By now, most event planners have heard the buzz surrounding event insurance. Sure, you know it exists, but do you really know what event insurance can do for your clients (and ultimately for you)?
Markel Event Insurance has been the leader in one-day event and wedding insurance for more than 10 years, and can help clear up some of the confusion for you.
There are typically two types of event insurance coverage—event liability and event cancellation.
More and more venues have been requiring that their clients carry event liability insurance. This coverage not only provides a way for the venue to recover money for damages that occur during your client's event, but it also adds a layer of liability protection for the venue. The coverage is typically primary over any other insurance protection, which means that if a covered claim occurs at your client's event, the client's one-day event liability insurance policy will pay first—before any other insurance policy.
Examples of situations that would be covered under an event liability policy would be damage to reception hall furnishings such as couches, mirrors, coffee tables—even toilets and landscaping. The event host would also be protected if someone slips, falls, or suffers an injury at the event venue because of the event host's negligence. Or, worse yet, your client would be protected from the ultimate unfortunate liability claim of an over-served wedding guest being involved in an auto accident on the way home.
The second type of coverage is event cancellation insurance. Photographers go missing the day of the event, gifts get stolen, and hurricanes can ruin a perfectly planned event. Event cancellation insurance protects clients if they need to cancel or postpone their event because of unforeseen circumstances.
"We've seen cancellation insurance claims as crazy as photographers closing their doors after the wedding and disappearing with the photos, dogs chewing up wedding dresses the day before the wedding, and venues scheduling multiple weddings on the same day," said Kerri Nguyen, marketing director for Markel Event Insurance.
Imagine if that happened with a reception venue, photographer, or florist that you referred to your client—your reputation could disappear along with your client's deposit money. Event cancellation insurance would help reimburse your clients for some of these costs and could make your life a little bit easier should the unexpected occur at one of your clients' events.
Event planners are often focused on the planning and executing a flawless event, yet sometimes situations arise that no one could have foreseen. By recommending that your clients turn to an event insurance provider for added insurance protection, you could save your client some headaches, and possibly your own reputation as well.
Markel Event Insurance is the industry’s leading event insurance provider, offering both event liability and event cancellation protection for weddings, retirement parties, business meetings, nonprofit functions, and more. Policies start as low as $75. Learn more about Markel Event Insurance, including how Markel is an easy and affordable insurance solution for your clients, at markeleventinsurance.com/planner.
