Events are fun. Losing money is not. Here's how to protect both.

Event insurance is something that is at the forefront of everyone’s mind right now considering many people are being forced to reschedule their events. While insurance may not have solved losses and issues related to COVID-19 (because pandemics are not usually included in policies), going forward, it’s still something to consider purchasing because you’ll be protected from things such as vendor issues, illnesses and injuries, and a myriad of other issues that can occur unexpectedly with an event.

As you know, putting on an event is not a small financial investment. With so many moving parts, the expenses add up quickly so you want to make sure you are covered if something happens beyond your control that causes you to risk losing your vendor deposits. There are two major types of insurance you should consider when you’re in the market for purchasing any type of event insurance - liability and cancellation.

Types of Event Insurance

Liability Insurance protects you financially if you’re held responsible for damage to the venue or if someone is injured at your event. Cancellation Insurance helps you get reimbursed for non-refundable deposits and expenses if you have to cancel or postpone your event for unforeseen or unknown causes. Most event insurance policies are liability policies. It’s important that you ALSO add cancellation to your event insurance to get the most out of the coverage.

Event insurance and Coronavirus Related Cancellations

Now that you know what event insurance covers and the two main types of event insurance. Let’s talk about insurance as it relates to coronavirus.

First it’s important to understand that because the coronavirus is a known issue, every insurance policy you try and purchase at this time will have specific exclusions for COVID-19.

But all is not lost. While you may not be able to have the insurance coverage for your events affected by this current outbreak, you can still prepare for future ones. While you are shopping around for insurance, ask the insurance company if they can add an endorsement to your policy - one that specifies coverage against a communicable disease outbreak. An endorsement, also known as a “rider,” is an addition to an insurance policy. It ensures the scope of your policy is as comprehensive as possible.

To get the most out of this rider, make sure that there are no specific diseases clearly excluded and try to get pandemic/government-declared quarantines included. Also make sure the policy doesn’t have strict rules on how much effort you’ve made in trying to keep the event happening. Some policies require the insured put in a certain amount of effort to reschedule, instead of cancel, and require you to show evidence of what you’ve done to attempt to reschedule the event. Make sure your policy has flexibility around this.

Event insurance in totality is very affordable (especially when thinking about how much you’ll recoup on your event if it is indeed cancelled) but this type of add-on may put a premium price tag on your total policy. But, it’s worth it. A public health crisis may not happen again for many years, or, it could pop up again next year. Either way, it’s important for you to be knowledgeable about your insurance coverage options so that you are fully protected from any prospective financial losses.

Final word

Event insurance is unique to each respective event. You can modify each policy to your liking to ensure that the specifics of your event are covered. A live concert will have different coverage needs from a nonprofit gala from a small milestone social event. So, it’s imperative that you work with your insurer to make sure everything that you want is included in the policy. Make sure you do your due diligence before signing so that you know EXACTLY how you are protected.