Insurance for tabletop gaming events

A retailer hosting a launch weekend on its own floor may already have a business policy. That policy might or might not contemplate a crowd larger than a normal shopping day, or an event that spills into a rented extra room. Ask your current broker before you assume the Saturday event is included, and tell us if you want a special-event quote instead of or in addition to what you have.

A convention that rents a hotel or a hall is closer to any other public gathering. The contract will ask for a certificate and for additional insureds. Give us the rental dates, including the evening you set tables and the morning you strike them. Peak attendance and whether you sell badges both matter.

Volunteers who run tables are part of your event. They are not automatically insured just because they are unpaid. Describe the volunteer role. If a hotel employee is injured by a falling table you set up, that is a different fact pattern from a player who simply dislikes a ruling.

Many gaming weekends add a small dealer room or a flea market. Those sellers are businesses on your floor. Consider asking them to carry their own liability. The Vendor Liability Program is a possible enrollment path when it fits. It is not contents coverage for a suitcase of merchandise.

If you allow a food truck, a concession, or a cash bar, name it. The party that sells the food or alcohol should be identified. Coverage options may include host questions around hospitality and may treat a third-party bar differently from a bar you operate. Do not leave hospitality out because the theme of the weekend is games.

Miniature painting, costume meetups, and charity auctions can be part of the same badge. Mention them in a sentence. They rarely change the whole picture, but an auction of high-value items or a costume event with props can. Follow the building's rules on props.

Some conventions run nearly around the clock. Sleeping in the hall, if you allow it, is something the hotel may forbid and something you must disclose if it happens. A quote that assumes a daytime tournament does not describe an overnight camp on the ballroom floor.

Hotel contracts often assign you responsibility for damage to the room caused by your group, subject to the lease. Liability coverage and a damage deposit are not the same tool. Read the lease for which parties want to be additional insureds, and send those names.

If you take over a connected set of meeting rooms, say how many and whether hallways remain public. Public corridors are not always yours to control, and a queue in a hallway may need the hotel's permission.

Volunteer-run conventions sometimes have a modest treasury and a large hotel deposit. Cancellation coverage is worth a conversation when that deposit, or badge revenue you would have to refund, would hurt the club. Coverage options may include cancellation. They are not a fit for every small game night, and you can say if you only need liability.

A written quote usually follows within a few hours on business days. There is no price on this page because the room, the attendance, and the activities drive the quote. A twelve-person league night is not priced like a three-day public convention by any flat rule published here.

If the event is outdoors, including a picnic after the tournament, mention it. Weather coverage must be purchased at least 7 days before the event when that option is in play.