At RiskBox, we insure event organisers of varying sizes – from those who facilitate corporate events for a few hundred people through to music festivals that attract tens of thousands. And with such variety comes the need for tailored insurance.

If your event involves high-risk activities such as fireworks, immersive displays or pyrotechnics, finding the right cover can be challenging – particularly when working with third-party contractors. We respect our clients’ creative freedom, and work with them to find a solution that guarantees the best experience possible for organisers and attendees.

Here are just a few of the considerations you should make as an event organiser when it comes to your insurance.

What is a high-risk activity?

While clients often seek that standout element to make their event different and appealing to attendees, it’s important to keep an eye on risk. You need to be careful to avoid agreeing to liability for aspects beyond your control.

When approaching any activity supplier, ensure that they have Public Liability insurance to a level that at least matches what you’re obliged to hold with the end client. You’ll need this if your event involves:

• Motor vehicles
• Playground equipment
• Fireworks
• Pyrotechnics
• Extreme sporting activities
• Water or aerial-based activities
• Animals

What is your responsibility as an event organiser?

 Event organisers operate at different levels. Some may be responsible for the entire booking process, stage erection, bar services and more – while others may just operate as venues, promoters, or event managers.

For the former, Liability insurance coverage will need to be wider to account for any potential problems that might occur before, during and after the event. For the latter, however, insurance is typically a lot cheaper because it’s restricted to injury as a direct result of a customer’s attendance.

Whatever the case, as an event organiser you should never be responsible for any injury or damage caused by suppliers that’s beyond your control. When discussing terms with contractors, don’t make any agreements with the supplier which seeks to absolve them from responsibility for injury or damage. Irrespective of whether such waivers would stand up in court, it’d likely result in your company being involved in a lengthy legal battle over a service you didn’t actually deliver.

What cover is needed for subcontractors?

Public Liability insurance will almost always include cover for subcontractors providing lower risk activities, such as repetitive strain from working at a laptop while promoting an event online. When heavier manual activities are involved, like stage construction or security, insurers are more likely to explicitly state a certain level of insurance that’s required.

Any business that uses contractors should always make their insurers aware and ensure their contractor payments are clearly shown when providing wage estimates. As a further step, we recommend that all our clients obtain and store insurance confirmation from all suppliers, including details of the insurer, policy number and limits.

What policy obligations can you expect?

If there’s a clause in your policy stipulating that all engaged contractors should hold a certain level of insurance, it must be reflected in your terms of engagement with your suppliers. Your supplier contracts should therefore state that they must be fully insured for the activities they’re engaged to deliver, for a limit of indemnity acceptable under your insurance.

Your supplier should also advise you if they fail to renew their insurance or have it cancelled for any reason. Ideally, we suggest our clients avoid accepting these subcontractor clauses within their insurance policies, but we recognise that it’s not always possible. Getting the clause removed is beneficial because it’s difficult to police multiple subcontractors thoroughly and communicate changing requirements to subcontractors.

How can RiskBox help?

Our friendly team of insurance experts are here to make sure you and your organisation have the best protection possible – so you can focus on throwing an unforgettable event.

Speak to us today by calling 0161 533 0411, emailing info@riskboxuk.com, or filling in our online contact form. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

Photo by David von Diemar on Unsplash