Recent estimates put the number of annual festival-goers in the United States at 32 million. That’s just the music festivals. You can see how that number rises dramatically when you add in all the other types of festivals that happen every year, such as religious, food, film, and arts festivals. With so much activity happening all at once it’s in the festival’s interest to protect themselves with festival insurance coverage.
When so many people are gathered in one place, it’s reasonable to assume that accidents can and will happen. Even if a service provider fails to provide as expected or their negligence results in an accident, you still bear responsibility as the event organizer.
That is why those involved in planning must be cautious and take all the necessary measures to manage risk. Event insurance is a viable way to safeguard your company and its leadership.
As festival organizers, you must consider many potential hazards before purchasing festival insurance.
How To Manage Risk With Festival Insurance?
Festivals require various specialized insurance policies, each of which must be tailored to provide adequate protection against the multiple threats they face. Keep the following factors in mind when putting together a festival insurance plan.
Property Insurance
This insurance is necessary to cover things like furniture, laptops, instruments, rented gear, marquees, tents, A/V gear, merchandise, promotional materials, and more.
Employee Liability Insurance
Employers’ liability insurance is a must if you plan on having volunteers sell programs, distribute refreshments, or manage the parking lot at your event. No amount of goodwill can make up for a severe injury.
Even temporary personnel such as freelance contractors, tour coordinators, and stewards must be covered as festival employees. The state also legally mandates a health and safety policy if your company has more than five workers. It’ll be tough to get insurance without this.
Public Liability Insurance
Liability for non-compliance with the Data Protection Act extends to the general public. Public liability insurance is required coverage to protect everyone from festival goers to locals to artists to venue owners. It is essential to remember that this insurance should cover more than just injuries to people attending the music festival but also anyone participating in the performances themselves.
Product Liability
If something you sell at the event – food, drink, or swag – ends up making someone sick or injured, you could face legal action. For that, you need product liability insurance.
Trustee Liability
Did you know that your trust’s long-suffering trustees can be held personally responsible for damage caused by things like tax mistakes, dishonesty on the part of employees, unauthorized disclosures, and infringements of intellectual property? This coverage is a safety net for people serving on board and festival committees.
Cash/Money
Even if the vast majority of ticket purchases are made in advance, huge cash will still be present at public events due to walk-up ticket sales, cash bar takings, festival products, subsistence money, and artist fees. Anything can happen at a high-pressure front desk or while in transit, so it is important to have this coverage.
Event Cancellation
It’s not uncommon for musicians to cancel at the last minute. There is always the risk of disaster at your event—a fire might destroy the building, rain could create flooding at an outdoor location, and a strike, breakdown, or poor weather could delay transportation.
However, you can safeguard the money contingent on the event or cover isolated expenses like venue rental, artist lodging, and promotion. You can customize your cancellation and no-show insurance to fit your needs.
Business interruption insurance preserves revenue even if your event is interrupted by weather, power outages, or another calamity such as flood, fire, power, or telecommunications failure.
Stock
The potential money from festival programs, brochures, merchandising, food, and drink may be crucial to the success of your event financially and for the enjoyment of your target audience. The opportunity cost of not selling stock is the cost of replacing it. Do you have a plan for the safety of your inventory beyond business hours when you’re not at the office?
Equipment
Rental agreements typically stipulate that the renter is responsible for insuring any and all equipment rented, including but not limited to sound systems, stages, fences, radios, tents, restrooms, and power sources. In addition to the high cost of replacing any lost or damaged equipment, you will almost definitely be held responsible for the rental fees incurred during the time it takes to obtain a replacement.
Security
Large-scale public events like festivals are not immune to devastating, unexpected outcomes. That is why planners should do a thorough risk assessment and allocate more resources to event security and insurance.
Liquor Liability
You must implement extra safety measures if serving alcoholic beverages at an event. If a drunk person leaves the site and has an accident, the event that served them may be liable for third-party damages. General liability insurance does not cover alcohol-related claims. Therefore, event planners should purchase liquor liability insurance as well.
Getting The Festival Insurance Coverage You Need
Insuring a festival can be costly and complex. Underage revelers, open containers of alcohol, and a large footprint make for an expensive proposition, especially given the likelihood of a total washout should bad weather strike.
Review the insurance policies discussed in this piece to ensure your festival isn’t a financial disaster. And then get in touch with us.
Get Full-Proof Coverage For Your Festivals From The Experts
For months, people eagerly wait for a chance to attend a fantastic and entertaining fair or festival. However, several potential dangers exist due to a large gathering of people at such events. Getting excellent fair and festival insurance from MFE Insurance can save you a lot of trouble. Take charge of your organization’s future with the help of MFE Insurance.
MFE Insurance has spent decades ensuring the success of event organizers like yourself. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact our specialists anytime. You can contact us online or call us at 213-269-4005.