How Much Does Event Insurance Really Cost for Different Types of Events?

Event insurance is crucial for protecting the finances of organizers, venues, and event hosts. If someone breaks a leg or a venue table, you might be held liable for the medical and property repair expenses. But what about the cost of event insurance? How come some pay $60, others pay $500?

In this guide, we will break down the costs of event insurance by event type and what factors determine event insurance premiums.

What Is Event Insurance?

Definition and coverage

Event insurance protects you from unexpected financial losses related to your event. Event insurance policies can cover:

• Liability lawsuits
• Cancellations, postponements, and rescheduling
• Property damage to the venue
• Loss of special event attire and jewelry

Why most venues require event insurance

Most venues (and vendors) require event hosts to carry event insurance. Otherwise if an incident takes place, everyone might end up with colossal expenses.

Many official venues also have additional insurance requirements, such as:

• A waiver of subrogation
• Additional insured status

Difference between liability-only vs. comprehensive coverage

The core difference is that liability-only event insurance will only cover eligible liability risks, such as when a guest gets injured at your event or venue property gets damaged. For example, guests who slip and fall, breaking an ankle and suing you, can lead to you being held liable for injuries.

Cancellations, postponements, and other expenses will not be covered by event liability-only insurance. You would need event insurance that includes event cancellation insurance.

Factors That Affect Event Insurance Cost

Event size and attendance

A small gathering will naturally be far more affordable to insure than a large gathering. Every attendee can increase the risks at the event. Smaller events with 10 or fewer people will understandably be much cheaper to insure than large events with over 100 attendees.

Event type and risk level

Depending on your event type, the risks can be very different. Here are some examples:

• Weddings: Large venues and grand weddings can be expensive to insure due to liability risks. Catering, vendors, and other factors can also increase the insurance premium. Any guest can get injured or damage property. The scale of the wedding can greatly impact the risk level. Whether there is alcohol being sold is also a key factor.

• Concerts: Both indoor and outdoor music events can be quite expensive to insure due to the potential risks of crowd surges, medical damages, property damage to the venue, and more. Longer events also pose increased risks because people who sleep at the event can be exposed to more problems and people can get exhausted or spread sicknesses easily.

• Sports tournaments: High, expensive risks. Sports competitors and spectators can all get injured during a sports event, which means a higher possibility of medical expenses. Compared to other events where slip and falls are more common, sports competitions can have debilitating or even lethal accidents.

• Corporate events: Business events are generally hosted in controlled environments with lower risks. However, larger events will cost more to insure because of the increased cost of cancellation, venue risks, and expected attendance.

Some event types are so risky that they are not covered under standard event insurance policies.

Location and venue requirements

If your venue or location comes with any special risks or requirements, it can raise your insurance cost. When getting a quote for event insurance, you have to tell them where the venue is/where the event is taking place.

Alcohol sales/serving

If your event has any alcohol, you will need liquor liability insurance. This is often sold as an insurance add-on or separate policy because of the extra risks.

Coverage limits and add-ons

Event liability insurance doesn’t cover all event types.

Cancellation insurance has its limits. Generally, you cannot cancel for any reason and expect all expenses to be covered. For example, if a groom or bride calls off the wedding because of cold feet, it will likely not be covered.

In addition, most event insurance policies exclude haunted houses, political rallies, and other high-risk events.

Cost Breakdown by Event Type

Here are real-world estimates of the costs of event insurance based on what event is being hosted and other key factors.

Weddings

Typical cost: $75–$250; $600+ for large, full coverage

Weddings with many vendors, caterers, photographers, and guests will become expensive to insure. A smaller, simpler wedding can be very affordable to insure.

A significant amount of the cost of wedding insurance and private party insurance can come from special insurance add-ons, such as wedding cancellation insurance and liquor liability insurance.

Private parties

Typical cost: $75 to $400

Smaller, private events like birthdays or reunions can usually be insured for less than $400. However, if it’s a party at a high-risk location (e.g. haunted house, rock climbing gym), liability risks can skyrocket, making insurance more expensive. You may actually need specialized insurance to cover these types of high-risk events.

Corporate Events & Conferences

Typical cost: $100–$400+

Small corporate events with fewer than 100 people are one of the cheapest function types to insure. Indoor business events are generally held in controlled, low-risk environments.

However, larger conferences can get quite expensive to insure as you add more factors into the mix. Hotels ballrooms may need to be booked, airline strikes become bigger problems, and bad storms can cause a lot of financial losses. Coverage becomes essential for vendors and speakers throughout multiple day events.

Festivals & Concerts

Typical cost: $500–$2,000+; $10,000+ for multi-day, large concerts

Festivals have high risk factors that many festival goers do not think about. Large crowds make lethal crowd crushes possible. The presence of alcohol means group fights can escalate quickly and violently. Multiple vendors mean multiple sources of liability risks. Outdoor settings mean the environment is less controlled, yet indoor venues can pose fire hazards and other safety risks.

Event hosts have to consider the cost of medical emergencies, evacuations, fires, alcohol-fueled fights, and more. Often, the host or organizer is held liable for any incidents on the event premises. That could mean millions of dollars demanded by lawsuits against you.

Sporting Events & Tournaments

Typical cost: $250–$1,000+

Both small and large scale sporting tournaments risk severe, expensive medical expenses. Both players and spectators can get injured.

Community Events & Fundraisers

Typical cost: $100–$400

Nonprofits, banquets, fundraisers, and galas have moderate risk. You may need special insurance to cover the risks of your workers and volunteers. If alcohol is served, then liquor liability insurance can cost a few hundred dollars.

Auctions and other events with expensive assets may need to be specially insured. Check your event insurance policy to see if it covers auction items or if you need another policy/add-on.

Comparing Coverage Options Across Insurers

Quote differences

Even if you provide the same event details, you might receive widely different quotes from different insurance companies. Quotes can differ mainly because of different policy underwriting and risk assessment methods.

Difference between buying directly from insurers vs. through brokers

It’s generally better to buy insurance through a broker because they will help you quickly sift through dozens of insurance companies for a policy that aligns with your needs. Brokers usually take a fee from the insurance company when selling a policy, so you don’t have to worry about more expensive quotes.

Bundling options for recurring events

Those who expect to frequently host parties or events should consider annual or multi-event insurance policies. They generally offer better rates.

How to Save on Event Insurance Without Losing Coverage

Shop multiple providers

Before buying event insurance, try to compare insurance quotes and policy options. Shopping around different competing event insurance companies ensures you can get a better premium.

When comparing event insurance providers, make sure you also look at the prices at different coverage limits and features.

Choose the right coverage limits

Overinsuring can make event insurance more expensive than necessary. On the other hand, underinsuring your event can bring about much more financial loss. To pick the right coverage limit, you should assess the real replacement/repair costs of your equipment and venue property.

There are a lot of high risk add-ons that are only useful if they apply to your event. Not doing fireworks? You won’t need fireworks coverage. Completely indoor venue and event? You might not need coverage for extreme weather. Doing a specific high-risk activity, like scuba diving? Check that your policy covers it.

Leverage venue/vendor policies

You can hire caterers, vendors, DJs, bands, and other event contractors who carry their own insurance. Liability insurance is quite expensive, so if your vendors are already insured, they can reduce your risk share at the event. Just be aware of what their policy covers. You still should have your own event insurance.

Consider annual or bundled policies

Are you a business or individual hosting frequent events? Insurance bundles or annual policies are often cheaper in the long run, though they cost more upfront.

Buy event insurance early

Some event cancellation insurance policies won’t cover issues that are already known. For example, if a hurricane has been named and your wedding is upcoming at the same time as the expected storm period, event cancellation insurance might refuse to cover the cancellation costs.

When you buy event insurance, it helps protect your deposits. If something happens to your vendors but you don’t already have insurance, getting insurance afterwards will be too late.

Buying early can also give you better rates. Insurance companies may calculate risk based on how soon the event begins. Short time frames mean greater unpredictability and risk.

Red Flags to Watch Out For

Extremely cheap policies with limited coverage

You can find extremely cheap event insurance policies, but they will rarely have useful or comprehensive coverage. Cheap policies below $50 may be good for a specific niche, but make sure you understand all the exclusions and restrictions. It is generally better to choose an affordable and reasonable policy from a reputable event insurance company.

Exclusions buried in fine print

Terrorism, alcohol liability, and certain weather events are often excluded from standard event insurance plans. It should be clear from before policy purchase what the exclusions are. If your policy goes on vaguely about coverage and exclusions, this is a red flag. Requirements for coverage should be clearly stated, and if you ask your insurance agent, they should be able to tell you what incidents are covered.

Providers with poor claims reputation

Always check the reviews of an event insurance company. Customer testimonials and online reviews can help you get a better idea of whether an insurance company has good coverage, claims process, and customer service.

Conclusion

Event insurance costs more for events that are large, for risky purposes (e.g. sports tournaments), or involve alcohol. Most event insurance policies range between $70 and $200, but longer or larger events with 100+ people can cost $1000+ to insure.

The key takeaway is that event hosts should budget realistically and prioritize suitable event insurance. Insurance can save millions of dollars in case of an expensive liability lawsuit or cancellation, and costs a negligible amount in comparison.

Get fast, multiple quotes now to avoid paying heavily for event mishaps using our list of the best event insurance companies.