Most musicians buy public liability because a venue asked for it. The exposure behind the request is real though unglamorous: cables, stands, speakers on stands, and a stage full of equipment near people in the dark.
What the cover answers for
A member of the audience tripping over a cable, a speaker or lighting stand falling, damage to a venue's floor, wall or fittings while loading in, and injury to somebody helping carry equipment. Those are the claims, and they arise at load in and load out more often than during a performance. Teaching, which many musicians also do, is a separate declared activity because pupils, often children, are then in the picture.
Who asks, and at what level
Pubs, clubs, theatres, festivals, local authorities and wedding venues commonly require a stated limit and a certificate before a booking is confirmed, and larger festivals ask well in advance as part of supplier accreditation. Music service and education work brings a further layer, with schools requiring both insurance and recruitment checks. Musicians' representative bodies often arrange member cover, which is frequently the cheapest route to the certificate a venue wants.
Instruments and equipment are not in it
Public liability does not cover the instruments. Those need their own all risks cover, following the instrument between home, van, venue and hotel, with a stated value for anything valuable and attention to the unattended vehicle conditions. Hired or borrowed backline is somebody else's property in your custody, and a separate question again. Musicians with one expensive instrument often need a specified item rather than a general limit.
Bands, deps and working abroad
A policy in one name covers that person. A band is either insured collectively or made up of individually insured members, and a dep standing in for a night may be neither. Insurers ask who the insured is, which matters when a claim names the band as a whole. Touring or playing abroad takes both the liability and the equipment cover outside a domestic territorial limit unless extended before departure.
Questions people ask about public liability insurance for musicians
Why do venues ask musicians for public liability?
Because the load in, the cables and the stands create a real injury and damage exposure on their premises. A stated limit and a certificate are usually a condition of the booking.
Are my instruments covered?
No. Public liability covers other people. Instruments and equipment need their own all risks cover with attention to unattended vehicle conditions.
Does one member's policy cover the whole band?
Not normally. A policy covers the insured named on it, so a band needs collective cover or every member individually insured, and a dep may be neither.