Organizing events is a lot of fun, but it can also be fraught with danger. True, it’s unlikely that things will go so wrong that your life will be in danger, but there are so many moving parts that there are literally hundreds of things that can go wrong.
That’s where insurance comes in. It’s not just about insuring against accidents and physical injuries, although that can help. You never know what might happen, and that’s what insurance is all about.
But is insurance mandatory or something that you can skip? And in what circumstances might you need it? Let’s take a closer look.
Sometimes, a venue may no longer be able to go ahead with hosting your event and are forced to pull out. This can happen for a variety of reasons, from accidental double-booking to a requirement for urgent repairs and maintenance. Taking out insurance can help ensure that if you’re forced to switch venues at the last minute, the associated costs are covered.
When we book speakers for our events, the hope is that they’ll be able to fulfill their commitments and deliver their talks. However, we can’t predict when illness might strike, and if the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything it’s that people can be forced to isolate themselves at the most inconvenient of times. Insurance coverage can help you to cover associated costs for a speaker who’s ill, such as attendees requesting refunds or the need to pay through the nose to bring in a last minute replacement.
This is perhaps the most common reason why people take out event insurance, and there’s a reason for that. Slips, trips, and falls are surprisingly common, and in worst-case scenarios, this can lead to people hiring a personal injury attorney and taking legal action against the event organizer. However, it's important to note that damages, in the legal sense, extend beyond physical harm. Many people believe damages only refer to physical injuries, but it's a legal term used to describe different types of damages.
The more attendees you expect, the more important event insurance can be. As we said at the beginning, events have thousands of moving parts, and visitors are the most unpredictable. The more attendees you have, the more likely you are to need insurance because the more likely it is that something will go wrong. When you’re expecting to receive thousands of attendees, it’s often the case that it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Equipment can be expensive to replace, and so taking out a little insurance can help you to make sure that if something does get damaged, it doesn’t leave you out of pocket. This is true for both the equipment that you yourself own and any equipment that you’re using from the venue or that your speakers are bringing along.
If the venue gets damaged, you may need to cover any repairs if deemed liable, though it depends upon the agreement that you have. Most venues will also have insurance of their own, but the last thing that you want is to have to spend a small fortune paying a venue to repair something. True, it’s pretty hard to damage a venue and you’re unlikely to be charged for scuffs and scrapes, but you might be surprised at how often this comes up in professional event circuits.
In the same way that venues are sometimes forced to cancel events due to circumstances out of their control, the same thing can happen to event organizers. It’s all very well to argue that “the show must go on”, but sometimes it physically can’t. When that happens, having insurance can help you to recoup the costs and to reduce the amount of money you lose due to a cancellation.
If you’re an event organizer, then it’s important for you to take steps to keep your attendees as safe as possible, but even with the best precautions in place, accidents can still happen. We’ve already talked about taking out insurance in case someone injures themselves, but what if you face legal action? When that’s the case, insurance can help you cover your legal fees.
If you’re struggling to sleep at night because you’re so worried about things going wrong at your event, taking out insurance can give you a little peace of mind and improve your chances of getting a good night’s sleep. Given how cheap insurance can be, it’s worth taking it out just so that there’s less for you to worry about.
Now that you know a few of the situations in which insurance can come in handy, it’s over to you to make an educated decision about what would be best for your event.
Not every event needs insurance, and indeed the entire insurance industry is a sort of numbers game. You’re essentially betting against yourself so that if something goes wrong, you have some coverage to help you recover.
If you’re working on a smaller scale event that isn’t set to have a huge number of visitors, you may be able to keep costs down by skipping the insurance. However, even then, insurance policies can be so cheap that it’s often worth taking one out just for the peace of mind.
You’ve heard from us, and now it’s time for us to hear from you. Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments so that we can keep the discussion going, and don’t forget to follow us on your social media platforms of choice for more. We’ll see you soon!
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