Event Planner Liability Insurance
Event planner liability insurance comes in different types and is one of the most popular forms of insurance coverage because it provides a trusty shield against third-party claims. General liability insurance, public liability insurance, and professional liability insurance are the most common liability insurance policies for event planners.
Event Planner General Liability Insurance
As an event planner, you take charge of the event. You coordinate with vendors, labor personnel, and individuals to decorate venues, prepare food, install lighting, and set the stage up. You never know what problematic things can happen while the event is being realized. Consider the following situations:
While a technician is installing an equipment, he or she might fall from a height and sustain injuries
A client came to check your progress and accidentally tripped over something resulting in minor cuts and bruises
One of the lightings that a technician installed got loose and dropped on someone
An electrical wire of the sound system suddenly caught fire and damaged a structure of the event venue
The above situations are very troublesome as the aggrieved persons can sue you for property damage or personal injuries. Consider getting general liability insurance because it will provide tremendous help.
General liability insurance is a common inclusion in the event organizer insurance plans of carriers. Its job is to shield you against the costs of personal injury claims and property damage claims filed by third parties. Here’s how general liability insurance works in practice:
General liability insurance will cover or reimburse the medical expenses of a third party who sues you for personal injuries
General liability insurance will refund the losses of a third party who sues you for property damage
General liability insurance doesn’t only compensate for injuries or damages on your behalf. You can use this insurance to pay for legal expenses such as attorney fees, administrative costs, etc.
You can add optional policies to general liability insurance so that it covers other perils aside from personal injuries or property damage claims. Common add-ons to general liability insurance are:
Products and completed operations coverage-Products and completed operations coverage will cover attorney fees, settlements, and other legal expenses when a client sustained property damage or injuries due to a service you delivered and decides to file a claim
Advertising injury coverage-Advertising injury coverage provides protection when you’re sued for slander, libel, and copyright infringement by covering attorney fees, administrative costs, settlements, and other legal expenses
Rented premises liability coverage-The owner can run after you if the venue sustains damage during the activities of the event. And so, consider adding rented premises liability coverage to general liability insurance because it will refund the owner of the damaged venue on your behalf
Note that general liability insurance only covers claims filed by third parties against you. Third parties,as used in the language of general liability insurance, pertains to:
Clients
The guests or attendees of the event
Hired labor not signing a contract with you
Other individuals not considered as employees
So how much insurance money does general liability insurance give? Typically, the general liability insurance for event planners provides $1 million - $2 million, which is the minimum amount of coverage most clients require. But still, there are insurance companies underwriting general liability insurance providing $100,000 - $500,000 minimum coverage.
Professional Liability Insurance for Event Planners
An event planner like you assumes a lot of functions. You plan the event, get in touch with clients, manage labor, and many more. Performing a lot of tasks increases the likelihood of committing oversights. And if your oversights inflict financial or economic losses, trust that clients will hold you responsible.
General liability insurance doesn’t cover your liability for mistakes committed. This is the job of professional liability insurance for event planners. This type of party planner insurance pays for attorney fees, settlements, administrative costs, and other legal expenses if a client sues you for:
Negligence
Violation of good faith
Violation of fair dealing
Breach of confidentiality
Misrepresentation
Other acts considered errors and omissions
Event planner professional liability insurance is sold as a claims-made policy. This type of event coordinator insurance only provides coverage if you file a report to the insurance company at the time the covered incident happened. Here’s an example for you to further understand:
A client sued you for negligence on Monday. For professional liability insurance to kick in, you have to file a claim on the same day. However, you decided to do so next week. Since your professional liability insurance is a claims-made policy, it doesn’t provide coverage anymore because a lot of time has lapsed since the covered peril happened
Public Liability Insurance for Event Organisers
General liability insurance provides a comprehensive protection against many perils. But consider getting public liability insurance for event organisers if you only want to have the most basic protection. Public liability insurance only covers personal injury claims and property damage claims filed by third parties against you. It can’t be added with optional policies. And so, it’s cheaper than general liability insurance.
In the USA, only a few companies offer public liability insurance. Most underwrite general liability insurance to event planners. But note that public liability insurance can be found in the events insurance of particular carriers.
General liability, professional liability, and public liability insurance are already enough if you’re only worried about claims third parties file against you. But note that exposure doesn’t only come from people who you deal with.
Event Management Public Liability Insurance
Event management public liability insurance is a specialty public liability coverage for big event planning agencies. It provides up to $10 million worth of coverage for personal injury and property damage claims.
Public Liability Insurance for Charity Events
Public liability insurance for charity events is a coverage not for event planners but for charities. This is usually sold as a stand-alone one day policy or an inclusion to charity insurance. It provides protection against personal injury claims or property damage claims due to accidents that happen in fundraisers, yard sales, comedy nights, and other charitable events.
Short Term Liability Insurance for Event Planners
Event planners such as you can opt to get short term liability insurance? So what is this? Short term liability insurance is essentially a general liability, professional liability, or public liability insurance offering coverage for only hours, weeks, days, or months. This is the perfect liability insurance option if you’re just providing event planning service as a side hustle.
Also read:
Other Business Insurance for Event Planners
If you have an office, then you have to protect that against damage or destruction. If you employ people, then consider shielding yourself against the resulting expenses when they sustain a work-related injury or disease. Overall, there are a lot of other exposures you need to think about. And so, consider getting other business insurance policies for event planners such as:
Event Planner Commercial Property Insurance
Get commercial property insurance if you're renting, leasing, or owning an event planning office. You’ve invested a lot and commercial property insurance can recoup all or some of what you spent in case the building is damaged or destroyed. Here’s a quick run through of how this insurance works:
If your event planning office is destroyed because of a fire or extreme weather, commercial property insurance will provide money so that you can recoup losses and pay for reconstruction costs
If your event planning office is damaged by fire, theft, vandalism, extreme weather, and other covered perils, commercial property insurance will cover the cost of repairs
So how much money can you get from commercial property insurance? Payouts provided by commercial property insurance are determined by the actual cash value or replacement cost of a covered property. In actual cash value, the amount you’ll receive will be equal to the covered building’s depreciated value. In replacement cost, you’ll receive money equal to the building’s original value.
Commercial property insurance doesn’t only cover your event planning office. It has optional policies that cover the equipment and valuable items inside. These are:
Stocks and contents coverage-Stocks and contents coverage covers office documents, furniture, installations, and other valuable items. If these become lost or damaged due to fire, theft, vandalism, or other covered perils, stocks and contents coverage will reimburse your losses
Business equipment and tools coverage-This provides reimbursement if the office generator, computers, camera, video camera, and other event planning equipment becomes lost or damaged due to fire, theft, vandalism, and other covered perils
What Perils Are Excluded In The Terms of Commercial Property Insurance?
Commercial property insurance doesn’t provide coverage if your event planning office,as well as the items and equipment inside, are damaged or lost due to mudslides, earthquakes, and floods. Also, insurance companies will reject your claim if damage or destruction of your business property is caused by an intentional fire.
Workers Compensation Insurance for Event Planners
Event planners like you can work solo. However, you’ll eventually need to hire part-time or full-time employees. As soon as one or more are working for you, be sure to get workers' compensation insurance to avoid infringing labor laws or workers comp laws.
On another note, you’ll need to get workers' comp insurance for yourself if this is required by the workers' comp law or labor law of the state you're at.
Workers' compensation insurance will kick in if you or an employee experiences a work-related injury or disease. Particularly, this will pay for:
Medical expenses-Workers compensation insurance will cover ambulance and emergency treatment fees if you or an employee experiences an injury or sickness while working. In the same way, it will also cover surgeries, therapies, and other medical treatments/procedures needed
Hospitalization-It’s ensured that you or an employee gets adequate medical care upon sustaining a work-related injury or illness as workers compensation insurance will cover hospital bills
Medication-Workers compensation insurance provides money if you or an employee needs to buy prescription medicines to fully recover from a work-related injury or disease
Rehabilitation-Workers compensation insurance will cover rehabilitation if you or an employee needs it to recover or adapt to an impairment caused by a work-related injury or disease
Lost income compensation-Lost wages is covered by workers' compensation insurance. It provides a weekly allowance equal to two-thirds or 67% of the average weekly wage. You or an employee will receive this until the amount or duration prescribed in the terms of workers comp is satisfied
Death benefits-Funeral expenses will be covered by workers' compensation insurance if you or an employee dies due to a work-related injury or disease. Dependents will also receive an allowance equal to two-thirds or 67% of the average weekly wage. This will be received until the amount or duration prescribed in the terms of workers comp is satisfied
Authorities will impose sanctions if you fail to get workers comp, especially as a coverage for employees. Penalties differ between states. But it can be generalized as:
Imprisonment in the county jail
Stop-hold order
Revocation of exclusive remedy
A fine twice the premiums of workers compensation insurance
A fine multiplied by the days you didn’t get workers comp insurance
Workers' compensation insurance is expensive. The best way for you to save money on premiums is to get it as a pay-as-you-go policy. A pay-as-you-go workers' compensation insurance determines premiums based on a business's monthly payroll. And so, rates are more accurate and cheaper.
Commercial Auto Insurance
Get commercial auto insurance if you’re using an owned auto to transport equipment or meet clients. It’s bad if you continue having personal auto insurance if the vehicle is always used for business activities because it will result in more expensive rates or revocation of your insurance policy if the carrier finds out.
Commercial auto insurance provides the best protection if your vehicle is always used commercially. The following are what this insurance offers:
Auto liability coverage-Auto liability coverage will pay for the medical expenses or reimburse the losses of third parties who sustained personal injuries or property damage after getting involved in an accident your vehicle caused
Physical damage coverage-Physical damage coverage covers your vehicle’s maintenance. This is underwritten as a collision policy or comprehensive policy. Collision physical damage coverage will cover parts repair or replacement if your vehicle sustained damage after crashing into another vehicle or object. On the other hand, comprehensive physical damage coverage will cover costs if your vehicle sustained damage due to fire, theft, vandalism, winds, hail, and other covered perils
Personal injury protection/medical payments coverage-Medical payments coverage and personal injury protection covers medical expenses if you got injured after causing an accident or getting involved in an accident another driver caused
Underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage-Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage will cover costs if you got involved in an accident and the driver at fault can’t cover you with his or her insurance
Auto liability coverage in commercial auto insurance is a primary inclusion. This means that you need to get it. The same also applies for personal injury protection and med pay coverage. As for physical damage coverage and underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage, it’s up to you whether to get these or not.
Hired/Non-Owned Auto Insurance for Event Planners
Do you borrow or hire a car for work? If this is the case, consider getting hired/non-owned auto insurance for event planners. Carriers won’t sell commercial auto insurance if you don’t own a vehicle.
Hired/non-owned auto insurance will cover costs if you caused an accident while using a borrowed or hired car for work. It will cover the medical expenses or reimburses the losses of affected individuals.
Unlike commercial auto insurance, hired/non-owned auto insurance doesn’t offer uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and physical damage coverage. That said, if you want something more comprehensive, consider getting temporary car insurance.
Business Owner’s Policy for Event Planners
Another type of event planner insurance is a BOP, also known as a business owner’s policy. This bundles commercial property insurance and general liability insurance into one insurance product. A business owner’s policy is cheaper than buying general liability and commercial property insurance separately.
But in practice, the business owner’s policy from different insurance companies doesn’t only bundle general liability and commercial property insurance. For example, CoverWallet’s business owner’s policy has workers' compensation insurance. On the other hand, State Farm’s business owner’s policy offers professional liability insurance.
Equipment Breakdown Insurance
Tools and equipment insurance is a stand-alone policy that will reimburse your losses if laptops, tablets, and other event planning equipment become damaged due to use.
Theft Coverage
Theft coverage will reimburse your losses or provide a replacement unit if your laptop, tablet, or any other event planning equipment is stolen while being used.
Inland Marine Insurance
Consider getting inland marine insurance since you’re constantly transporting materials and goods for events. Inland marine insurance will recoup your losses if materials and goods become lost or damaged during the trip.
Wedding Planner Insurance
Wedding planner insurance is a tailored coverage for event planners specializing in weddings. This is available as a one day or long-term insurance policy. Inclusions are general liability insurance with products and completed operations coverage, professional liability insurance, commercial auto insurance, and workers compensation insurance.
One Day Event Planner Insurance
One day event planner insurance is an on-demand 24-hour insurance policy for part-time event planners. The primary inclusion is a general liability insurance with products and completed operations coverage. Other policies you can add to its terms are commercial auto insurance, equipment insurance, and more.
Event Planner Insurance Application
Get covered quickly through an online event planner insurance application. All you have to do is provide basic business information such as:
An online event insurance planner insurance application will enable you to quickly see how much your premiums will be. Plus, you can decide to choose the coverage needed yourself or let an agent figure things out. The best part is that you can get covered on the same day you decide to apply for insurance.
If not online, then apply for event planner insurance by meeting an agent face to face. The agent will make the quote for you. All you have to do is tell the agent what coverages you need and provide a background of your event planning venture.
