OT- bill client for insurance?

Wedding reception venue requires each vendor to have liability insurance. I've never had to have this before, and have had to shell out $250 for insurance. My client contract says that they have to pay for any expenses related to venue access. Should I bill them for some of this, say $50?

DD

That's very strange. I'd definitely bill them for that. I would talk to the client first and explain it to them, preferably before any contracts are signed.

Thanks Joe. Client is aware of it and have agreed to pay an additional charge. I was just wondering how much.
DD

As an aside, you may want to seriously consider adding liability insurance to your business or DBA anyway. Even here n CA, the standard $1 million policy is only about $50/month and is worth every flipping' penny (I also have business property insurance, also very necessary). For weddings, if you do a lot of them, you really, really want this. All it takes is one grandmother tripping on a cable to really ruin your day, or one dropped light on the hood of an expensive car, or one rambunctious kid running into your sticks, or... you get the idea. Having this policy in place will also help you get more jobs more quickly. I was called by one of the major museums in town a few weeks ago, and since all I had to do to confirm the job was email them the liability rider of my existing policy, I signed the contract that morning. Now granted, it wasn't the policy that got me the gig... but not having it would have definitely meant not getting it. It's one of those things that will step up the professionalism of your business immediately, and show that you're not jus some kid with a camera. Good luck!

Yeah, it's the $1M liability insurance that I had to purchase. I got it through WEDJ ($50), insurance through one of their partners ($175) and they automatically added APE membership ($25).

DD

Hi David,

if your filming outside your own studio or even regularly move kit around (e.g. from car to pavement to location) Public liability is a must,. can be quite reasonable if bought by the year rather than per job. in the uk i have always found it best to find a a company who specialise in 'media' insurance and get both Equipment and Public liability insurance from the same vendor.

some of our locations/clients require up to £10 million liability before we set foot on to their premises, although £1-2m usually surfaces.

on charging - if a job requires the paying of certain fees that are specific to that job, then yes charge for them.

Graeme

Thanks Graeme,
Can't get in the door without it, so I'd say it's specific to this job.
DD