The venue will not give you the keys without it.
General liability for a single event or a season of them — the cover venues, parks and municipalities require before they will let you through the door, written for one day as readily as for a year.
Tell us the situation.
A licensed human replies the same business day — not an auto-responder, and not five producers calling at once. We shop it across our carriers and tell you if the policy you already have is the right one.
We use this to quote and service your insurance, and we do not sell it or pass it to lead networks. Privacy policy.
What event liability businesses actually need.
Third-party bodily injury
Somebody at your event is hurt and looks to the organiser.
Without it — The claim lands on you personally where there is no entity, and on the entity where there is.
Third-party property damage
Damage to the venue, the grounds, the equipment or the neighbours.
Without it — The venue bills you from the deposit and then beyond it.
Host liquor liability
Alcohol served without a licence — a cash bar, a hosted drink, a supplied keg.
Without it — The base form excludes alcohol claims, and this is the one the venue is most worried about.
Additional insured status
The venue, the landowner, the city or the university added by endorsement as the contract requires.
Without it — The contract is unmet however good the cover is, and the booking does not stand.
Where event liability shows up.
- Weddings
Almost every venue requires it named before they will confirm, and most couples buy only this.
- Event Vendors & Concessionaires
The organiser, the venue and often the landowner all named, before you are allocated a pitch.
- Conventions & Trade Shows
Convention centres and hotels specify limits and additional insured status in the contract.
- Teams, Tournaments & Sports Events
The venue, the park district or the city named before you are allowed to use the ground.
- Motorsports
One-off meetings and hire of a circuit you do not own.
What event liability operators ask us.
Can I buy it for one day?
Yes, and most events do. Single-event cover is written for the dates of the event, usually including set-up and tear-down, and it is issued quickly enough to satisfy a venue asking on short notice. If you run more than three or four events a year, an annual policy is generally cheaper and means the certificate exists before it is asked for.
The venue sent an insurance requirement. What are they actually asking for?
Almost always three things, and only the first is a number: a limit, usually one or two million per occurrence; their entity named as additional insured by endorsement rather than typed on the certificate; and often a waiver of subrogation. Send us the contract rather than the number — the wording is what gets certificates rejected, and it is the part people summarise.
Does it cover the event being cancelled?
No, and they are constantly confused. Event liability pays when somebody else is injured or their property is damaged. Cancellation cover pays YOU back for money you have already committed when the event cannot happen. Venues require the first; the second is the one that saves your own budget, and most organisers buy only the one they were asked for.
We are serving alcohol. Is that included?
Host liquor is commonly included where you are not in the business of selling it — a wedding with a hosted bar, a company party. The moment there is a cash bar, a licence, or alcohol as a revenue line, it is liquor liability proper and it is a separate coverage that the base form excludes by name.
Not ready to talk? The guides answer the questions this page raises in more depth. Already insured with us and need a certificate or a policy change? Ask the service team rather than starting a quote — it is faster and it goes to the people whose job it is. We also write home and auto, which is usually cheaper alongside the business policy than apart from it.