (as it is called in the industry) is nearly always the most cost effective kind because you aren’t paying for everybody else’s claims. Claims costs have risen quite a lot across the board in recent years because people will insist on making fraudulent claims. As this fair is a one off and the last one you will do then I would take the risk and take extra care of your stock and stall on the day to avoid any theft or accidents. Have a friend or two come with you for extra pairs of eyes.
I also agree with Helen’s comment about how much they are likely to pay out. I imagine that you will struggle to find an insurer who will pay more than the cost of materials for your stock because they will point out that it is unsold and therefore you can’t claim for the profit you would have made if you sold it. Harsh, but insurance companies are there to make money and claw back as much as possible from the cost of claims.
Sam x
Thankyou Sam for an interesting post, I was already 80%thinking about risking it, I’m afraid I am quite old and of the view that in recent years things like these have escalated due to a certain country over the water, thanks everybody for your contributions, I will let you all know if it goes pear shaped.
Paul
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