Events can be great for business. They can attract new customers, foster loyalty from existing customers and build employee morale. Before your business hosts a soiree, it’s important to understand the types of event insurance. Why? Combine large groups of people, expensive decor, caterers, alcohol, and a dance floor, and you’ve got a recipe for a good time — and possibly disaster. So, let’s boogie.

What are the types of event insurance?

Each type of event is unique, and each one entails different risks. Different types of event insurance are available to protect you. We’ll dive into each of the following policies that are worth considering before you send out invites:

  • Special event insurance
  • Professional liability
  • Business equipment protection
  • Event cancellation
  • Workers’ comp
  • Terrorism

Special event insurance

Special event insurance is a type of liability insurance that protects you against the financial consequences of claims related to organizing or participating in an event. For example, if your party guest slips on the dance floor and hurts their arm, event liability could protect you if they take legal action.

Thimble’s event insurance includes both general liability insurance and liquor liability coverage. Let’s take a closer look at each:

  • General liability insurance: Anyone planning a business event needs general liability insurance. This type of insurance policy shields your company from claims of negligence and responds to third-party accidents, including bodily injury and property damage.

    Imagine that a platform at your event collapses, sending some attendees to the hospital. If they sue you for bodily injury, general liability insurance could help cover the cost of their medical care and provide your legal defense.

    Also, general liability insurance may cover you if loss or damage occurs to attendees’ property or to the premises you’ve rented for the event.

  • Liquor liability insurance: From company holiday parties to anniversary celebrations, alcohol is often a staple at special events. If this applies to your party, liquor liability insurance is a must-have. Few factors increase risk and liability as much as booze. Fortunately, liquor liability insurance is included as part of your event insurance.

    If a client has one too many highballs, slips on the floor and breaks a hip, you could get served papers. Liquor liability coverage will cover you if you’re held accountable for damages caused by alcohol-related accidents.

    Note that if you’re in the business of selling alcohol, you will need to add retail liquor liability coverage to your policy.

    Note that special event insurance is only meant for certain types of short-term gatherings and celebrations, such as:

    • Weddings
    • Fundraisers
    • Religious ceremonies
    • Company events
    • Charity events
    • Baby showers
    • Birthday parties
    • Quinceañeras

Professional liability insurance

Professional liability insurance, also known as errors and omissions (E&O) insurance, protects professionals when their clients claim that they lost money because you didn’t do your job correctly.

If you are an event planner and the caterer fails to show, your client may sue you, claiming it was your fault that they lost out on a big deal that was meant to be closed over the surf and turf. In instances like this, professional liability insurance provides your legal defense as well as the settlement costs for covered claims.

Business equipment protection

If you have equipment that your business owns or rents and you transport it to the event, Business Equipment Protection will cover the cost for repair or replacement if it is accidentally lost or damaged. If you’re a wedding MC and a guest knocks over your karaoke machine while doing her best diva impersonation, you won’t have to pay out of pocket for a new one.

Event cancellation insurance

You never know if a performer will get sick and drop out at the last minute, causing you to cancel the event. Bad weather could shut down a music festival. A power outage could cancel a concert. All of these unforeseeable incidents could cause catastrophic damage to your bottom line. A cancellation insurance policy would help recover non-refundable deposits or reimburse guests for their tickets. Event cancellation policies protect you from lost revenue or other expenses in the following circumstances:

  • Unforeseen weather conditions
  • Power failure
  • Performer cancellation
  • Performer abandonment
  • Postponement
  • Interruption
  • Relocation
  • Terrorism

It’s important to note that Thimble’s Event Insurance does not cover event cancellations.

Workers’ compensation

Even a celebrity event planner can’t pull off a party alone. You’re likely to employ full or part-time workers to manage your event, which means you may be legally obligated to purchase workers’ compensation (Texas excluded). Otherwise, should an accident occur to one of your employees — slips, sprains, strains, or any other injuries — your business could be exposed.

With workers’ comp, your employees are protected from the lost wages and medical costs associated with on-the-job injuries during an event. And, as a small business, you’re protected from the medical expenses associated with these kinds of injuries. It’s an insurance policy that can help both employer and employee when a workplace accident occurs.

Terrorism insurance

Although it may be unlikely that such a nightmare will happen, terrorism insurance is a little-known niche event policy that protects you from liability in the event of a terrorist attack. It is typically split into three types of coverage:

  1. Limited terrorism covers forced cancellation resulting from an act of terrorism within a specific vicinity of the event and within a certain timeframe. Usually, this is restricted to 50 miles and 50 days.
  2. Full terrorism covers forced cancellation arising from a terrorist act without limits. So, if an incident occurs on the East coast, grounding all planes and impacting an event in the Northeast, terrorism insurance could cover the costs.
  3. Political violence and terrorism covers —
    • Terrorism
    • Civil commotion
    • Riot
    • War
    • Insurrection
    • Strikes
    • Malicious damage

Get the party started with Thimble

If you’re throwing an event or opening your business’s doors to host a customer’s event, you’re going to want event insurance. And if you need general liability insurance and liquor liability insurance, Event Insurance is a simple solution.

With our pay-when-you’re-working structure, you’ll only pay for the time when the event is occurring. Think you might have to cancel the event? No problem. You can cancel our policies penalty-free up to an hour before the time that the terms begin.

With Thimble, you can get to work knowing we’ll help protect you from liability by creating a policy specific to your event, with game-changing flexibility at an affordable price. Now that’s something worth celebrating. Click “select a quote” or download the Thimble app, answer three questions, and purchase coverage in less time than it takes to switch the track.