No matter how big or small your event is, there are always many tasks to juggle if you’re the event organiser. But there’s some good news when it comes to insuring an event: it can be far easier to put in place than you might imagine – even for large events.
This type of insurance helps to protect you against all the potential problems associated with an event, from injury claims to cancelled performers and postponements. Here we’re going to answer some frequently asked questions about event insurance, and in no time, you’ll see that securing the right coverage is one of the more manageable event-related tasks.
What type of event requires event insurance?
People often assume that event insurance is designed for larger events, such as exhibitions, festivals, music gatherings, conferences and charity events, but it can also be used to protect much smaller events. Private parties, weddings, small community events, and school fundraisers can all benefit from this type of insurance. Though the scale of these different events may vary greatly, the key liability issues are generally the same. For this reason, no matter what your event, the insurance needs are usually fairly standard.
We offer all types of special event insurance cover including:
- Exhibitions
- Conference
- Concerts & Performances
- Weddings
- Formal Dinners
- Annual / Extraordinary General Meetings
- Fundraising Events
- Corporate Entertainment
- Fairgrounds
- Fun Days
- Charity Days
- Firework Parties
- Festivals
- Concerts
Additional Event Insurance Policies That May Be Required
- Excess Layer
- Event Cancellation
- Equipment Cover
- Business Travel
What is event insurance?
An event insurance policy brings together several relevant covers, including:
- Public liability – coverage that will financially protect you should an attendee become injured whilst they’re at your event or should their personal belongings be damaged because of your event. This cover is also used to guard against any damage to the venue or location you’re hiring.
- Employers’ liability – you must include this within your policy if you’re paying for people to work at the event. This will protect you should an employee make a claim against you based upon their time working at the event.
- Property cover – if you’re using your own property or land, you need this cover to protect the event venue from damage.
- Cancellation cover – to safeguard your finances should you have to cancel or postpone your event due to unforeseen circumstances. There are various forms of cancellation cover, including postponement, rearrangement, curtailment and abandonment.
To these four core insurance strands, you can also add cover such as:
- Adverse weather cover – a type of cancellation cover. This ensures that if your event is cancelled or severely impacted by the weather (for example, it must end early or significantly reduces attendance), you will be financially compensated.
- Terrorism cover – to protect you against the financial impact of an act of terrorism at an event. This is usually targeted at larger events.
- Key-speaker / performer cover – if the main draw of your event is a key-speaker or performer, should they need to cancel, this could have a sizeable financial impact on your event. Consider including this type of cover if this is where much of your potential profits lie.
- Cyber and data cover – to protect you if you’re selling tickets to your event via an online booking system.
What is special event insurance?
Special event insurance is the type you would take out for a one-off event, such as a private party, a wedding or a fundraiser. It will offer you public and employers’ liability and protect you against cancellation or postponement.
When do I need to take out event liability insurance?
You can take out event liability insurance as soon as you start organising your event, and indeed this may offer you the best financial protection. If your event requires attendees to pre-book, make sure you have insurance in place before you start making sales. This means if something out of your control makes a significant impact on ticket sales or on the ability of your event to go ahead, you are financially protected.
If it isn’t a ticketed event, make sure all your insurance is in place by the time you, your staff, or any event participants start accessing the venue to set up.
The venue I’m using has public liability insurance – do I still need to take out event insurance?
Yes, you do. Even if your chosen venue is fully insured, they’ll nearly always ask the event organiser to take out their own public liability insurance. The venue’s public liability insurance will cover any injury to an attendee or damage to their property that results directly from the venue. For example, if an attendee trips and hurts themselves on a loose bit of carpet at the venue, their insurance will cover this. But if one of the awnings on a stall at your event falls on an attendee, you must deal with that. This is why event insurance always includes public liability as standard.
How much public liability cover should I get for my event?
This is exactly the sort of thing we can advise you on here at Park Insurance. In general, special event insurance packages offer up to £10 million coverage, but you may need to seek up to £20 million of coverage for larger or higher risk events.
When you contact us, we’ll ask all the questions we need to determine the level of risk at your event. Then we can agree on the most appropriate level to set within your policy.
Can I get event in insurance for more than one event?
Yes! We understand that not all events are one-offs, and if you plan to hold a chain of events across a season or over the year, we can find you a policy covering multiple events.
Don’t worry if each event is different from the last, we can still organise your ideal coverage.
If you’ve got big plans for your event, let Park Insurance protect your special day. Over the years, we’ve helped our customers insure events of all sizes, and with our extensive knowledge base, we’ll be able to create the perfect policy for you. Get in touch today to speak to one of our friendly insurance experts and tell them all about your planned event.