What is event insurance?
Events come with increased risks, as hosts might be found liable for injuries that attendees sustain. Event insurance can help hosts holding events in Pennsylvania shield themselves from a range of liability risks.
Event insurance provides customizable liability protections for events. Most policies have multiple protections that can protect against a range of potential accidents and other risks.
When do hosts holding events in Pennsylvania need event liability insurance?
Event liability insurance is generally recommended anytime a public or corporate event is being held. Even a one-day event in Pennsylvania can require insurance, and multi-day affairs frequently do.
When being purchased for a public or corporate event, the host regularly gets coverage and the sponsor might too.
Is event liability insurance needed for private celebrations?
Routine private celebrations often don’t require event liability insurance. Special celebrations that involve more people might call for coverage, however.
For example, a policy probably wouldn’t be purchased for a normal 39th birthday party. It could be helpful if having a major 40th celebration where many are invited, though. Coverage might also be purchased for weddings, major anniversary celebrations, graduation parties, and similar gatherings. In these cases, one day event insurance is usually sufficient.
What coverages are needed when hosting events?
The exact coverages that event hosts ought to purchase depend on the size, activities, location, and other details of their event. Some potentially important ones to have are:
- General Liability Coverage: Often covers basic accidents that occur during an event, and also its pre-setup and post-takedown. Potentially covered examples include falling down steps, tripping on an extension cable, or slipping on ice (for winter events).
- Product Liability Coverage: Often covers injuries or property damage caused by products that are distributed at an event. Potential covered products include foods and beverages, sold merchandise, contest and game prizes, and handed-out free swag.
- Automobile Liability Coverage: Often covers vehicles used during the event. This may be needed for shuttles and buses, security cars, delivery vans and trucks, or other vehicles.
- Liquor Liability Coverage: Often covers incidents involving inebriated attendees. Basic accidents, sexual assaults, fights, and cases of alcohol poisoning might be included in the coverage.
- Spectator Liability Coverage: Often covers injuries sustained by attendees who ate watching competitions or shows. This may be needed for events like live concerts, athletic competitions, animal shows, or other performances.
- Medical Malpractice Coverage: Often covers mistakes made by medical personnel who are hired for the event, such as EMTs, medics, nurses, physician assistants, or doctors.
Can event policies cover fireworks displays?
While event policies usually don’t cover fireworks shows within their standard protections, coverage for fireworks may be available as an additional option within some policies.
Hosts planning to include fireworks should discuss their specific needs with a specialized insurance agent to ensure proper coverage. An agent who’s helped insure other events will be familiar with the different coverages that are available.
What does “additional insured” mean in an insurance policy?
An “additional insured” is a person or entity not initially named as a policyholder, but is listed on the policy as someone who can file claims against the policy. The primary policyholder allows the additional insured to file a claim should they have something that’s covered.
Event hosts might be asked to include sponsors or facilities as an additional insured on their event policy. Some sponsors and facilities will only work with hosts who list them.
Should an additional insured need to be listed, this is something that a knowledgeable insurance agent can easily help with.
How much does it cost to insure a one-day event?
One day event insurance is typically affordable, as the coverage is only required for a short period. A policy usually only needs to be in effect for one day. Even getting insurance for 2 or 3 days, in order to cover setup and takedown, can be quite affordable though.
To find out how much insuring a particular event will be, hosts can consult with an independent insurance agent. An independent agent can request one day event insurance quotes from several companies.
Where can hosts holding events in Pennsylvania find event insurance?
If you’re hosting an event in Pennsylvania soon, contact the independent insurance agents at Miller Financial Group. We’ll make sure to find an event insurance policy that works well for your event.
