Playgrounds are an excellent location to take children to have a good time. They are a gift for parents looking to keep their kids happy and busy. There are different types of playgrounds, including indoor, outdoor, public, or private. Therefore, if you own any of these, it is essential to secure them with playground insurance to cover risks.
Playground or play centre insurance protects your business against lawsuits and other possible financial losses. This guide discusses the policy in detail and why you should consider getting it. We will also mention its cost with the determining factors.
Indoor playground insurance comprises policies such as equipment coverage, commercial property, and business interruption. Let’s discuss these policies in detail.
In indoor playgrounds, equipment coverage provides funds for the repair and maintenance cost of crawl tubes, specialty slides, miniature climbing walls, soft floor mats, jungle gyms/obstacles courses, inflatable bouncy castles, and many more.
Getting equipment coverage is crucial because indoor playground equipment doesn’t last for long. This isn’t because they’re not durable, but because kids don’t hold themselves back when playing. And so, damage to equipment can easily happen. The table below shows the replacement costs of the indoor playground equipment, in case of damage:
| Equipment | Replacement Cost |
|---|---|
| Jungle Gym | $17,430 |
| Crawl Tube (plastic) | $14,900 |
| Specialty Slide | $53,520 |
| Miniature Climbing Wall | $12,760 |
| Miniature Castle | $72,750 |
| Obstacle Course | $63,990 |
| Total Replacement Cost | $235,350 |
Equipment coverage won’t work if the indoor playground equipment is damaged after a storm, fire, earthquake, flood, etc. And so, it’s best to get commercial property insurance too. This insurance policy provides coverage for damages disasters incur. It even reimburses the total cost of the damaged equipment, which is useful for recouping capital.
Outdoor Playground Insurance
Policies that ensure indoor playgrounds don’t apply to outdoor playgrounds. The reasons are as follows:
The expected risks and damage are vastly different
The equipment doesn’t have the same lifespan
With that said, an outdoor playground business should opt to get outdoor playground insurance. Equipment insurance and public liability insurance comprise this. Allow us to discuss these in more detail.
Equipment coverage for outdoor playgrounds answers the repair/maintenance costs of swings, slides, seesaws, sandboxes, mechanical merry-go-rounds, monkey bars, and still rings. Maintaining/replacing these can be costly. The below table clearly proves this point.
| Equipment | Cost |
|---|---|
| Swing Set | $5,230 |
| Slide | $17,430 |
| Seesaw | $46,200 |
| Sandbox | $700 |
| Merry-Go-Round | $27,890 |
| Monkey Bar | $10,800 |
| Still Rings | $5,230 |
| Total Replacement Cost | $113,280 |
Public liability coverage is an insurance policy that covers lawsuits and settlements if ever kids get injured while playing in an outdoor playground. Accidents involving kids can be very costly and, outdoor playgrounds might find themselves facing million-dollar lawsuits. With that said, public liability coverage can help greatly because it can mitigate costs by up to 40% - 60%.
We almost forgot to mention but know that outdoor and playground insurance doesn’t offer coverage to additional facilities such as juice bars. For juice bars, owners should get a separate juice bar insurance .
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Playgrounds are fun places for kids. They are found inside restaurants, malls, and other types of public buildings and are installed to bring in customers and increase sales.
We don’t know if many still remember this but in the past - probably from the 1990s to 2000s - companies like McDonald's have these very fancy playground facilities that we loved as kids. However, these don’t exist now because they’re nothing but a business liability. In fact, in 1999 McDonald's paid $4 million after failing to report children's injuries to the US government.
There’s no denying that parents will find a way to hold the business owning the indoor playground liable for injuries their child sustained.
And so, businesses using playgrounds should consider ditching their entertainment facilities for kids just to be safe. Nonetheless, if doing so isn’t an option, it’s crucial to get playground general liability insurance.
This playground liability insurance protects a business from severe financial burden if ever its playground causes injuries to customers. Available data from 2000 - 2001 clearly shows what types of injuries kids might experience in playgrounds :
| Type of Injury | Number of Children Injured (2000 - 2001) |
|---|---|
| Lacerations | 2,320 |
| Contusions/abrasions | 1,930 |
| Fractures | 1,360 |
| Strain/sprain | 1,100 |
| Internal Injury | 510 |
| Concussions | 230 |
| Dislocation | 190 |
Playground owners always have liability when their equipment causes injuries. Nonetheless, to make it fair, everything must be settled through a lawsuit before the playground compensates the injuries of the victim. Nonetheless, lawsuits are costly by themselves. On average, highly experienced personal injury lawyers charge $856/hour for their time.
As for how much playgrounds might pay if the defense goes sideways, these true stories provide a clue:
13-year-old Carl Thompson suffers minor injuries when the metal crossbar of the swingset broke and landed on his head. The court ordered the organization responsible for the maintenance of the playground - Centennial Springs Homeowners Association - to pay $40 million to the victim.
Parents of a pupil in Ohlone Elementary School Student filed a lawsuit after their son fell on his face while playing in the playground. Reports state that the agency overseeing the said school paid $200,000 to the plaintiffs.
A boy fell from one of the equipments of Burger King’s indoor playground. As a result, the famous fast-food chain had to pay $20 million as compensation for severe injuries the boy sustained
While attempting to use the slide in the playground that Griebling School in Howell Township owns, a New Jersey kid suddenly slipped and sustained minor injuries in her hand and arms. Reports state that the school in question had to pay $170,000 for damages.
General liability coverage provides great protection when accidents and injuries occur. Nonetheless, it doesn’t provide absolute protection. And so, additional play centre insurance to get are:
Premises liability is an optional policy in your playground liability insurance that covers the costs of incidents occurring with the playground. If you have additional offices, this insurance policy will cover it. A significant concern for you as the playground owner is the safety of your clients. If a child sustains injury within the playground, this policy will help you pay the medical expenses.
Completed operations coverage becomes useful if someone chooses to rent your playground facility or the equipment of the playground facility. This policy covers property damage and injuries the playground or its equipment caused during the contract period.
This is a critical policy for any business. Products liability in play centre insurance is meant to protect your business from damages or injuries caused by faulty, defective, or spoiled products. This policy is fundamental if you sell food at your playground such as ice cream, sandwiches, and other types of snacks.
So how much does playground insurance cost? The average playground insurance cost is $88 a month or $1,036 a year for a $1 million general liability insurance. It is important to note that different factors affect the cost of playground insurance. Get a further idea about the cost by taking a look at this table showing the rates of the best playground insurance companies.
| Company | Cost per month | Cost per year | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| CoverWallet | $80.00 | $960.00 | Playground insurance quotes comparison online |
| USA Business Insurance | $75.00 | $900.00 | Large and established commercial playgrounds |
The average indoor playground insurance cost is $58 a month or $696 a year for a $1 million general liability insurance. The factors we mentioned above affect premiums.
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Soft play centre insurance protects your business against various claims. This insurance policy covers your business in case a child sustains injury within the soft play area. It also covers third-party liabilities.
No matter how safe your soft play area is, it won't prevent the risk of accidents and other potential hazards. Dealing with excited toddlers can be tedious because they demand a lot of attention. This means they could hurt themselves while playing. In that case, their parents could file a claim against your business for damages.
This could be worse if the injury is caused by faulty equipment in your soft play area. Therefore, it is essential to get a comprehensive soft play area insurance that protects your business against such lawsuits. You could save a lot of money with this policy.
Soft play rental insurance is a tailored insurance product that’s perfect if you’re renting out soft play centers for kiddie parties, birthdays, and other related events. Let’s discuss the inclusions.
The first inclusion in tailored insurance for soft play rentals is general liability insurance. This will cover expenses if kids get hurt because of your rental soft play equipment and parents file a claim. General liability insurance for soft play rentals has optional products and completed operations coverage.
The second inclusion is equipment breakdown insurance. This will pay for costs if kids damage your rental soft play equipment.
The third inclusion is commercial auto insurance. Commercial auto insurance acts as a cover for the vehicle you’re using to deliver rental soft play equipment to clients.
The final inclusion is equipment in transit insurance. It will reimburse your losses if rental soft play equipment becomes lost or damaged while in transit.
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Doesn’t underwrite playground insurance
While it doesn’t have tailored insurance for playgrounds, CoverWallet has an online quotes comparison platform. Use this to compare the pricing and features of different carriers’ playground insurance so that you can get the best coverage.
Best for: Playground insurance quotes comparison online
Average cost: $80 per month for a $1 million general liability coverage
Our rating: 8/10
Intuitive online insurance quotation
Has commercial umbrella coverage for playgrounds
Doesn’t offer equipment coverage
USA Business Insurance offers general liability with products liability, premises liability, and completed operations coverage for playgrounds. You can also get workers comp insurance and commercial umbrella insurance. Finally, this carrier’s BOP allows you to enjoy commercial property insurance along with other aforementioned coverages.
Best for: Large and established commercial playgrounds
Average cost: $75 per month for a $1 million general liability coverage
Our rating: 10/10
This place is an absolute joke of a company and should be ashamed of the way they conduct business. I was hurt on the job at the end of July and it took them just shy of 7 weeks to issue out a paycheck to me. Yes the amount was back dated but still. Not many have the luxury of not receiving a paycheck for almost 2 months. To top it all off, the original adjuster marked me down for the wrong state which caused a problem from the get go, I've had 3 different adjusters now since each one can't seem to figure out the simplicity of my claim. All my paperwork which includes, my job, house, and drs visits all are from the same state and city but yet some how I have been filed under a completely different state 1500 miles away. They do not answer your phone calls or emails no matter how many you leave. I've had to escalate my frustrations to the supervisors of each of these individuals in order to even get some kind of response. I've had more communication and information given to me about my claim from the customer service representatives then the actual adjusters.......... please tell me how that works?! A serious overhaul needs to happen here in order to serve your clients the way they deserve to be taken care of. 10/10 do not recommend this company to a single soul on earth
I have never had the displeasure of working with a more incompetent and disrespectful person in my life. I’m an injured worker and the adjuster that was assigned to my case was named Carrie Furgeson. In the past 6 weeks that I’ve been injured and out of work I have only been able to get ahold of her twice, not for lack of trying. I have left countless voicemails, countless emails, and she ignores them all. When I am finally able to get ahold of her I’m greeted with terrible customer service. She is rude, she talks over me and I’m hardly able to get a word in edgewise. She spelled my name wrong on my documents even after I spelled it for her properly countless times, this caused a whole new issue with my bank. I have bill collectors from the hospital calling me demanding payment and Carrie Furgeson won’t do a single thing to help, or to get them paid. All of my documentation is in Colorado, my job is in Colorado, my address is in Colorado, all my Dr offices and appointments have been in Colorado and Carrie still managed to hold my claim because she wasn’t sure what state she needed to file it under. It’s been 6 weeks since my Injury and my company still hasn’t received the wage paperwork to fill out so they can get me my correct wages. When she’s not ignoring me she’s answering my questions with “I don’t know” well I don’t know how she got this job, because apparently she doesn’t know anything about it. She is a disgusting morose individual inside and out and I genuinely wish her the worst in all of her future endeavors. I highly recommend you don’t use this company. Please if you are a business owner and your looking into this company please don’t use them. I’m sure they have the cheapest payment and that’s why companies use them in the first place, but you will be doing your employees a grave disservice by forcing them to venture into this absolute dumpster fire of a company. I would rate 0/5 if possible but 1 was the lowest I was allowed.
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