Does Event Insurance Cover Performers if They Get Injured?

You’ve spent countless months planning every detail of your special event and have gone through the process of making sure you’re covered on all fronts, including insurance. While your event insurance offers you protection from possible damage to the venue caused by a vendor or guest and even bodily injury to your guests that you may be liable for, does event insurance cover your performers if they get injured or cause property damage?

The short answer is no.

Generally speaking, performers cannot be listed as additional insured under your policy and they are required to obtain their own liability coverage (you can’t purchase on their behalf).

What Performers Should Do To Ensure They Are Covered

Performers must obtain their own liability coverage. So if you’ve hired a band, DJ, magician, clowns, or any kind of entertainer, then you need to mitigate your exposure and make sure these performers have their own liability insurance. Performer insurance is a customized program that’s been designed with the performer in mind – protecting against bodily injury to the performer, as well as spectators and possible property damage to the performing premises.

High-risk performers like firework performers, pyrotechnic operations, high wire entertainers, stage hypnotists and those working with animals for entertainment purposes aren’t usually eligible under your standard liability insurance policy. Even athletic performers require more coverage when it comes to special events insurance. Be sure to consider this when deciding what kind of performer to hire for your special event.

Why Performers Should Buy Liability Insurance

If they don’t already know the importance of buying liability insurance for themselves, remind them that the cost of defending themselves and paying for a liability claim far outweighs the cost of purchasing liability insurance to begin with. For example, as a performer you are contracted to entertain at a music festival and the venue claims that you caused damage to their floor during setup. Performer insurance will cover the claims (within the limits of the policy, of course).

Not only does liability insurance cover the cost of possible damages, but it covers investigation and defense claims. Time is money in today’s fast paced world and these two processes can quickly add up to thousands of dollars in legal fees. Without liability insurance, you would be forced to use your own resources to cover the costs.

Best Event Insurance makes it easy for your performers to purchase their liability insurance. Once your policy has been secured, a separate link is provided that your performers can use to obtain their own coverage.

When the performers purchase through this link, your event or venue will automatically be named as an additional insured, ultimately protecting you from any liable mishaps caused by your performer. While purchasing liability insurance may not be the most fun detail of a performer’s appearance, ensuring you are both properly covered means you can enjoy the entertainment with peace of mind.