Insurance for craft fair organizers

You control the dates, the aisles, the admission policy, and the contract with the hall, the church, the farm, or the city street. That is the event to describe: attendance, indoor or outdoor, setup hours, and whether you charge the public to enter. A free community market and a ticketed holiday show are different.

The venue's additional-insured wording should be copied exactly. A certificate is the document the hall uses to see that liability coverage is in place for your rental. It does not insure a potter's inventory, and it does not make you the insurer of every maker.

If you provide tables, power strips, and a volunteer at the door, say so. If makers bring their own tents to a field, say that too. Tent stakes and guy lines are a layout fact. Coverage options may include the grounds you describe.

Makers often ask the organizer for proof of insurance, and organizers often ask makers for the same thing. You can require participating vendors to carry liability and to name you and the hall. The Vendor Liability Program is one enrollment route when the show fits it. Food vendors, candle pouring, and any open flame may sit outside a simple enrollment. Describe those tables instead of hoping they look like jewelry booths.

Broken merchandise and shoplifting are usually the maker's problem unless your contract says you accepted responsibility. Do not write that promise into a vendor packet casually. Liability coverage is a poor substitute for a clear vendor agreement.

Demonstrations, such as a loom or a small kiln, should be named. A quiet sales table and a live demonstration with heat are not the same booth.

Farmers-market style craft days add wind, rain, and uneven ground. If your budget depends on the date not washing out, ask about weather and cancellation as separate options from liability. Weather coverage must be purchased at least 7 days before the event. A tent does not, by itself, answer that question.

City permits for a street closure are not insurance, and insurance is not a permit. If a municipality is an additional insured under the permit, add that name to the list you send us.

Load-in on a public street needs the same hours on the application as selling hours. Early morning is when vehicles and pedestrians mix.

A monthly market is a series, not one eternal policy, unless you have arranged coverage that way. Tell us if you want a single date quoted or a set of dates. Each date should still match the venue on that date. A move from the church hall to the county fairgrounds is a new description.

A written quote usually follows within a few hours on business days. Headcount and vendor count should be your best current figures. If the show sells out and you add a second room, tell us before the date.

Keep the vendor packet, the certificate, and the venue contract together. If a maker later asks what the certificate was for, you will want the same answer you gave the hall.