Event Planner Insurance
Getting insurance for your event planning business is essential.
Event planning businesses need to be protected against things like personal injury, breach of contract, and property damage lawsuits.
For example, a guest falls and injures themselves during one of your events, or a supplier accuses your company of breaching a contract.
We’ll help you find the most personalized and affordable coverage for your unique business.
Recommended: Next Insurance is dedicated to matching small businesses with the right policy at the best price.
Best Insurance for an Event Planning Business
General liability insurance is — generally speaking — one of the most important insurance policies for event planning businesses.
Some of the risks general liability insurance covers are:
- Bodily injury
- Property damage
- Medical payments
- Legal defense and judgment
- Personal and advertising injury
That said, your event planning business is likely to need several supplementary policies in addition to general liability in order to achieve comprehensive protection. Some of these policies could include:
- Commercial property insurance
- Business interruption insurance
- Workers’ compensation insurance
- Data breach insurance
- Commercial umbrella insurance
If you’re shopping for insurance for your business, understand the difference between the two main types of insurance providers:
- Traditional brick-and-mortar insurers — Providers such as these operate primarily from offices and storefronts. From here, customers can receive guidance and personalized quotes from insurance agents in-store.
- Online insurers — Providers such as these operate entirely online, where customers interact with AI to receive accurate quotes very quickly and conveniently. Due to the lower operating costs of this business structure, online insurers can offer their services far more affordably.
Let's Find the Coverage You Need
The best insurers design exactly the coverage you need at the most affordable price.
Cost of General Liability Insurance
The average event planner in America spends between $500-$1,100 per year for $1 million in general liability coverage.
Check out the chart below for a snapshot of average general liability insurance expenditure across a variety of industries.
Several factors will determine the price of your policy. These include your:
- Location
- Deductible
- Number of employees
- Per-occurrence limit
- General aggregate limit
You may be able to acquire general liability insurance at a discounted rate by purchasing it as part of a business owner’s policy (BOP) rather than as a standalone policy.
A BOP is a more comprehensive solution that includes multiple forms of coverage, such as business interruption and property insurance.
Find the Best Rate
Discover the best coverage at the lowest rate in our cheapest business insurance review.
Common Situations That General Liability Insurance May Cover for an Event Planning Business
Example 1: A customer is walking into your office and doesn’t see a patch of ice outside your entryway. He slips and breaks his arm. He takes legal action against your business, holding you responsible for his injuries. The general liability insurance policy you carry will pay for your legal fees when defending yourself against such a lawsuit. If you settle outside of court, your policy will pay for the settlement as well.
Example 2: One of your employees has a hand cart loaded with foldable tables that he is transferring from one part of your building to another. In his haste, he fails to notice a potential client visiting your business and hits her with the hand cart. She falls down and sustains serious injuries. Your general liability insurance policy would likely cover the costs of her treatment.
Example 3: You are happy with the new logo for your business and begin to use it in all of your promotional materials. Unfortunately, one of your competitors feels like the new logo is too similar to his own logo and files a lawsuit against your business over the issue. Because you have a general liability insurance policy, your legal defense fees in this situation would be covered by your insurer, as well as any settlement costs.
Other Types of Coverage Event Planners Need
While general liability is the most important type of insurance to have, there are several other forms of coverage you should be aware of. Below are some of the most common types of coverage:
Professional Liability Insurance
Also known as omissions and errors insurance, professional liability insurance is tailored to your particular business to protect you against negligence claims due to mistakes or failure to perform. Although you do your best to plan events to meet or even exceed the expectations of your clients, there are still times where things do not go according to plan. If a client takes legal action against your business due to a mistake, your professional liability insurance will cover your legal fees and the cost of a settlement if one is necessary.
Commercial Auto Insurance
Any vehicle you use primarily for business needs commercial auto insurance. The automobile you use to travel from client to client and event to event should have coverage so that you are meeting the legal mandate of your state for commercial vehicles. With this coverage, you or your employees will be protected if you get into an accident in the vehicle. If you or an employee cause an accident, the policy will help pay for repairs or replacement of the vehicle as well as any damage caused by your vehicle to other vehicles. It will also pay for medical care for the injured.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Most states require that businesses with employees carry workers’ compensation insurance. Your workers’ comp insurance will cover your employees if they are injured performing work-related duties. For instance, if an employee is carrying folding tables to an event and sustains a back injury, she can get medical care through workers’ comp. If she is unable to work, workers’ comp insurance will help pay her lost wages while she is recovering.
Commercial Umbrella Insurance
The general liability insurance policy you carry offers a great foundation to protect your business, but there are circumstances where your general liability policy limits can be exceeded. For example, if your company is sued and you lose the lawsuit, the damages you are required to pay could exceed your coverage limits. If you have commercial umbrella insurance, your umbrella policy will pick up where the general liability policy leaves off.
Additional Steps To Protect Your Business
Although it’s easy (and essential) to invest in business insurance, it shouldn’t be your only defense.
Here are several things you can do to better protect your event planning business:
- Use legally robust contracts and other business documents. (We offer free templates for some of the most common legal forms.)
- Set up an LLC or corporation to protect your personal assets. (Visit our step-by-step guides to learn how to form an LLC or corporation in your state.)
- Stay up to date with business licensing.
- Maintain your corporate veil.
Event Planner Insurance FAQ
Yes, absolutely. You will need to first get a quote from an online business insurance provider like Next Insurance. Next allows you to then purchase a policy immediately and your coverage will be active within 48 hours.
A typical business owner’s policy includes general liability, business interruption, and commercial property insurance. However, BOPs are often customizable, so your agent may recommend adding professional liability, commercial auto, or other types of coverage to your package depending on your company’s needs.
"Business insurance" is a generic term used to describe many different types of coverage a business may need. General liability insurance, on the other hand, is a specific type of coverage that business owners need to protect their assets.
Yes. Ideally, business insurance should be secured for your event planning business before your first event to protect against potential risks.
It’s also very common for businesses to be required to hold specific policies to maintain legal compliance (if they have employees, if they have company cars, etc.).
Not necessarily. Certain exceptions may be written directly into your event planning business insurance policy, and some perils may be entirely uninsurable.
Yes, an LLC is meant to create a legal barrier between your business and your personal assets and credit. If you haven’t formed an LLC yet, use our Form an LLC guide to get started.
An LLC doesn’t protect your business assets from lawsuits and liability– that’s where business insurance comes in. Business insurance helps protect your business from liability and risk.