Breaking Down the Real Cost of Event Insurance by Event Size

The cost of event insurance can vary dramatically depending on the size of your event. It’s far easier to crowd control a five person event than a thousand person one. Insurance companies assess your event’s risks to determine your cost.

In this guide, we will go over how event insurance costs scale based on event size, what insurance suits each event size, and what key factors influence pricing.

Understanding Event Insurance

What is Event Insurance?

Event insurance protects the event organizer, host, or vendor from financial loss, legal liabilities, and unexpected incidents. It covers risks like general liability, event cancellations, property damage, liquor risks, and more. Event insurance is needed by essentially all events because of how a single lawsuit could be financially devastating.

Let’s go over the common types of event insurance.

General Liability Insurance

Liability essentially means your responsibility for incidents. If an incident occurs, injured or distressed parties can sue you for liability, which could cost you (or your organization) millions of dollars to settle. Even smaller events can easily be sued for over $50,000 if someone gets injured at your event.

Liability risks can arise from third-party:

• Injuries
• Property damage
• Death

Event Cancellation Insurance

Event cancellation insurance covers your losses in case the event gets cancelled for an eligible reason. This usually means if there is:

• Unexpected bad weather
• Key performer injury or illness
• Flight delays or strikes

If the reason for cancellation is covered, then you can get protected from your losses. For example, event cancellation insurance could return various prepaid, nonrefundable deposits.

Cancellation insurance won’t cover everything. The most common exclusion is if the bride or groom gets cold feet before the wedding. If the weather has been predicted before you buy your event insurance, it also will likely not be covered (e.g. a named hurricane). Read your policy details before buying to see if there is a weather-related clause.

Liquor Liability Insurance

Is there going to be alcohol at your event? If so, you will need liquor liability insurance. In many states, there are dram shop laws that force the host to be liable for alcohol-related incidents. Some event insurance policies do cover host liability risks.

Vendor Insurance

Vendors can buy their own event insurance policies to reduce their liability when attending events. For example, vendors who are selling food should obtain sufficient general liability insurance so that if someone gets food poisoning and sues, the vendor can mitigate the losses.

Specialized Insurance

Many other types of event insurance exist for specific purposes. Workers’ compensation is a requirement if you have any employees helping out with the event, but many other specialized policies exist. For example, if you are hosting a political rally, you may want terrorism insurance. If you are hosting a sports tournament, you want athletes and spectators to be covered. If you have any volunteers, you may require special coverage to protect against their claims. For most of these policies, the larger your event, the more expensive the premiums.

Factors That Influence the Cost of Event Insurance

Event Type

Your event type can greatly impact your event insurance cost. Common event types are corporate parties, weddings, festivals, and trade shows.

Essentially, the riskier your event, the more expensive it will be to insure. People can get hurt, property can get damaged, and equipment can be lost. Events that require a lot of setup may cost more to insure for event cancellation insurance.

Location

Your event’s geographic location can also affect your premium. State laws, venue type, outdoor vs. indoor, and other factors all influence the risk and insurance requirements of your event. Some states have stricter insurance regulations and laws. Make sure your event is compliant with your event location’s various rules.

Duration

The longer the event, the more expensive the insurance. Most insurance companies will not insure events for over a month. You need specialized insurance for longer events.

As an event becomes longer, attendees may start getting fatigued or even delirious. This is a serious risk if your event is outdoors without air conditioning, as seen in outdoors week-long music festivals.

Number of Attendees

The more people at an event, the higher the event insurance premiums will be. This is because more people means an increased risk of accidents or damages. It is also harder to break up fights, put out fires, evacuate attendees, and perform other damage mitigation at crowded events.

For more information, read our guide on Crowd Control and Liability for High-Attendance Events.

Level of Coverage Needed

Policies come with coverage limits, which is the maximum amount your insurance company will reimburse you. Depending on how much coverage you need for each type of risk, you may end up paying a lot more than the average insurance cost.

It is generally advisable to have a high coverage amount for liability insurance. This is because liability lawsuits can be numerous and severe, often taking down event organizers who have purchased insufficient coverage.

Event Complexity

If your event is complex or niche, it could be more expensive to insure. Insurance companies may require you to have special security measures in place before agreeing to insure you. For example, if you have massive numbers of vendors, famous celebrities at your event, or other risks, this can drastically raise your event insurance premium.

Special Risks

High-risk activities at your event can make it substantially more dangerous and expensive. Common risks that raise your premiums include:

• Sports competitions
• Fireworks
• Water games
• Alcohol service
• Heavy equipment
• Risky venues

Event Insurance Costs by Event Size

Here is a detailed breakdown of how event insurance cost varies by event size.

Small Events (Under 100 Attendees)

Common small event types include small weddings, birthday parties, and corporate meetings. These small events are typically the cheapest to insure.

Estimated Cost Range: ~$75 to $250

Small event coverage is often focused on general liability, property damage, and event cancellation. If alcohol is served, liquor liability insurance is needed, which can cost more than general liability insurance.

Medium-Sized Events (100-500 Attendees)

Medium events start having more people. They include local festivals, corporate conferences, and trade shows.

Estimated Cost Range: ~$125 to $300

Medium-sized events are more costly to insure. Additional coverage might include alcohol liability, higher cancellation protection, or specialized insurance for vendors.

Large Events (500+ Attendees)

Large events include major festivals, large conferences, concerts, and outdoor events. Any event with roughly over 500 attendees starts being quite expensive to insure. You may even receive a slower, personalized quote for your event based on your attendance, risk factors, location, and liability exposure.

Estimated Cost Range: ~$500 - $3000+

Large events require comprehensive coverage like vendor insurance, cancellation, liability, and workers' comp for staff. Events with high-risk activities often require customized, high-risk insurance.

Breaking Down Additional Costs for Specific Event Types

Corporate Events

Corporate events can be multi-day conferences, with key speakers who may no-show for whatever reason. It is recommended to purchase event liability and cancellation insurance for corporate events. Factors affecting corporate events include:

• High profile guest lists
• Duration
• Complex AV setups
• Number of key speakers

Liquor liability is also needed if you are serving any alcohol, such as at corporate parties.

Smaller corporate events usually won’t cost over $150 to insure. However, larger corporate events can cost thousands of dollars even for a one- or two-day event. A single flight delay with many attendees could result in an entire event cancellation costing significant money.

Weddings

Smaller weddings are rather affordable to insure ($<200 for less than 50 attendees). However, as your wedding becomes more complex with larger guest lists, it can start costing over $500 to insure both liability and cancellation risks.

If you happen to be moving between different venues, you may also need extra coverage, which further raises the premium. And don’t forget about liquor liability insurance for weddings if you have a bar service, which can cost over $100.

Festivals and Concerts

Festivals and concerts are fun for celebratory purposes, but can have immense risk due to large crowds, potential alcohol service, and hazardous activities. Fireworks, singers doing choreography, historical venues, unhinged fans, heatstrokes–these are all risks.

A smaller, local music event might cost $115 to $175 to insure. A larger one, especially a multi-day festival, can easily cost over $500 or thousands to insure.

Outdoor Events and Venue Size

Any event that is outdoors will be more expensive to insure. Depending on your venue conditions (open park vs fragile venue), evacuation protocols, expected weather, and other location-based factors, it may seem risky to have large crowds. This can skyrocket your event insurance price to $500 or more. However, if you only have a small event at an outdoors venue, you can lower your event insurance quote.

Cost-Saving Tips for Event Organizers

Shop Around

If you’re planning to host an event, it is crucial to compare quotes from multiple insurers. Also compare costs for different coverage limits to better understand what options you have.

Bundle Policies

Many insurance companies offer bundles that are cheaper and/or more convenient. For example, you could opt to bundle general liability insurance with event cancellation insurance to lower your overall costs.

Tailored Coverage: Adjusting coverage based on specific event needs to avoid paying for unnecessary coverage.

Increase Deductibles: How higher deductibles can lower premiums, but with a higher risk for the organizer.

Risk Mitigation Strategies: Steps to lower insurance premiums by reducing event risks (e.g., using professional security, securing licensed vendors, having a solid contingency plan).

Real-World Case Studies: Costs of Event Insurance by Size

Small Event Case Study: A wedding with 80 guests, coverage for liability and cancellation.

Medium Event Case Study: A local festival with 300 attendees, including vendor and alcohol liability coverage.

Large Event Case Study: A three-day conference with 1,000+ attendees, extensive vendor and cancellation insurance.

Additional Considerations for Event Organizers

Legal and Regulatory Requirements

There may be local or state laws that mandate specific types of insurance for certain events. Venues usually also have insurance coverage requirements, so make sure you meet those requirements.

Contracts and Vendor Insurance

Event organizers may require vendors to have their own insurance and put contracts in place for better clarity and protection.

Post-Event Claims

Organizers are expected to promptly file relevant insurance claims after an incident occurs. If you don’t notify your insurance company immediately, it could cause problems or delays with your claims process.

You also cannot take too long to file your claim. Typically, event insurance companies require you to file claims within 30 days of the incident.

Conclusion

Event insurance costs more if you have a larger event. Event complexity, coverage needs, location, and other factors also impact insurance premiums.

Let’s recap:

Small events: ~$75 to $250

Medium events: ~$125 to $300

Large events: ~$500 - $3000+

Since event insurance is so important in protecting you financially, it is crucial to compare different insurance policies before buying. Obtain a customized event insurance quote today and consult with an insurance broker to ensure your event is properly protected.