Special events are events that are typically held at a rented space, such as a fair, carnival, anniversary or birthday party, wedding reception, and even fundraising events. Operating a special event business means that you may be involved in setting up and decorating the venue, finding and renting the venue, planning the night’s activities, giving prizes for games and contests, and catering the event with food and drinks. Special event business insurance is needed for the variety of risks you are exposed to, such as potential damage to the property you are renting or bodily injury by the attendees.
Types of Special Event Business Insurance
There are different special event business insurance policies you should consider, based on the different risks you may be exposed to. The following are the most essential:
Special Event General Liability Insurance
One of the most important business insurance policies to get for your special event business is general liability. This includes three different areas of coverage that are vital to protecting your business from unexpected events that might occur on the premises or with your guests.
- Damage to Premises Rented to You (Property Damage). Damage to your rented premises is the first type of insurance coverage under general liability. It is a type of property damage that protects any damage you might cause during the event. Since you are renting their property, you are responsible for damages. Without insurance, if it is major damage due to an unfortunate accident, you would have to pay for this damage on your own . With premises coverage, it covers all of this damage, including repairs the property manager needs to make.
- Bodily injury. Another type of accident that might happen during the event is bodily injury to one of the guests. This can happen if there is a food or drink spill that someone slips on, breaking their ankle. The medical and legal costs associated with bodily injuries are protected by general liability insurance.
- Property of Guests. If a guest damages their cell phone or laptop at the event, these would covered under the General Liability if the operator of the event is responsible.
- Personal and Advertising Injury. Finally, general liability insurance includes personal and advertising injury coverage. This includes financial and legal protection for your special event business based on the advertising you have. If you claimed something about your competition during advertisements for your own special event company that later turned out to be false or injured them, they can sue you for it.
Special Event Cancellation and Postponement Insurance
When you rent a venue for a special event you plan on hosting and planning, you pay a deposit for using the venue. There is often a policy stating that if you cancel or postpone your event, you will lose your deposit, regardless of the circumstances. With cancellation and postponement insurance purchased with your special event business insurance, you have coverage from these instances, such as if you need to postpone your event due to flights being delayed for your honorees or guests.
Special Event Liquor Liability
If your special events offer liquor, you will also need to have a liquor liability insurance policy. In the U.S., all establishments that provide or sell alcohol need to have a liquor liability policy. It helps protect claims against any type of accidents or physical altercations that occur as a result of the liquor provided. If some guests get into a fight and both are drinking, and it leads to physical injury, any legal or medical liabilities against alcohol being involved is covered by this policy.
With these special event business insurance policies, you have adequate coverage for your special event business and are able to avoid a lot of financial struggles as a result of events you couldn’t predict.
