Event Planner insurance – cost and types of policies

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Event Planner insurance must be high on the list because you can’t always know exactly what is going to happen in the future.

With the protection provided by general insurance and all the other sorts of insurance we will tell you about, you can protect your business and yourself in case something unexpected happens.

Like any business owner, for your Event Planner enterprise, you must consider how much financial danger you are taking on.

If your Event Planner business runs without proper insurance, you are taking a giant chance not just of losing some money but of a final wipe-out.

This is because the laws in every state are very strict in enforcing liability on the owners of businesses for the consequences of their actions. 

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for startup businesses to highlight what the main kinds of insurance that you need are, and where possible, a rough guide to how much you can expect to pay.

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your Event Planner business?

What this means, for any Event Planner business owner, is that if some person claims that your actions caused them some physical or economic damage, a court can award damages far beyond the total size of your business.

Your Event Planner business is not sheltered by laws in the same way as states are, where laws can place a “cap” on the maximum level of liability.

In some states, like Texas, there are specific monetary levels that limit the amount a court can award in any case against the state.

In a court case, it’s purely the privilege of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a plaintiff more than they have claimed.

When you are running your Event Planner operations, you can’t deny responsibility for the outcomes of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent up-front the money necessary to have your business running as a limited liability company, all of that liability belongs to you as a person.

What does Event Planner insurance protect you from?

For your Event Planner business, the most important kinds of insurance are intended to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

In addition there are some mandatory kinds of insurance that various states require.

In the next few paragraphs, we will outline the most important points any Event Planner business owner should consider when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main headings of insurance for your Event Planner businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Event Planner business is dealing directly with other people, and that means you generally have the danger that some accident can happen to them personally or else something of theirs can be damaged.

In such a case, they can require compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your Event Planner business protects you against claims coming from injury to visitors or damage to their property.

It protects your Event Planner business from the claims themselves and in addition to any resulting court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

In many cases, it can also help you to qualify for extra business from city and state organizations, where contracts require proper liability insurance.

The average level of general liability insurance for your Event Planner business would be with a upper limit of $1 million for a single event and a total of $2 million for the whole year.

See the table in the costing section below for average prices of general liability insurance for your Event Planner insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Event Planner business

In the event where a customer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your Event Planner business for them, you can quickly be involved in a monetary claim.

Even if the lawsuit against you is judged in your favor, the cost of defense can be large, and the impact on your reputation can be damaging.

Every small Event Planner business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover an individual claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of Event Planner insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Event Planner operations.

Product liability insurance

Whatever goods you sell or advice you give about the goods, you are running a risk that clients may claim that what you delivered didn’t meet your description of function, or that your advice was basically incorrect.

You need to understand the specific laws of product liability in your own state.

For example, in California, all businesses in the supply chain can be held culpable for results caused by products claimed to be defective.

To cover yourself against any likely lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Event Planner

Only you can estimate exactly how much insurance you need.

Best advice is to talk to experienced insurance agents, brokers or company representatives for support.

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Event Planner business

Be careful! – practically all policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any occurrence like theft or accidental damage when the car is being used for business purposes.

The proper way to make sure that your vehicle is insured for both its own value, and the valuable contents, is by taking out a direct commercial vehicle insurance package.

Commercial truck policies cover the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

As well, in case of any accident, the car itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is guaranteed if your car is involved in a crash.

Most states, other than Virginia and New Hampshire, mandate this type of insurance.

The required value of the insurance depends on the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your requested level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your Event Planner business needs unique and expensive equipment, you can appreciate how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The gear may be subject to malicious damage, deliberate fire, theft, other such unexpected acts.

Also, acts of nature like lightning strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other highly damaging natural events can wipe-out your whole business in one stroke.

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such specific gear quickly out of your own pocket, you should have full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy any equipment needed to keep your Event Planner business running.

It is difficult to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s basically dependent on how much you have invested in your Event Planner business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any Event Planner business that owns or rents space in a building needs a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the building, you may already have a substantial capital investment, along with a big liability if there’s a mortgage.

Every physical building location must carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against accidental occurrences like fire and storms, and against criminal damages like theft and vandalism.

If your Event Planner business deals in areas of high risk, like California or South Carolina, additional coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Washington, where extreme cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of Event Planner business premises, there is a need for more extra cover than in warmer climes.

Whereas the level of cover depends entirely on the value of the property, it’s not possible to say what cover your need, but we have been able in the table in the cost of Event Planner insurance section below to give some idea of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Event Planner business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Event Planner business

Is your Event Planner business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business seasonal?

Using short-term insurance makes perfect sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for Event Planner – are special policies where you can cover a nominated period when you want to be covered.

By only paying for that period of cover, you will save by having less premiums but still having adequate risk cover.

The key feature of short-term insurance is that you purchase the cover for a defined period – a designated date, or a week or month starting on a specific date, for example for 30 days beginning on the specified date.

When you are expecting periods of larger business activity, get the existing cover improved.

Talk to your insurance agent, broker or the company’s representatives to see what options you have.

Business Owners Policy BOP for your Event Planner business

You have the option to combine most of the important kinds of small business insurance in one policy that is known as the business owner’s policy – BOP.

A BOP merges commercial property and public liability insurance by amalgamating these coverages into one insurance policy, which can save you money.

BOP insurance will shield you if any claims of injury or property damage are made.

It is frequently the right choice for small and medium-sized Event Planner businesses, such as yours.

There are a few limits that will rule whether BOP is suitable for your own business.

BOPs do not cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle cover.

Also, the size of your business will rule whether you are permitted to take out BOP cover.

The normal business that can take out a BOP policy must have fewer than one hundred employees, and under five million dollars in annual turnover.

As well, you must separately take out the mandated worker’s compensation, health and disability insurance as determined for your state.

Workers Compensation insurance for your Event Planner business employees

In many states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your Event Planner business has one or more employees.

Workers compensation insurance covers the operation against any costs that arise if any hired hand experiences an injury or becomes sick as a result of work.

The benefits provide for medical expenses, death benefits, lost wages, and vocational rehabilitation.

Failure to meet a state’s laws in this regard can leave you as the employer required to pay penalties levied by the states.

Some states, such as North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming only permit coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.

In these states, you can’t obtain your workers compensation obligations from private insurance corporations.

Workers compensation charges are calculated based on the employee’s pay, and usually come out at around $1.00 per $100 per month.

However, you must consult the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every Event Planner insurance level is unique, there are enough examples of usual quotes from insurance companies for us to give approximate guidelines, including what are the cheapest rates offered.

Of course, you should always check with a broker what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have researched for the main types of insurance your Event Planner businesses needs.

Cost of insurance for your Event Planner operations depends on many different factors.

We have reckoned these figures for small freelance Event Planner businesses.

In larger states like Texas, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, but in smaller states like Utah, they will be about 20%-30% lower.

The location and size and type of your Event Planner business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.

You should consult with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

Also you can let the internet do the work for you by looking for insurance companies near where your business is located.

Another reliable source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your city.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for Event Planner operations?

This is a general term used to describe common insurance policies designed to protect Event Planner business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my Event Planner business have to have insurance?

Some of the kinds of insurance are not mandatory for you to open your business, but they can protect you from risks in your business operations.

Certain other forms are required by state law, such as workers compensation and vehicle insurance.

What does a small Event Planner business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides coverage against lawsuits or claims filed by a third-party for bodily injury, property damage, or negligence.

The precise cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the best policies for Event Planner insurance.

How much will Event Planner business insurance cost?

In addition to the size of the business, several other factors, such as location and claims history, are used to determine your policy’s cost.

You should consult with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

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