Best Event Insurance Companies in America

Key Takeaways

The best event insurance depends on cost, deductible, event type, and customer service
Eventsured, Travelers, Briteco, and Wedsure are some of the best event insurance companies
You need to know how deductibles and exclusions work before choosing event insurance

Best Event Insurance Companies in America

What Is Event Insurance?

Event liability insurance

If you are found liable for attendee injuries or venue property damage, event liability insurance can help cover the staggeringly high expenses of liability lawsuits. Imagine the waiter trips over a band member. Who’s going to pay for the medical expenses? Or what if you accidentally knock a candle over, burning the wedding venue? Event liability can save the host thousands, if not millions, of dollars.

Event cancellation insurance

If the event must be cancelled or postponed unexpectedly, event cancellation insurance can cover the losses. For example, it can reimburse you for:

Losses if the caterer, florist, or other vendor cannot provide services
Event photographs
Specialty attire gets damaged and cannot be worn
Gifts intended for the event
Special jewelry (e.g. wedding ring, event tiara, etc.)

Other features

Event insurance doesn’t only cover liability risks and cancellation costs. Depending on the policy, it can also provide rescheduling assistance, wedding attire coverage, and other features.

Best Event Insurance in America

1. Eventsured

Eventsured is trusted by millions of event hosts, backed by carriers with A++ (Superior) AM Best Company ratings.

$0 deductible
Policies start as low as $63
Host Liquor included & high limits
Free rehearsal dinner coverage for weddings
Friendly, human, 24/7 customer service
Easy to understand/purchase
Same day coverage

2. Travelers

Travelers is a popular insurance company that provides insurance products in many different industries. Travelers offers event cancellation coverage for anniversary parties, birthday parties, bar and bat mitzvahs, baby showers, holiday events, retirement parties and more.

Covers lost deposits
Special attire and jewelry
Event photography
Cancellations and postponements
Liability insurance is an optional add-on

Coverage is affordable and well trusted, but Travelers does not cover all types of functions.

3. Briteco

Great for wedding insurance and jewelry insurance. Briteco offers fantastic event cancellation insurance, letting you cancel for most reasons and get up to 75% back.

Comprehensive liability insurance starts at $102
Event cancellation insurance starts at $80

4. Wedsure

Wedsure offers great wedding liability insurance coverage with high coverage amounts. The main downside is that Wedsure only specializes in wedding insurance.

Up to $5 million in liability insurance
Starts at $125
9 event insurance add-ons to choose from

What Does Event Insurance Cover

Types of events

Event insurance covers a wide array of events, such as:

Sports and competitions
Weddings
Parties
Charities
Corporate events

Different policies will cover their own list of event types. Always double check if your event type is covered by the insurer. Some companies only cover a certain type of event, such as weddings or sports competitions.

Types of coverage

Coverage varies. Each insurance company has its own features and advantages. For example, Wedsure is great for wedding event liability insurance, whereas Eventsured is excellent for affordable coverage for most types of events.

Liability: People can get injured or ill at events. Property damage can also be a problem. The parties involved may sue you for liability, and if you are found liable, you may even need to pay millions.

Cancellation: Unfortunately, events may need to be cancelled, rescheduled, or relocated last minute for various reasons.

Liquor liability: Often comes as an optional event insurance add-on. Covers liability expenses related to liquor usage at your event.

Liquor liability

Any event that serves alcohol needs to specifically have liquor liability insurance coverage. This can cover medical bills, legal fees, settlements, and property damage related to alcohol at your event. Compared to other event insurance, liquor liability may be more expensive, costing up to $1000 because of the high medical risks if you serve alcohol. This is in part because 43 out of 50 states have dram laws stating that businesses can be held liable for any damages caused by intoxicated individuals during an event.

Exclusions

Certain events and situations are usually excluded from event insurance coverage due to higher risks and other factors. Common exclusions include political rallies, tractor pulls, hot air balloons, and haunted houses. For these situations, you would need a specialized event insurance policy for the purpose, which costs much more.

In addition, it is very hard to find event insurance that covers the groom or bride getting cold feet and cancelling the wedding.

It is advisable to carefully read event insurance exclusions before you choose one for your event.

How to Choose the Best Event Insurance

Deductible

The deductible is your share of expenses. When filing a claim, you need to reach the deductible out-of-pocket before event insurance will kick in. Having a per-claim deductible can be inconvenient if you need to file multiple smaller claims throughout the event. Because of this, hosts should consider a low or 0 deductible. Eventsured is special because it has no deductibles, allowing you to file small claims without issue.

Coverage scope

Your event insurance amount and coverage types should match your event’s particular needs. For example, if you’re hosting a wedding, make sure your insurance company covers weddings. If you’re hosting a sports event, you won’t be able to use an insurer that only covers weddings.

In addition, some events have special insurance requirements. If there’s alcohol at your event, you will need liquor liability coverage.

Coverage amounts

The coverage amount or limit is the cap of how much the insurance company will pay out for claims. A high liability coverage amount is recommended because of how expensive medical and property damage bills can get at a group event.

Venue requirements

Some venues have special insurance requirements. Many require the event host to put them on the insurance certificate as an additional insured. An insurance company like Eventsured can match such requirements by swiftly and conveniently adding your venue as an additional insured.

Customer service quality

If an incident occurs at your event, you already have to worry about a lot of expenses and stressful situations. Insurance claims being difficult to file is a common headache in all insurance industries. It is important to choose an event insurance company with good customer service.

Eventsured offers friendly, human customer service that is available 24/7.

How Much Does Event Insurance Cost

Event insurance usually costs between $75 and $200. The cost of event insurance depends on many factors. Here are the main ones:

Event size and duration

The more people attend your event, the greater the risks, and the more expensive the insurance.

Events over a week can also become drastically more expensive. It is difficult to find insurance that lasts over 30 days. Even Eventsured only offers active coverage up to 30 days.

Venue

The location and type of venue may affect event insurance premiums. When buying insurance, you’re typically expected to provide your venue location for a quote. Some expensive venues are more expensive to insure.

Certain venues also come with higher insurance requirements. In order to book them, you might need to obtain:

Up to $5 in liability coverage
A waiver of subrogation
Umbrella coverage
Additional insured status

Event type

Sports events and other competitions may be more expensive to insure than small parties where food poisoning is the greatest risk. Trade shows have varying risks depending on vendors and attendees.

On the other end, corporate events are generally the lowest risk because they are held in controlled environments with lower risks.

Event insurance company

Insurance companies have their own underwriting and risk assessment methods, resulting in different cost ranges. Because of this, it is a good idea to consider several top event insurance companies and obtain quotes before choosing one.

Who Needs Event Insurance

For booking venues

A lot of official venues require you to carry event liability insurance. It protects the venue from expensive property damage, and if someone gets injured, your insurance will be able to pay for the ensuing medical or legal fees.

Individuals

Anyone hosting an event should consider event insurance. It can protect individuals against a wide range of liability and cancellation risks.

Event planners and vendors

If you’re organizing an event for clients, it’s important to secure good event insurance. Event planners should consider event planning insurance, a specialized event insurance type.

If you’re attending an event as a vendor, you will likely also need insurance. The type depends on your risks. For example, caterers might need professional liability insurance to cover potential food poisoning and other risks.

Case Studies

Let’s go over a few scenarios in which event insurance can (or cannot) help.

1. Corporate event rescheduling

A pharmaceutical company has decided to host a grand conference, booking a hotel and expecting 200 attendees. However, an airline strike ends up preventing almost half of the attendees from being able to come.

Fortunately, the company purchased event cancellation insurance. The policy covers most of the rescheduling costs, while also reimbursing the company for nonrefundable deposits and vendor costs. The company ends up saving over $100,000 while only paying $500 for the event insurance.

2. Summer music festival thunderstorm

The local community center decides to host a summer music festival. Plenty of bands and singers are encouraged to come. Caterers are paid to bring alcohol, beverages, and food. The special outdoor concert venue is booked.

A sudden thunderstorm arrives, with high winds and heavy thunder. The venue is open, which means it is too dangerous to continue with the music festival. The cancellation would have cost the community center thousands of dollars, but thankfully they had event cancellation insurance to cover most of the losses, allowing them to start a new music event next month.

3. Private party injury

A group of friends and family come together for a private themed party on a boat. They accidentally damage the venue, incurring liability expenses for the damaged property. One friend also sprained an ankle while trying to evacuate the boat.

Event liability insurance helps cover most of the expenses. The host only needs to pay up to the deductible of $200, the other $10,000 is covered by the insurance company.

4. Wedding cancelled because of cold feet

Two people have been together for 3 months before they decided to marry. They pay for an expensive venue, officiant, and catering. However, the bride last minute has a chat with her best friend and ends up realizing this is a bad decision and she doesn’t actually know the groom well enough. She ends up cancelling the wedding, not willing to show up at the altar.

Warning: Weddings that get cancelled because the groom or bride suddenly hesitates and isn’t sure about the marriage are not usually covered by event insurance.

Conclusion

Event insurance can help you pay for event liability, cancellations, and other risks. Choosing the right event insurance company can help save you a lot of money and reschedule events for later.