Why do people use specialised travel insurance? Who needs it?
Actor’s travel insurance. Cruise ship travel insurance. Travel insurance for freelancers… does it all feel too overwhelming? Hencilla Canworth, through Performing Arts Travel Insurance, have been offering tailored travel insurance packages to a wide range of performing artists for years. From annual coverage to once-off trips, we’re the trusted name in entertainer’s travel insurance throughout the U.K. Today we dive deeper into specialist forms of travel insurance, and why they’re always best when they’re made to fit the performer who needs them.
Why bother with specialised travel insurance, anyway?
‘Entertainer’s travel insurance’ is a vague term, at best. What entertainer? In what field? Does it cater to their unique needs? Can they get the help they need (and, more importantly, when they need it) without difficulty? Is it made for the needs of their art, or simply a generic insurance option they have to hope works well for them?
It’s critical that specialised travel insurance reflects the individual needs of the performer using it. Careers can be very different, even if they fit under the same genre banner. What matters most to you may not be the same as even your fellow band or troupe members! With those unique needs in mind, it must also offer you fully comprehensive coverage that you can easily understand even without an insurance background. It also needs to be accessible in real-time if something happens on your trip- no matter where you find yourself. That’s why we shape our entertainer travel insurance policies around specific performer profiles. With us handling your fineprint, you’re free to concentrate on what matters- your art.
Cruise ship travel insurance
Perhaps one of the most unusual arenas to work in, cruise ships offer the performer a blend of novel concerns, no matter what art they practice. Nowhere else do you stay in the same venue, only to have the venue move around through national borders!
So you have the benefits of a ‘fixed’ residency- your own space (although many cruise ship entertainers share) and a stage that should become a second home over time. Other than leaving home, you don’t do much travel through airports, which is where many freelancer travel insurances focus on providing coverage, but you have the risk of theft onboard. You probably won’t have too many language issues, and accessing medical care should be far easier than for many other travelling entertainers. If the incident is large, however, you may need a helicopter to get airlifted to the nearest hospital- which could be, quite literally, anywhere globally. It’s not easy to find immediate replacements on lost or broken items. You will also spend a lot of time in close proximity to the same people, putting you at a slightly higher risk of infectious disease.
Good cruise ship insurance should be tailored around these unique circumstances, not a generic policy shoehorned to fit.
Freelancer travel insurance
The word ‘freelance’ is one any artist is familiar with. You’ll likely spend most of your career as some form of freelancer or contractor. It’s still unusual for crew or cast to be treated as salaried members. Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a lucrative and enjoyable entertainment career! It does mean, however, that your employers do not have to provide the same legal obligations as they do to salaried employees. Solid freelancer travel insurance is formulated to step into the gaps, especially as you may be left trying to solve a problem for yourself should one arise.
Depending on the specifics of each gig you take, it’s critical you make sure you have comprehensive coverage of your basic needs, and make sure the medical coverage is adequate for your needs too. You want the peace of mind of knowing that you’re covered from airport delays, lost baggage and other aspects that may impact your ability to earn.
Actor travel insurance
Why separate actor’s insurance? Acting has some unique issues that many other entertainment fields don’t. You’re likely not spending a lot of time transporting specialised equipment, and you probably aren’t handling your own wardrobe either. However you are your most critical asset. A lost voice, or a broken arm, could spell doom for the gig, not to mention the risks of flu.
That’s why smart performers use actor’s travel insurance to ensure they’re covered, no matter what. Typically these are formulated around a core of critical medical coverage that ensures help is only even a call away. Don’t forget to look into coverage for existing conditions you may have, too- and preferably a policy that doesn’t make insuring these too difficult. No one wants to be fighting over the details of a policy when they’re under the weather.
As you can see, specialised travel insurance that meets the unique career and personal needs of the entertainer is critical for travelling artists. You never know what hitches will cause issues along the way, so make sure you have the comprehensive entertainer’s travel insurance you need to keep yourself safe, no matter what adventure your career takes you on. It doesn’t matter where in the world you are heading, one call to Performing Arts Travel Insurance is all it takes to start the process of finding the perfect travel insurance package for your needs.