If you host events of any kind for your business, then you need to be extremely organized and detailed-oriented. You need to plan for every contingency. If a speaker cancels at the last moment, you should always have an alternative that’s ready to go. When you plan an outdoor event, you should have the foresight to line up tents or move to a backup indoor venue should the weather turn bad.
If you run an event planning business, these skills and plans are critical to the success of your daily tasks and projects. However, when it comes to your business insurance, are you as savvy at planning for disruptions in your own business as you are at planning for them at events that you plan?
The event planning business model is unique. You not only work out of an office, but you also work out of other facilities. These factors, along with the very nature of your business, make you vulnerable if you don’t have the right insurance coverage you need.
Following are the business insurance coverage you should consider as an event planner or in any other business or role that requires you to organize and host events.
Business Owner’s Policy
A business owner’s policy (BOP) includes general liability and business equipment coverage. These two types of insurance are commonly bundled together since most every business needs both of them. They are discussed separately below.
General Liability
A lawsuit from a simple trip over a tent cord could cost you more than you are able to recover from. This is where general liability insurance comes into play. This insurance protects your business in the event of property damages, injury claims, and advertising claims.
If part of your business requires that you use other locations for your work, you will want to make certain you have adequate general liability coverage. Many of your contracts with outside facilities will require this insurance as part of the agreement. Lawsuits, legal costs, and court awards can be staggering and are covered by this sort of insurance.
You may be asked by someone that you add or name them to your general liability insurance as an additional insured. This usually happens when your event takes place in a building or property such as a community center, school or banquet facility. It is typical that they would request to be named on a $1,000,000 general liability insurance policy by all the businesses working at their facility. Quite often, this requirement is stipulated in the contract with the facility.
Business Equipment
If you work out of a home office understand that your homeowners insurance may not provide enough coverage for all of your equipment and furniture. In the event of fire, theft, or vandalism, this insurance will provide you with the means to get your business up and running again quickly.
Professional Liability
Are you protected if a client sues you for negligence, even if you are innocent? Expenses from the litigation costs alone could crush your business even if you never go to court. This is the value of having professional liability insurance. Also known as errors and omissions insurance, it protects you in the event you are sued by a client for failing to perform your professional duties as outlined in the contract.
Event planning is hectic and sometimes unpredictable. Don’t make it more hectic by not properly insuring your business.
About the Author
Kevin Kerridge is the Director of small business insurance at Hiscox, a global insurance company with 100+ years of experience. The contents of this article and the linked materials do not offer Kevin’s legal, business, or insurance advice related to the needs of any specific individual business. Always consult your attorney, insurance agent or other professional advisor to obtain appropriate legal or other expert advice.