Coverage, Explained in Plain English
The building blocks that show up in dance school, studio, and instructor insurance programs — what each one does and why it exists.
🛡️ General Liability
The foundation of nearly every dance business policy. It responds when a student, parent, spectator, or visitor claims your business caused them bodily injury or damaged their property — and it typically pays to defend you even when a claim is groundless.
Studio programs commonly offer limits such as $1,000,000 per occurrence, and many include employed instructors under the school's policy. Landlords and venues usually require proof of this coverage (a certificate of insurance) before you can lease space or book a theater.
🏥 Participant Accident Medical
Dance is physical, and injuries happen without anyone being negligent. Accident medical coverage can help pay a participant's medical bills — physician care, X-rays, hospital services, ambulance, and similar expenses — regardless of who was at fault.
Benefit maximums, deductibles, claim-filing windows, and how the coverage coordinates with a family's own health insurance all vary by program. This coverage is often what keeps a hurt dancer's family from becoming a liability claimant.
🕊️ Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D)
Some dance and sports programs include an AD&D benefit that pays a scheduled amount for covered accidental death or specified serious injuries. Benefit amounts and schedules are set by each policy.
🧠 Professional Liability
Responds to claims that your instruction itself caused harm — a correction that allegedly injured a student, programming inappropriate for a beginner, a pointe-readiness decision questioned by a parent. Instructor programs commonly bundle this with general liability; studios can add it.
🏢 Property & Equipment
Sprung floors, mirrors, barres, sound systems, costumes, and tenant improvements represent real money. Property coverage can address damage to your business personal property, glass, and — through business income coverage — the revenue you lose while a covered loss keeps the studio dark.
➕ Other Common Add-Ons
Depending on the operation: hired & non-owned auto (employees running errands), workers compensation (required for employees in most states), cyber/data breach liability (you store families' payment data), liquor liability for galas, and multi-location policies for growing schools. An agent will help you decide which of these your business actually needs.
Ready to see your numbers?
Every policy is different — the only way to know your coverage and price is a real quote.