What is event insurance?

What is event insurance?

Event insurance is a form a one-off business insurance that you can buy to help protect you against a range of unexpected incidents. These can include liability and financial protection if a member of the public is injured or sick due to negligence, event cancellation and equipment insurance.

While it's not a legal requirement, if you are in event management, it can be a wise financial decision. Events can be crowded, with many moving parts, and all it takes is one thing to go wrong for you to find yourself out of pocket for expensive legal fees or a cancellation.

What type of cover can I get with event insurance?

Average cost refers to the majority of people (60%) in the industry from historical costs. Quote based on an Event's Managing business with one owner and $100,000 annual turnover.

Taking out public liability insurance for events

Many insurance providers offer public liability and other insurance policies that are specifically designed for event managers. If you are legally liable for any injury or property damage suffered by a third party, these policies can provide the protection you need. In fact, some venues make it a mandatory requirement for event managers to have some form of liability cover in place before they can put on an event.

If a member of the public is injured at an event due to your negligence, public liability insurance for events will cover you. As well as legal and medical costs, this type of policy will also cover any compensation you are required to pay.

If you think the money you're required to pay for public liability insurance premiums is too much, think about how much a protracted legal battle might cost. What about if a court ruled that you had to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages to a third party? Would you be able to continue trading?

In some parts of Australia, public liability insurance for events is required by some organisers. Similarly, some event venues will also make it a requirement for organisers to have cover in place to protect themselves from financial loss.

What types of events can public liability insurance cover?

The following events can typically be covered under public liability insurance:

What types of insurance add-ons can I get for an event?

If you want to add extra coverage to your public liability insurance in order to tailor protection for your event, you have the flexibility to include the following additional options:

• Event cancellation cover. If your event has to be cancelled, interrupted or postponed due to unforeseen circumstances, this policy option covers your expenses and lost revenue. For example, if you need to cancel a festival due to poor weather, this policy can provide cover.
• Equipment cover. This option provides worldwide cover for event-related equipment such as sound and lighting, audiovisual, and entertainment and musical equipment. You can cover the relevant equipment while in use, in storage and in transit.
• Voluntary workers cover. If the success of your event depends on the help and assistance provided by volunteer workers, this optional extra provides personal accident cover for those volunteers.

Steps to manage an event properly and minimise risks

A crucial part of planning a successful event is ensuring you have effective strategies in place to minimise risk. A risk management plan is designed to identify all the potential risks your event is exposed to and then suggest how the organisers can lessen the likelihood of those risks occurring.

You'll need to consider a range of issues when putting together a risk management plan including:

• How many people will be attending the event?
• Are there any inherent risks present at the event venue?
• Will there be infrastructure brought onto the event site?
• Will there be any moving vehicles on the event site?
• Is there anything at the venue that could become dangerous in the event of inclement weather?

It's also important to develop an evacuation and emergency plan. This will include determining who is responsible for ensuring a safe evacuation, as well as where to evacuate to and whether emergency services need to be notified of any possible risks in advance.

Planning and running an event exposes you to a wide range of unique risks. However, finding the right form of public liability insurance cover for your needs will ensure that you have adequate protection in place should something go wrong.

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FAQs

• Do I need public liability insurance to hire a local council park or hall?

  Yes. As a contractual condition of hire, most Australian local councils require private renters and event organisers to hold a public liability policy (typically with a $10 million or $20 million limit) before leasing out public land, parks, or community halls. You must submit a current Certificate of Currency to the council to secure your event permit and venue booking.

• Does event public liability insurance cover food poisoning?

  Yes, most event public liability policies include product liability cover which protects you if an attendee becomes ill from food or drink served at your function. This cover is essential for festivals, markets and catered events where consumption of goods occurs on-site.

• Are volunteers covered if they get injured while helping at my event?

  No, public liability insurance generally only covers claims made by third parties and does not provide personal accident protection for your own volunteers. To cover injuries sustained by your volunteer staff while they are working, you should look into a separate Volunteer Personal Accident insurance policy.

• Can I get public liability insurance for a single-day event?

  Yes, one-off event insurance is widely available in Australia for organisers who only need cover for a specific date. These short-term policies are designed to cover the event itself as well as the time required for set-up and pack-down.

• Does this insurance cover financial losses if my event is cancelled due to rain?

  No, public liability insurance only covers legal costs and compensation claims related to third-party injury or property damage. If you want to protect your budget against losses from weather-related cancellations or non-appearance of performers, you will need a dedicated Event Cancellation insurance policy.

• Do stallholders need their own public liability insurance if the event organiser has cover?

  Yes, individual stallholders and exhibitors are usually required to hold their own public liability policy rather than relying on the organiser's cover. Most event organisers will ask for a copy of your own Certificate of Currency to ensure their policy is not held liable for incidents occurring specifically at your stall.

Written by

Alex Reid

Expert

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Alex Reid is Finder’s business insurance cadet. He has a Master of Marketing from the University of Technology Sydney, with a background in business and sales. When not writing about business insurance for Finder he's a keen scuba diver, recently completed his 200th hour underwater and his PADI Divemaster certification. Before working at Finder he lived in Hangzhou China, where he studied Mandarin and Chinese culture. See full bio

Co-written by

Cameron Thach

Writer

With a background in writing across education, Web3, and finance, Cameron’s mission is to create content that speaks directly to readers in a way that’s easy to understand, helping them navigate complex topics with confidence. Cameron studied a Bachelor of Commerce, Economics and Marketing at Macquarie University, graduating in 2019. See full bio