What if this happened at your event…
A stage collapses on the front row of an audience causing many injuries, some permanent. Estimated damages from lawsuits are at over $1,000,000. The event organiser is found partly liable for these claims and will have to contribute at least 50% to the final payout.
What is Public Liability?
Public liability insurance covers your legal liability to compensate third parties for personal injury or property damage caused by an incident in connection with your activities. Public liability insurance also covers the legal costs associated with the defence of any legal actions.
Public liability insurance can be taken out for one-off special events including music festivals, dance parties, under 18 discos, corporate & private functions, community festivals and events.
Public Liability Insurance
Public Liability Insurance will almost certainly be required for your event. Firstly, check with the venue of your event to see what their conditions of hire or use state regarding public liability insurance (PLI). They may require a basic level of PLI but the nature of your event may also require higher levels of insurance.
Venue managers maintain their own insurance but this only covers the venue operator and does not normally extend to protect the liability of groups or organisers using the venue.
If you are organizing an outdoor event then it is likely your organisation will need to take out public liability insurance, particularly if your event is to be held on council or public land.
Often the owner of land you are hiring will require that your organisation has public liability insurance of at least $10 million. Some councils and other bodies may also ask you to list them in your policy as an ‘interested party’ and will request a copy of the policy before giving permission to hold your event. Your organisation should not ignore these requirements.
Do I need other kinds of insurance for my event?
If your organisation is booking amusements or other entertainment for an event, ask for a copy of that entertainer’s current public liability policy before the event. You can protect the interests of your organisation by requiring that your event entertainers and other vendors or suppliers have their own public liability insurance. Even small stall holders should have their own public liability insurance.
There may be a range of other insurances that your organisation will be required to get or will need to consider:
- if selling food or other products to the public you may need product liability insurance;
- if you are relying on volunteers to help you with the event you should consider personal accident (volunteers) insurance;
- if you are hiring employees to help you with the event then you will definitely need workers compensation insurance (WorkSafe Injury Insurance).
- if you are hiring security services, use licensed security personnel that hold their own public liability insurance.
If you are running an event for profit or as a fundraiser you may want to consider insurance that will protect your organisation against financial loss in case of cancellation. You should also consider industry-specific risks such as cancellation or non-appearance of performers. Cancellation/Non-appearance Insurance is designed to protect event organisers, promoters or sponsors against cancellation, abandonment, postponement, interruption or relocation of their event.
For more information about insurance, see the Guide: Insurance and risk management for Victorian community organizations.
How do I find the right insurance for my event?
If you are not already using an insurance company, then ask contacts in the event industry or your suppliers which insurance company they use for insuring themselves for public liability or property for events. There are some specialist insurance brokers for the entertainment and events industry or your own insurance company may be able to arrange insurance to meet your event’s specific requirements.
