If you’re seeking event insurance, there are several factors to consider, such as communication, customizable coverage, and easy claims service. However, you’re probably most concerned about how much event insurance is going to cost. Here are the cheapest event insurance companies for your consideration:
In our research on the top companies for cheap event insurance, we learned that most companies have two options: with host liquor liability insurance and without. Things such as the following do not affect the event insurance rates much.
- Attendance (as long as it is up to 1,000)
- State (in some states liquor liability is added automatically, but it doesn’t affect rates)
- Whether the alcohol is provided by the venue, or BYOB
If you, personally, are planning to profit from the sale of alcohol, some companies won’t insure you at all. Others are okay with it, if this is a one-time deal and you don’t usually profit from alcohol sales.
In order to find the cheapest event insurance, we took the top five and most well-known companies and got quotes from each one. The process of getting quotes from these companies is relatively easy and fast.
For the first quote, we said we were hosting an anniversary party for 100 guests with a $1,000,000/2,000,000 policy. Our hypothetical party was by invitation only and a vendor would be responsible for selling alcohol. It will be held in CA on February 22, 2020.
Cheapest Event Insurance Without Host Liquor Liability Coverage
- Markel: $100
- The Event Helper: $100
- K&K Event Insurance: $120
- RVNuccio: $125
- Travelers: $165
1. Markel: $100
Although Markel had the same $1,000,000 liability policy as the other companies we quoted, keep in mind the general aggregate limit (over the lifetime of the policy) is still $1,000,000. However, since event insurance is, by definition, a one-to-three day event, the lifetime of the policy is only a few days.
2. The Event Helper: $100
The Event Helper is very easy to obtain a quote from: just enter the state your event will be held, number of attendees, kind of party and they come back with a quote in less than ten seconds. It may be just an estimate, but it’s still impressive.
3. K & K Event Insurance: $120
K & K insurance had been providing coverage for special events since 1952. They have good breadth of events they insure, as well as a good depth of coverage available. If you’re interested in wedding event insurance, they underwrite WedSafe.
4. RVNuccio: $125
RVNuccio are special event insurance specialists. They have a wide range of events that they insure: everything from Anniversary parties to Video game contests. They can offer you a certificate of insurance instantly, if you need one.
Travelers: $165
Travelers has the most detailed breakdown of options we’ve seen: they list ten levels of coverage, with corresponding limits.
For a party with no alcohol being served, they quoted us $165 (at the lowest level of coverage).
Cheapest Event Insurance With Liquor Liability Insurance
- RVNuccio $125
- K & K $170
- Markel. $175
- The Event Helper $178
- Travelers $215
What Does Event Insurance Cover?
Event insurance is designed to protect your one-day event from financial loss. It’s made up of:
- Cancellation insurance (in case you need to cancel the whole event)
- Liability coverage (protects you in case of property damage or injury caused during the event)
First, you should probably figure out if you can be covered by event insurance. Generally, event insurance covers things like:
- Weddings
- Anniversary parties
- Baby showers
- Birthday parties
- Religious celebrations (Bar mitzvas, baptisms, etc.)
Event insurance will generally avoid covering:
- Protests, rallies, etc.
- Food eating contests
- Haunted houses
- Water activities (water polo, water slides, etc.)
- Motorized vehicles events
- Bonfires
Also, you should check with your venue to find out what kind of insurance they have, and then you should look into your own insurance policies to find out what, if anything, is covered.
For a more general guide of event insurance, check out other articles: how much does event insurance cost? and the 5 best event insurance companies
What Affects Event Insurance Rates?
The biggest factors affecting how much you will pay for special event insurance are:
- Whether or not you need liquor liability insurance
- What the social host liability laws are like in the state the event is being held
- Type of event
- Sporting events—theses have their own pricing
- Attendance affects rates, but usually only if you’re planning on over 1,000 guests.
The biggest factor, by far, is whether you will be serving alcohol and whether you will profit from the sale.
According to Insureon, a digital broker for small business insurance, the average rate for one-day event insurance with no liquor liability is $350. With liquor liability insurance, the same event would be $750 to insure. For a more thorough discussion of liquor liability insurance, see our articles:
What state the event is held affects rates only slightly, and mostly depends on whether or not your state has social host liability laws. Basically, social host liability laws hold the host responsible for encouraging or allowing a guest to drink excessively and then injures or kills someone (or themselves). If this sends chills up your spine, it should. Basically, as a host, you need to make sure people are drinking responsibly.
To make matters worse, social host liability laws also hold the host liable for any property damage they cause if you’ve allowed them to become inebriated. If it makes you feel any better, bars and alcohol retailers are held to a similar standard by dram shop laws, which holds them liable for any injuries or deaths caused by intoxicated customers.
If, however, you host the party at a venue that typically serves alcohol, the venue will assume some of the responsibility (although someone could sue both of you—the venue and the host). Alcohol is an added risk, and insurance rates reflect that.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to event insurance, how much you pay is contingent on whether or not you’re serving alcohol and charging people for it. If you hire a vendor to do that, you will pay less because they assume some of the responsibility. However, some states have social host liability laws. We included Massachusetts because it’s one of the states that has such laws, and the quotes we got didn’t change that much. However, it’s something to keep in mind if you live in a state with social host liability laws. If you don’t know you’re state’s laws, you can check here for a list.
Party planning is fun. Be sure to protect yourself against financial loss by looking into event insurance.
>>MORE: Explore our other articles about different types of event insurance:
