I am getting ready to move to Chicago with my wife in a couple months, leaving behind all my students in Maryland . But on a positive note I'm planning to start a studio in my apartment instead of driving to the students, which is what I've always done. However, it seems like it would be a good idea to have some insurance for a studio and I know that many teachers do. Any advice on where to get this, what type of insurance, what should it cover? I guess I'm concerned about people being "sue-happy", although I've never even had anything close to this kind of problem when teaching in the student's home, it seems this might be more of an issue with a studio. This also brings up another question... Should parent's be required to sit in during the lesson and/or accompany young students to and from the studio? It seems this might be a burden for some parents but I wonder if there might be some concern with kids being by themselves. Any advice here is much appreciated.

You must have liability. Have you checked with the apartment complex to see if an in-home business is allowed?

I would definitely suggest that students at least be accompanied to the door and picked up from the door unless you have a clear view of them arriving and leaving. They should not be waiting outside, even in the hallway, unsupervised.

You can also check with MTNA if you are a member, as they do have policies that you can get "group" rates from them on.

A rider to your renter's policy for business in the home would be suitable for if someone slipped on the sidewalk on their way to your place, or to cover your piano in case of a fire, but for liability you'd need a commercial business policy.

Your best bet is to speak to your agent and tell them the kind of things you are concerned about. A full-blown business liability policy can be extremely costly, but a commercial business policy is much more affordable and will cover most (but not all) liability claims. It all depends on your risk and comfort level.

Although I own my house, I still got a rider on my homeowners insurance to cover my business liability. I bet you can do the same for renter's insurance.

When shopping for quotes, I asked each one specifically if they covered liability for teaching purposes. It was surprising how much they varied - from including it already in the policy, to adding a rider with additional premium, to having no option for it, to invalidating your entire policy if you conduct any business on your property.

To make matters worse, most of them aren't very upfront about it, unless you ask. You really have to do your homework with this stuff. Ask lots of questions of your potential insurer.

I use State Farm, and one of the workers in their office is a piano teacher, so she knew just what to add to my policy to cover my business. It's only about $30 a year more.

Be careful, though, because some business riders don't really cover liability completely. Like I said, it might just be if someone sues if they slip on your sidewalk or something, but not if there's a lawsuit against your business for something like sexual harassment or unlawful business practices.

Thanks everyone. I'll just have to look into it more, but at least now I have a better idea of what to be on the look out for.