Clay Times Back Issues Vol. 3 Issue 12 • Sep/Oct 1997 | Page 19
Insurance for Clay Artists
Part Two of Two BY STEVE BRANFMAN
Choosing An Insurer We must understand the difference between an insurance company and an insurance agent. An insurance company is the actual body that issues your policy and is responsible for coverage and payments to you or others as you may direct. Everybody who has insurance of any kind deals with and is connected to one or more insurance companies. You may, within your present insurance situation, already be dealing directly with an insurance company as millions of people do. An insurance agent is the individual that you deal with who represents the insurance company. There are agents who are exclusive to a single company such as Allstate or Aetna, and there are independent agents that may represent and sell the products of several different insurance companies. Which is better? There are those that will extoll the benefits of one over the other ad infinitum. In my own experience (having done both), the services of an independent insurance agent are indespensible. Conceptually, an independent will try to locate the best company and policy for your needs. He or she is not tied to the possibly limited products that only one company may have to offer. However, in practice, the most significant advantage of an independent agent is one-on-one, personal, committed service. An independent agent is likely to be either a business owner just like yourself or someone who works for one. These agents have a greater affinity for their clients and will often put in the extra effort to provide you with quality service. Of course, the most critical aspect of this service isn’t put to the test until you have a claim or problem. Many people can go through years or even entire careers without a claim. But it just takes one situation, one accident, loss, or claim of any kind for you to know whether or not you made the right decision. Another reason to consider the services of an independent agent is the fact that our needs as craftspeople often fall out of what may be considered the norm in comparison with other more mainstream types of businesses. From the objects we make and how we market them to the type of exposure (in insurance terms) we exhibit, it often takes a special individual with more far-reaching resources and knowledge to identify and provide us with ade
quate, affordable insurance coverage. Our needs may not fall neatly into the corporate-designed packages that an agent representing a single company may have to offer. Now, to be fair, I don’t mean to paint all insurance agents with the same color, whether they represent one company or one hundred companies. There are those from both varieties that are wonderful, compassionate, personal, well intended, and will go to whatever lengths are necessary to provide the correct product for your needs. Ultimately you are the one who has to make the choice. Ask your friends, ask other craftspeople who you may know, inquire to a regional or local potters’ or crafts guild or association. Attorneys and accountants can often recommend insurance agents. Be resourceful and make an educated and wise choice. If you find yourself totally bewildered or otherwise less than enthusiastic about investing time and energy in researching agents or companies, there is a relatively simple alternative. Many craftspeople forego the insurance company or agent route altogether and opt for an insurance package offered through a craft association or guild. These policies are well designed for craftspeople, are usually simple and basic in their coverage, are generally very affordable, and are usually offered in the areas of fire/theft, liability, and personal health and accident insurance. They are, as a rule, excellent choices for individuals starting out who may have limited exposure, financial resources, and experience. These policies are affordable due to the buying power of the group and you can gain access to them by joining a group such as The American Craft Association or any number of other specialized art and craft associations. Some local and regional associations offer group policies as well. Perhaps the greatest service that these types of policies are able to provide is access to health insurance. Although affordable access to health insurance is indeed difficult to find and these policies make it possible, they should not be looked at as long-term solutions to your health insurance needs. Primarily, these policies lean toward the catastrophic variety and not the day-to-day health maintenance type of coverage that is just as important and critical. Read the fine print and know what you’re buying.
While these group policies generally provide good overall coverage in the most important areas, they are not the end all in insurance packages and they do tend to fall short when compared with custom packages that an independent agent may be able to assemble for you. In order to make these packages affordable, the coverage is often limited in scope and the deductibles tend to be high. For instance, there may be a very low limit as to what you may claim if your vehicle is broken into or if your wares are in a location away from your studio. You may not be able to get coverage for work or equipment belonging to others that may be in your workspace. If you have a claim, the amount paid to you for that claim often reduces the value remaining on the policy. However, the most important deficiency for me in purchasing a group policy of this type is the fact that they are more than likely going to be administered by an out-of-state company with no local agent or representative with whom you can maintain a one-to-one relationship. Claims can take a long time to resolve and can be very frustrating to follow through. Questions or concerns about your personal situation will probably not be given the kind of consideration that you need, and every time you contact the company there may be a new voice on the other end of the line. Despite the apparent deficiencies and disadvantages I have outlined, you would nevertheless be wise to investigate the availability of these types of insurance packages in your area of the country. When I began my career, a policy offered through The American Craft Association was the only one that I could a