Special Event Insurance: Cost & Coverage
Special event insurance is primarily a liability insurance policy for a business, vendor, or individual hosting an event. The policy provides coverage for injuries and damaged property, with additional options like weather cancellation. Unlike other policies, special event insurance is a policy with one payment, with average premium costs starting at $100 or $500 for events with 100 or 3,000 attendees, respectively.
Key Takeaways
- Special event insurance coverage is a special policy that provides liability coverage for a short, specified time period.
- Usually, this policy has additional coverages for property or other losses specific to the event, like jewelry coverage for a wedding.
- Policies range from $100 to $400 for an event with at least 100 and no more than 250 attendees.
Thimble Insurance specializes in short-term liability for special events. In just 60 seconds, you can get a quote and purchase a policy either online or through its app. The app is especially useful because you can get insurance whenever you need it, wherever you happen to be. Tailor the coverage to fit your needs, and instantly share proof of insurance whenever needed.
Event insurance is a one-time payment and, unlike most insurance policies, many policies do not come with a deductible. But if they do have a deductible, it is usually for the third-party property damage portion and will usually start at $500.
While a few insurers will offer coverage up to 24 hours before the start of the event, many require advance notice. Keep the timeline of your event in mind while shopping for insurance.
Factors That Impact Event Insurance Costs
When shopping for event liability insurance, be prepared to answer questions about the event—such as location, date, type of event, and what activities will be present. For example, will there be live animals or a dunk tank? Questions like these will influence whether the insurance company will cover the event and the premium amount.
Other specific factors that influence special event insurance costs are as follows:
- Limits: The above quotes are all for the same $1 million liability limit. Increasing the limit will increase the premium you pay. But for an important event, it is worth it to have the added protection.
- Alcohol service: Are you selling alcohol, or will a vendor sell it? While some event liability packages include liquor liability, some will require that you purchase liquor liability insurance as an added coverage.
- Expected turnout: The more people at your event, the greater the likelihood that they will be injured, and thus, the event insurance costs will increase.
- Type of event: The cost to cover a small corporate holiday party for your business will differ from a three-day music festival.
- Length of event: The time of the event, including set-up and tear-down, will likely impact the cost of insuring the event.
- Structures: Are there temporary structures like large tents, stages, or a bounce house for your event? If so, understand that temporary structures increase the risk of injury and property damage and will impact your premium rate.
- Deductible: While not all special event insurance policies will come with an insurance deductible, if you have one that does, adjusting it can help with the cost. For example, if you raise the deductible, the premium should decrease. This approach comes with a risk since if you file a claim, you will owe the deductible.
Special Event Insurance Coverage
Like a business owner’s policy (BOP) that combines first-party losses with third-party liability exposures, event insurance usually has two core components built into the policy.
- Event Liability Coverage: This protects your business from claims arising from someone being injured while attending the event. For example, the host could be liable for an injury if Susie Snowflake slipped on some water and broke her ankle while at a business expo for mops. If, after watching her fall, the salesperson with the ineffective mop kicked a hole in the wall of the rented venue, event liability would also cover the damage they caused.
- Event Cancellation Coverage: If your event is outside and a hurricane is forecasted or is inside and forecasters predict a blizzard, you will have to cancel the event. Event cancellation coverage helps protect any non-refundable deposits or loss of profits should the event be canceled.
This is a high-level overview, and the specific coverages available will change depending on the type of event. For example, a wedding event insurance policy often has additional options for unforeseen losses involving photography, videography, attire, and even jewelry. Additionally, many insurance companies offer additional coverages, such as hired auto, contractual liability, or accident medical expenses.
As is the case when shopping for insurance, if you are honest with the insurance company about what type of event you are hosting, it will be honest about whether it will write a policy for it.
Pro tip: When planning your event, factor in when the coverage terminates. Providers may have a specific cut-off time for the event insurance. For example, Travelers’ wedding insurance ends at 2 a.m. the morning after the event.
What Special Event Insurance Doesn’t Cover
This type of insurance isn’t for every event. The range of what type of event is and is not covered varies by insurer. Some have a much greater capacity for high-risk events, while others will limit it to events like weddings, graduation, and retirement parties. Still, in general, the following are usually not covered:
- Activist rallies and marches
- Organized protests
- Cancellation due to communicable diseases
Additionally, high-risk events like gun shows and tractor pulls, while not impossible to find coverage, may prove challenging to do so or may cost a lot more than event coverage for a wedding.
Most insurance providers now have an epidemic/pandemic exclusion for the cancellation portion of their coverage. Check the terms of your policy carefully as it relates to communicable diseases.
Liability Waiver for Events
Some insurers may ask that you use a waiver or will consider lowering your special event insurance costs if you can demonstrate actionable steps to mitigate or transfer liability.
A liability waiver, sometimes called a release of liability or a general waiver, is a document that a business has patrons sign to acknowledge risks and releases the business from claims arising from injury or loss. It cannot violate state law and is common in recreational, fitness, and high-risk businesses.
Download a free Business Liability Waiver Template for your business
Special Event Insurance for Businesses
Businesses typically need special event insurance if they are hosting and organizing the event. A general rule of thumb is you will need to purchase this coverage if the event you are hosting is off-site or is significantly different from your company’s daily operations. These events might be the following:
- Holiday parties: if you are hosting a holiday party with entertainment, caterers, and alcohol, you should consider event insurance that includes liquor liability.
- Company picnics: Everyone loves the annual company picnic with the bounce house and the family games, but that sack race could lead to a lawsuit if someone gets hurt.
- Fundraisers: Nonprofits often host a catered meal at an off-site location. With the cost of deposits and the potential for liability, nonprofits should consider special event insurance.
- Employee retreats: Many companies will have a retreat for team building. However, many of the exercises at these events, such as the “trust fall,” are a liability nightmare.
Hopefully, your business already carries a general liability insurance policy. While that may cover some of these losses during a particular function, it is best to check with your agent about the policy’s exclusions, limits, definitions, and listed locations.
Event Insurance for Vendors
If your small business will be a vendor at a special event, you’ll want to discuss what insurance you may need with the host. Generally, you will need liability insurance to protect your assets if a client or the venue owner accuses you of causing bodily injury or property damage. If, as the vendor, you are serving alcohol, most special event policies taken out by the host will require the vendor serving alcohol to have a liquor liability policy.
Some venues require proof of liability insurance to book them. The certificate, or COI, will show them you have the required coverage and, if necessary, list the host as an additional insured. When a host venue requests to be added as an additional insured, it adds a layer of liability protection to their business by making your policy the primary coverage if something happens.
When looking for the right policy, see to it that the insurer you choose can provide a COI.
Special Event Insurance for Individuals
Special event insurance isn’t just for businesses. Individuals may want to purchase a policy, too, especially if they have a lot of money invested in the event. Events an individual may want to purchase special event insurance for are as follows:
- Bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs
- Quinceaneras
- Family reunions
- Retirement parties
- Anniversary parties
- Weddings
Wedding event insurance is probably the most common form of special event insurance a private individual will purchase. As with special event insurance, its primary coverage is liability and event cancellation. Many insurance companies offer additional coverage for wedding gowns, tuxedos, jewelry, and accessories. Just remember, insurers will not cover cancellation if someone has changed their mind.
How to Purchase Special Event Insurance
Many insurers will not offer special event insurance, and even brokers, including larger ones that work with over a dozen different providers, do not sell it. To find special event insurance, you’ll most likely need to turn to a specialty insurer.
To do that, locate an independent agent or carrier in your area for help with location and some insurers that will cover your event. You can also check out our roundup of the best special event insurance companies.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Event insurance is primarily liability coverage; however, depending on the nature of the event, most insurers will offer cancellation insurance coverage. Note that not every event that leads to a cancellation will be covered. For example, communicable diseases are almost universally excluded from cancellation coverage.
Most venues require a minimum amount of liability to participate in the event as a vendor. To ensure you have the proper coverage, the venue will request proof of insurance or a certificate of liability. This is a simple one-page document summarizing your coverage.
Depending on your carrier, this can be easy or hard. Many allow you to go online and adjust limits. However, if there is no way to do this through your online account, reach out to your agent or call the carrier directly to make the change.
Bottom Line
If you are a business or private individual planning to host a large event, you will want to look into event insurance. Whether it is for your special day or an important milestone in your company, you’ll want to know you are covered if anything goes wrong.
Thimble is an insurance provider that specializes in special event insurance. What’s more, through its app, you can modify coverage and instantly share proof of insurance if you are a vendor or manage incoming vendor certificates if you are the host. Get a quote and buy liability insurance coverage for events in just 60 seconds.
