Churches host fall festivals, concerts, conferences, weddings, Vacation Bible School, fundraisers, community meals, and other special activities throughout the year. Some of these events may already be covered by the church’s General Liability policy. Others may require an endorsement or a separate Special Event policy.
The Austin Festival That Created an Insurance Problem
A small church in Austin planned a community fall festival in their parking lot. The members were excited to invite the community to the church and enjoy a day of festivities. The event included food trucks, live music, a rented inflatable, and several tents for games. Church members volunteered to paint faces, hand out prizes and minister to their neighbors.
But things didn’t completely go as planned.
During the festival, a visitor tripped over an extension cord near the stage and suffered a serious shoulder injury. Later that afternoon, a strong gust of wind tore loose one of the rented tents and damaged equipment belonging to a vendor.
What should have been a happy day full of great memories turned into an injury claim, a bill for damaged property, and the potential for lawsuits. Because the church’s leadership had not reviewed the event with its agent beforehand, the church was unclear about what would be covered by their current policies.
Event insurance was designed to prevent this sort of scenario from playing out at your church.
Coverages Provided by Event Insurance
Event Insurance is a broad term for coverage used to protect a church during a specific event. Depending on the size, location, activities, and contracts involved, the church may need one or several types of coverage.
- Event Liability: Event Liability helps protect the church from legal liability when a guest is injured or the event causes damage to someone else’s property. This may include slip-and-fall injuries, crowd-related accidents, damage to a rented venue, or claims caused by volunteers working at the event.
- Event Cancellation or Postponement: Cancellation coverage is designed to reimburse nonrefundable deposits and other expenses when an event must be canceled, postponed, or interrupted because of a covered cause. That may include severe weather, damage to the venue, loss of utilities, or the unexpected absence of a key speaker or performer. A voluntary decision to cancel because of low attendance, poor ticket sales, or a change in plans is generally not covered.
- Vendor Failure: Some policies may cover financial losses when a caterer, equipment rental company, musician, speaker, or other contracted vendor fails to perform. Coverage can vary significantly, so churches should not assume every vendor problem is included. The church should also require outside vendors to carry their own liability insurance, provide a Certificate of Insurance, and name the church as an additional insured when appropriate.
- Rented Equipment and Event Property: Coverage may be available for rented tents, tables, chairs, sound systems, lighting, decorations, generators, and other equipment used during the event. The church should confirm whether the policy pays for damage to rented property and whether deductibles or sublimits apply.
- Participant Accident Coverage: Event Liability protects the church when it is accused of causing an injury. Participant Accident coverage is different. It may provide limited medical benefits when a volunteer or participant is injured during a covered activity, even when the church was not negligent. This can be especially useful for camps, athletic events, mission activities, Vacation Bible School, and other events involving physical participation.
Church leaders need to review every event with their insurance agent before making deposits or signing contracts. The church’s General Liability policy may already cover some activities. Other larger, unusual, or higher-risk events may require an endorsement or separate policy.
When Does a Church Need Event Insurance?
A church may not need a separate policy for every fellowship meal or small gathering. Routine activities may already fall within the church’s normal General Liability coverage.
However, leadership should contact its insurance agent when an event involves:
- A large number of visitors
- Activities held away from church property
- Concerts, conferences, or ticketed events
- Inflatable attractions or amusement equipment
- Athletic competitions
- Food vendors or outside contractors
- Rented buildings or equipment
- Overnight activities
- Fireworks or other hazardous activities
The insurance company may approve the event under the existing policy, add an endorsement, or recommend a separate Special Event policy. Church leaders should never assume that every event is automatically covered simply because the church is sponsoring it.
Preparing for a Safer Church Event
Insurance can help after an accident, but strong planning can reduce the chance of one occurring. Before the event, church leaders need to:
- Assign one person to oversee safety
- Inspect walkways, parking areas, cords, tents, and equipment
- Create plans for severe weather and medical emergencies
- Confirm volunteer roles and supervision
- Review child check-in and release procedures
- Control access to restricted areas
- Confirm vendor insurance
- Provide adequate lighting and security
- Document incidents when they occur
- Report serious incidents to the insurance carrier promptly
The larger or more complicated the event becomes, the more important it is to put responsibilities in writing.
Is Your Church’s Next Event Protected?
A special event can change your church’s risk in a single day. Larger crowds, rented equipment, outside vendors, unfamiliar activities, and off-site locations may create exposures that your regular policy was never designed to cover.
Before the event begins, leadership should know what the church’s policy covers, what additional protection may be needed, and who is responsible if someone is injured or property is damaged.
True Texas Church Insurance helps churches review the event, contracts, vendors, location, and activities before problems arise. We help close coverage gaps so your church can focus on serving people without compromising the church’s mission