Insurance coverage requirements?

Ever have a venue dictate who your policy should cover?

Recently I was about to apply for a spot at an arts and crafts outdoor festival. Booth tents for vendors, and pay $40 for 10X10 space, etc. Seemed normal enough, but when I read their fine print on required insurance coverage, it said I needed to show proof of a 1 million dollar policy, and had to specifically name the town, the chamber of commerce, and all employees of the town and chamber in my policy, covering them and their actions durring the weekend of the show!

Huh? I can understand requiring a liability policy, but why should I have to have a unique, event-specific policy, and name all those unrelated persons to be covered by my policy??

Anyone ever encounter such a requirement?

The underwriters of your standard liability policy will be able to supply you with a certificate with specific names on it - sometimes for free, sometimes for a small charge. I encounter those requirements all the time, though for arts festivals it's less common. IME, some festivals don't even care about insurance coverage, some say you need to have it but don't go farther than that, and others require that they see the certificate before you set up. The same variety seems be applicable for tax certificates.

That seems pretty normal to me.

yep. we always have to name the venue in the certificate. business as usual. but as far as naming the entire town and all the employees...that sounds like a bit much.

As has been mentioned it's standard operating procedure. The more people at the festival the more likely it will be necessary. If there's alcohol at the venue then it's almost assured it will be necessary. What's the point of them confirming you are insured if they're not indemnified?

Fernando wrote in post #15866650
As has been mentioned it's standard operating procedure. The more people at the festival the more likely it will be necessary. If there's alcohol at the venue then it's almost assured it will be necessary. What's the point of them confirming you are insured if they're not indemnified?

Here's my worry: Someone who works for the town does something stupid two blocks away from my booth, and one or more people get hurt. The lawyers find out that I have said employee named/covered under my policy, and then I get dragged into a legal issue I had nothing to do with, only because I was forced to name all employees of the town on my policy as if they were employed by me.

This whole thing is probably why I'm not a lawyer . . .

"Here's my worry: Someone who works for the town does something stupid two blocks away from my booth, and one or more people get hurt. The lawyers find out that I have said employee named/covered under my policy, and then I get dragged into a legal issue I had nothing to do with, only because I was forced to name all employees of the town on my policy as if they were employed by me."

Don't worry - you're insured.

I think the technical term is "direct sphere of influence"

IOW, if someone gets hurt due to an action directly under your control, your coverage would come into play. However, as you suggest, if someone were to get hurt two blocks over, the "reasonable man" argument would say, um, no...

golfecho wrote in post #15865703
Ever have a venue dictate who your policy should cover?

Recently I was about to apply for a spot at an arts and crafts outdoor festival. Booth tents for vendors, and pay $40 for 10X10 space, etc. Seemed normal enough, but when I read their fine print on required insurance coverage, it said I needed to show proof of a 1 million dollar policy, and had to specifically name the town, the chamber of commerce, and all employees of the town and chamber in my policy, covering them and their actions durring the weekend of the show!

Huh? I can understand requiring a liability policy, but why should I have to have a unique, event-specific policy, and name all those unrelated persons to be covered by my policy??

Anyone ever encounter such a requirement?

Seems excessive to me. I've had to indemnify venue owners but never every employee of the venue, for instance, and certainly not "and their actions."

Speak to your agent about what really ought to be necessary. Your insurance company underwriters are certainly going to have their own idea of what they're willing to cover and how to word it.

Follow up:

I did not participate in the event. I decided that it was just not worth it. I went to this event last year, and then again this year (it just happened). The "new" event director was some self-annointed big shot who claimed she was bringing this event into step with the times. This year there were 50% or fewer vendors at the event. An of those who were there, many were the institutional sales variety (selling siding and other businesses). Overall, I saw a noticable if not dramatic down turn in artists/crafts vendors. There was not a single photographer vendor.

I did speak to a vendor from last year who did not attend this year, and the whole insurance requirement did not exist last year at all. I have no idea how much of this downturn was a result of the much more stringent requirements placed on the vendors than last year, or just the downturn in economic times.

I will look again next year and see if their requirements relax a bit.

golfecho wrote in post #15869029
Follow up:

I did not participate in the event. I decided that it was just not worth it. I went to this event last year, and then again this year (it just happened). The "new" event director was some self-annointed big shot who claimed she was bringing this event into step with the times. This year there were 50% or fewer vendors at the event. An of those who were there, many were the institutional sales variety (selling siding and other businesses). Overall, I saw a noticable if not dramatic down turn in artists/crafts vendors. There was not a single photographer vendor.

I did speak to a vendor from last year who did not attend this year, and the whole insurance requirement did not exist last year at all. I have no idea how much of this downturn was a result of the much more stringent requirements placed on the vendors than last year, or just the downturn in economic times.

I will look again next year and see if their requirements relax a bit.

Makes me wonder how many of those exhibitors weren't legit businesses and didn't have the proper licenses or insurance.

-F

$1 million is the minimum IMO, but some places here in vegas require you to have more.