Activities by Category

The Duck for Cover insurance program is designed to cover members while performing, rehearsing or teaching their specified performing activities.

The following activities are specifically excluded from the policy:

• Stunts

• The teaching of any sporting or fitness activity (gymnastics, zumba, yoga, karate, etc.). 

The activities that can be covered under the Duck for Cover policy fall into three categories. You can select to be covered for any number of activities, the Public Liability rate you pay is the rate for the highest category your activities fall into.

category 1

• Visual Artist/Craft Artist (including drawing, painting, sculpture, craft).
  (EXCLUDES cover for photography, film making, animation, prop and set making/design, installations, sign writing, graphic design, costume/fashion design, jewellery making, glass blowing/glass work, metal work, floristry or flower arranging, and wood work.) 
  • If you use flame in your Visual Art activities (for example firing work or raku firing) you will need to also select Fire in Category 3
  • Visual Artist does not cover Face and/or Body Painters. If you need cover for this, please select Face and/or Body Painter in Category 2.
• ​Balloon sculpting
• Bingo Callers
• Bubble blowing - Detergent bubbles blown and sculpted. Usually small but sometimes body-sized.
• Caricature
• Cartoons
• Characters/ Costume Characters - Includes costumes and/or makeup. Usually roving. e.g. Santa, Easter Bunny and others.
• Comedians
• Compère
• Hula hoop
• Magicians - Close up, sleight of hand and stage. Includes equipment-based illusions. Also known as illusion.
  If you use live animals or birds or naked flame (including flash paper) you will need to be Category 3
• Marching / Baton twirling
• Marriage Celebrant (performance risk only)
• Mime
• Models includes promotion girls/boys (eg. cigarette girls/boys at Grand Prix etc.) (Must be over 18 years old.)
• MCs
• Murder Mystery Host
• Poetry
• Promotion Girl/Boy (Must be over 18 years old.)
• Public Speakers
• Puppetry - Includes marionettes, glove puppets, life-size (or larger) figures. Sometimes involves puppet stage and props
• Race Callers
• Spruikers
• Statues
• Story-tellers / Writers
• Tarot Reader / Astrologer / Clairvoyant (performance risk only)
• Television / Radio Presenters
• Trivia hosts

category 2

• Actors/Theatre performers/Theatre In Education Performers - Includes film & television acting. Excludes walking tours.
• Burlesque artist
• Children's Party Host/Entertainer - Excludes child-minding. If you are performing for a children's party in a private home, you will need this.
• Clown / Therapeutic (hospital) Clown
• Dancers - Excludes choreography, excludes zumba, excludes yoga, excludes fitness classes. Excludes erotic dancing.
• DJ (excluding venue hire) (includes a DJ who also plays videos to accompany the music)    
• Escape - Straitjacket, cling wrap, chains etc.
• Face and Body Painters / Makeup Artists  - Includes henna painting, airbrush temporary tattooing.
• Juggling / Staff / Diabolo / Poi - If any flame involved, you will also need to select Fire Acts (Category 3)
• Karaoke operator
• Pavement Art
• Physical Theatre
• Musicians/Singers Includes playing instruments. Acoustic or amplified. Covers an individual performing in solo, duo and ensemble acts. Includes cabaret, pubs, clubs. Singers who sing accompanied or a capella are listed as musicians even if you use no other instrument but your voice. (Subject to the combined performing / teaching income, including ticket sales from staging own shows, being limited to up to $400,000 for each insured Member.)
• Plate spinning

category 3

• Acrobats
• Aerial Performers** (does not cover Shibari and/or Kinbaku. Does not cover Aerial Yoga.) (Excludes workshops and teaching) Aerialists are covered if their rigging is performed by a qualified individual or company with their own Public Liability Insurance. Performers who are qualified in rigging procedures may rig their own equipment. Claims that arise from other performers using equipment rigged by a Duck for Cover member will not be covered by this policy. (The Duck for Cover member would need a separate Public Liability policy covering their rigging activities.)
• Angle Grinding Acts  (Excludes workshops and teaching)
• Acts including animals or birds - Excludes Petting Zoos. Includes rabbits, doves, pet type animals, and non-hazardous snakes. No cover for horses, circus-type animals, any venomous snake, spider or insect.
• Bed of Nails  (Excludes workshops and teaching)
• Boomerang Throwing
• Cooking Demonstrations  (Excludes workshops and teaching)
• Fire acts and any act that uses a naked flame.
  • Excludes pyrotechnics (as defined by state or federal laws).  
  • Excludes workshops and teaching
  • Excludes Stunts
• Own body piercing  (Excludes workshops and teaching)
• Parkour** - (Excludes workshops and teaching) 
• Roller Skating / Skateboarding - excluding Roller Derby (Excludes workshops and teaching)
• Stilt-walking
• Sword swallowing  (Excludes workshops and teaching)
• Trick Rope / Lasso
• Unicycling/Trick Cycling  - Claims that arise from other performers using equipment provided by a Duck for Cover member will not be covered by this policy.
• Whip-cracking

** Claims that arise from other performers using equipment provided by a Duck for Cover member will not be covered under the policy.

workshops and teaching

The Duck for Cover Public Liability policy automatically includes cover for claims arising from workshop/teaching activities OTHER than workshops/teaching which include any of the following activities:
Aerial Performers, Angle Grinding, Bed of Nails, Cooking Demonstrations, Fire Acts, Parkour, Roller Skating / Skateboarding, Sword Swallowing and Own Body Piercing.

You can arrange cover for workshops/teaching of the following activities as an extension: Aerial Performers, Angle Grinding Acts, Bed of Nails, Fire Acts, Sword Swallowing and Own Body Piercing.

This will leave Cooking Demonstrations, Parkour and Roller Skating / Skateboarding as the only approved performing activities for which members cannot be covered for Workshops and Teaching under the Duck for Cover Public Liability policy.