10 Tips for Buying Special Event Insurance?

Buying special event insurance for the first time can be overwhelming. Here are some helpful tips from the team at One Day Event insurance to help guide you through the process!

1. Know your venue’s requirements

The minimum coverage requirement for hosts is typically $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate, but this may differ depending on the venue and type of event
Venues and sponsors may request to be added onto the plan as additional insureds so that they are also covered under your event insurance policy
Venues may require the Certificate of Insurance within a certain time frame before your event. Confirm when they need to receive it so there are no setbacks while securing the location

2. Get the right coverage

Special event liability insurance covers you when lawsuits, venue damages, or attendee injuries are incurred. Important additions to your policy may be needed, such as:
- Host liquor liability - to cover you in the event of an alcohol-related incident
- Increased limits of coverage for high-risk events - sports/outdoor gatherings, events featuring rides, fireworks, inflatables (i.e. bounce houses)
- Additional medical expense coverage
- Waiver of Subrogation (certain sponsors or venues may require this)
- Non-owned/Hired Auto liability – in case you have rented any automobiles or hired rides for the event
- Primary/Non-contributory basis
- Extra additional insured’s
Be sure to check with your venue contact and insurance agent to see what additions you may need to your policy. Make sure you are getting a policy that meets all your requirements before you purchase

3. Go for quality

Some companies offer cheap plans assuming customers will not research the type of policy, the deductible, and the company’s claims assistance services. Read the reviews, ask questions about your policy, and compare what other insurance carriers offer before you purchase
Choose a carrier that has an A.M. Best A rating or higher – quality matters when it comes to your financial security!

4. A few dollars go a long way

Consider increasing your coverage limit to a larger aggregate - increasing your limit from $2 million to $5 million often costs less than $20! Get more bang for your buck and protect yourself against lawsuits or claims amounting to millions by paying just a few extra dollars.

5. Buy sooner rather than later

If you buy your insurance in advance of the event, you may be eligible for benefits since the policy has been bound
If you wait until the last minute to purchase event insurance, you are responsible for the costs involved if any complications occur
Rates & venue requirements change regularly, so secure your insurance to make sure there are no set backs
We recommend you purchase your plan as soon as you know the date of your event and book the venue you’ll rent. This will help secure your booking with the venue as well, since most require the Certificate of Insurance of the event insurance policy

6. Know your policy and exclusions

Exclusion is a provision that eliminates your coverage for a certain type of risk that isn’t included in your policy. If you do not add-on host liquor liability, for example, you are excluded from coverage for any alcohol-related incidents
Other examples of exclusions may be incidents related to fireworks, inflatables, animals, and rides. So, as mentioned above in the tip for getting the right coverage, you need to know your policy entirely and its exclusions
Contact your event insurance company to know what kinds of coverages are included and excluded from your policy and if you need to add anything to it

7. Learn the claims process before your event

Communicate with your special event insurance company beforehand to learn what steps you need to take if you must file a claim
Know what you can do to be ready to provide your insurance company with the proper information for filing a claim
Remove the guesswork from the claims process so that you aren’t caught off-guard if an accident occurs.

8. Let brokers shop for you

An independent insurance carrier can only provide you with a single quote for that specific policy that they’re able to sell, and that policy may not offer the best coverage for your event or be the best price
Different events and carriers are not always compatible – depending on the type of event, a carrier may have higher coverage rates that you’re unaware of if you hadn’t compared those rates
Brokers compare quotes from multiple insurance carriers and match your needs with their policies in order to get you the best plan without any hassle!

9. Find a company you trust

Make sure you read customer reviews and try communicating with their customer service team prior to purchasing! If a company has a poor and inattentive customer service team, they’ll not be a good resource if you need help in the future
Check out their website and see what kinds of resources they’ve made available to you. Many companies are honest and transparent about their offerings and how they work, and some are less clear

10. Don’t get too stressed!

In the overwhelming process of planning your perfect event and searching for the right protection, One Day Event provides step-by-step solutions to give you peace of mind. We are a broker that does all your rate and policy shopping for you by means of our intuitive online quote generator. With just a few key pieces of information about your event, we instantly provide you with the top quotes from our A.M. Best A++ rated insurance carriers. We factor in the amount of coverage you need, and the types of policies offered by our carriers so that you’re matched with the most compatible and cost-efficient policies. Our best policies are zero deductible, which means you don’t need to pay anything in case of a claim. Furthermore, we make it easy for you to increase your total coverage limit at little or no additional cost.

When you purchase with One Day Event, we immediately send the Certificate of Insurance to you and your venue and make all your documents available to you 24/7 on your online Customer Portal. We also add your venue as an additional insured on the policy for free with every purchase, since most venues require this. When you purchase with us, you have access to our Claims Advocacy Team to guide you through the whole claims process and communicate with insurance companies on your behalf if an incident occurs.

For any more queries or ambiguities about what your policy needs, contact our friendly and knowledgeable customer service representatives 7 days a week at any time from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. EST. You can also go to onedayevent.com to learn more about us, explore our resources and our online quote generator. We look forward to insuring your event and ensuring your peace of mind!

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