Whether it’s an audience of ten thousand or something more intimate, you open your space to the public, and to the people who know how to draw a crowd. This, in turn, exposes you and your venue to certain risks that can be managed with the right kind of venue insurance. Whether you need stadium insurance or community theatre insurance or amphitheater insurance or auditorium insurance or concert hall insurance or insurance for an outdoor stage, you are responsible for the safety of the public and performers and you could become liable if someone is injured at your venue. You also have to be concerned with potential damage to property, performance cancellations, the care and conduct of your employees… then there’s all the stuff you never could have predicted!
When it comes to risk, we’ve got the best seat in the house, and we can help you see your exposures from every angle. That means you can confidently welcome the world’s best, brightest, and craziest–whatever the world throws at you, you’ll be ready!
Though you probably expect everything to go off without a hitch, the fact is, when it comes to planning an event, things do sometimes go sideways and it’s important to put the necessary precautions in place.
Here are several factors to consider, to ensure you have the right coverage for your event:
- Does the venue you’re renting require insurance? Venues will usually specify the level of coverage you’re required to have if it’s not covered in your rental agreement. If you’re hosting your event in a public space, or on municipal property, you’ll want to make sure you have the necessary permits to demonstrate you have obtained event liability insurance, to the amount required.
- Will one of your vendors be a no-show? If you’re renting tables, chairs, or a tent for your event, you want to be sure you’re covered in the case of a vendor no-show, or any damage to your rentals.
- What if you need to cancel the event? Could be weather related, or due to a mix up of some kind; whatever the case, event liability insurance protects you from having to pay all the event-related expenses you’ve incurred.
- Are you responsible to insure the equipment you have rented? Take time to read the fine print in those rental contracts. You’ll want to be sure you’re covered.
- Planning to serve wine or cocktails at your event? If you are serving alcohol, try to hire a caterer to serve the drinks. Otherwise, you’ll need to purchase one day liquor liability insurance.
If you have questions about the level of insurance you’ll need for your one-day event, give us a call!
Wedding Insurance
The DJ doesn’t show, the gifts go “missing”….there are a lot of scenarios that could impact your big day: why not transfer these risks to insurance? You protect your car when you are driving by buying insurance – why not your wedding…. and at a much lower cost.
Insurance for weddings typically costs less than 1% of your overall budget. $200 will usually cover: the rings, gifts, wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses, damage to the venue, guest injury and more.
What if your reception space goes out of business two weeks before your wedding and you lose your deposit? What if you have to cancel or postpone the wedding? Or the venue catches fire when one of the candelabras is knocked over. These are the types of wedding day financial losses that wedding insurance can help to protect.
Renting Out a Church, Mosque or Other Place of Worship
If you are an administrator of a church, mosque, synagogue or spiritual venue of any kind, chances are you’ve been asked to rent out your venue for special events such as weddings, birthday parties, meetings, yoga classes or workshops.
Renting your venue is a great way to support your organization’s financial needs and goals but it does come with few warnings and precautions. Whether you’re renting out a small meeting room in your facility or the main hall for thousands of guests, having the right insurance protection ensures you are covered for damage or total destruction of your spiritual space.
The most important way to protect your venue is to ensure whoever is renting from you has the right level of insurance. They need to purchase insurance that considers the following:
- Your venue’s capacity and the number of people attending.
- Type of event. Are you hosting a wedding, a charity fundraiser, a music show or political workshop?
- Will the event include outside food sales or concessions involving alcohol? If alcohol is involved then liquor liability should be purchased.
- Key characteristics of your building with respect to rebuilding or repairing damage done by the short term tenant. Have your renter choose a liability limit sufficient to put the facility back into the same shape it was before it was damaged.
- Equipment rental coverage. Your renters need to be sure they are covered in case any of the rentals are damaged so that you are not asked to pay for the damage.
- Staff safety. Your renter needs to ensure they have full coverage in case anyone gets hurt or injured at their event so that the venue owner is not left paying the medical bills and loss of future earning for the injured person.
Conference and Event Insurance
We all know that person who had a little too much fun and did something they fully regret the day after an event or worse, treated their weekend conference like a trip to Vegas. If you’re on the event planning side of these meetings, you’ll want to understand the type of event insurance required by your venue to protect yourself and your staff against all possible scenarios. Here is your guide to obtaining the right coverage for your next office event or conference:
- What exactly is event insurance? Often called Special Event Insurance, or Short Term event insurance, this insurance is designed to protect your event – whether it’s a conference, business party, festival or something else from ALL of the possible circumstances that might occur during your event that are beyond your control. This includes potential lawsuits caused by damage to the location you are renting or lawsuits that arise if your guests are injured at the event.
- What are the venue requirements? If you’re hosting your office event or conference at a third-party venue or on municipal property, event liability insurance is pretty much always required – especially where alcohol is involved. Even if your event is hosted at your boss’s mega-mansion, you’ll want to double check the homeowner’s policy because parties of a certain size are often not covered – again, especially when alcohol is being served.
- Make sure your rentals are protected in the case that you’re renting tables, chairs, sound equipment or anything else you might need for your event, consider what might happen if your vendor ends up being a no-show or if any of your rentals are damaged. You’ll want to be covered if that’s the case (hello, unpredictable winter weather). Accidents happen and sometimes you just can’t tell how much crazy fun your co-workers might have…
- Protect yourself against staff injuries. It’s all fun and games until somebody gets hurt! Protect yourself against guest injuries or a guest or relative suing you in the case of a bad injury. Event insurance will cover you if you are sued by a guest by providing a free lawyer to defend you and paying the judgement costs awarded to your injured guest.
Concert Insurance
Patrons purchase tickets to a concert for many reasons: to see their favorite act, gather with friends, a night on the town and catch a new talent. The main point is all seek a good, fun time and hearing good music. But unknown to patrons are the many details that go into producing and promoting a successful concert. When planned properly, it shows, but is not seen.
One of those details is safety for both the performers and the audience. Concert Event Insurance to protect against incidents for Liability and Bodily Harm have the potential to come into play more often than one may think.
First, the bad news; The Allman Brothers’ unfortunate bus crash. Everyone is OK, thank goodness, but this accident is an example of the long hours artists, bands, production crews and drivers spend on getting everyone to the venue, normally traveling between 350 – 450 miles overnight to set up and perform for their fans. Insurance coverage is a must not only to cover any medical expenses, but also to make sure that property damage to a vehicle can be recovered and/or repaired/replaced in a timely fashion. Without this commitment by performers and their teams, there is no show; thus, disappointed fans.
A second example of an “unseen” detail is crowd barriers for crowd control. These type of barricades are not really thought about by patrons, but they are of utmost importance to artist and patrons alike. Proper crowd control, from security to crowd flow are key to any safe event. Concert insurance can come into play if the barriers fail to pay for injuries so that the act is not financially ruined. Having proper barricades not only enhance patron’s enjoyment, but lowers the risk of someone being harmed or having an accident. It also helps greatly with the expense of a premium by lowering the cost!
Holiday Parties
Throwing a party in your office or at your home? Or maybe you are renting a venue? Well, you’re going to need one day special event insurance. Short term event insurance protects you from lawsuits caused by damage to the location you are renting or lawsuits that arise if your guests are injured. Your rented venue is likely going to ask for evidence of one day liability event insurance so the venue owners are not drawn into your lawsuit.
Garden Shows
Planning an annual flower show, competition, plant sale, or garden tour? You should consider getting Garden Show Special Event Insurance. Gardeners know better than anyone that events can be unpredictable. Disasters strike even the most careful and diligent gardeners. That’s where insurance comes in. Having the right Garden Show insurance policy protects you from those unforeseeable dangers and gives you peace of mind—not quite the blissful serenity of a well-tended garden, but close enough!
Opening your garden to the public or hosting an event brings its own set of challenges, which is why most rental venues will require you to carry Event Insurance. Often, this will be stated explicitly in the rental contract, including the liability amounts required. Garden venues want to be protected in case your guests damage property or someone is injured at your event and tries to sue. If you are renting equipment, like a sound system, tent, or a marquee, you will also want coverage in case that property is damaged.
If your organization is hosting a garden event at a private residence, the homeowner’s policy likely will not provide adequate insurance. Parties of a certain size may be excluded. Your organization will need to have Event Insurance in place in the unlikely event that a guest is injured. That stone walkway or water feature might look lovely, but it could also be a tripping hazard!
Picnics
Consider these risks associated with picnics to help you decide if you need event liability:
- If you are hosting the picnic in a municipal park, on a municipal beach or on crown land you may need a permit that requires you to show evidence of one day event liability. Often the permit will specify the short term venue liability amount required.
- Your guests may accidentally damage the cabana or barbecue shelter you have rented. Does the owner require you to provide evidence of short term venue liability insurance? Check your rental contract.
- Are you hosting the picnic at home in your yard? Check with your homeowners broker to see if you are covered. Parties over a certain size are most likely not covered especially if you serve alcohol.
- Have you rented furniture or the sound system or a marquee? Are you responsible to insure the equipment you have rented? Time to read the fine print in those rental contracts.
- Hosting a picnic is a great time to bond with family, friends and coworkers. Picnics are fun until your guests are injured. What if your friend or relative is forced to sue you or your company? Will your homeowners insurance cover you? Probably not. Picnic liability insurance will cover you if you are sued by providing a free lawyer to defend you and paying the judgement costs awarded to your injured guest.
- If you are serving alcohol, try to hire a caterer to serve the drinks or purchase one day liquor liability insurance.
- What happens if your marquee blows away and injures other people in the park? Lawsuits from a cartwheeling marquee would be covered with day insurance.
Source: Front Row Insurance