Why do event planners need insurance?
What insurance is available for event organisers?
There are two main types of insurance for event organisers to consider – business insurance for day-to-day risks, such as chance cyber-attacks, and event insurance for the individual events you commission. Specialist event cover can protect an event organiser from a range of common risks in the field, such as unexpected cancellation.
The below covers relate to our specialist event insurance while the following ‘insurance for your business’ section explains our business policies.
Insurance for your event
Your event organiser business might specialise in conferences, exhibitions, one-off special events or charity fundraisers – either way, we can help to source appropriate cover. If it’s overseas, then our event travel insurance can provide employee replacement cover, for instance. For private parties, it’s helpful to have generous liability insurance in case of accidents. Conference organisers can even cover projected profits. In the events industry, the occasion itself can bring risks you may not face in the course of day-to-day operations, so we can help to tailor cover for the unique nature of your event.
These are just some of the types of business insurance for event and wedding organisers that we can offer. We can provide other specific types of cover and build them into a policy that’s tailored to the exact needs of your business.
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Insurance for your business
Professional indemnity insurance
The work of an event organiser involves coordinating several parties at any one time, so insurance to mitigate mistakes can provide welcome reassurance. Your client might claim their wellness event was ruined because your catering contractor didn’t deliver the agreed menu, resulting in attendee complaints. Professional indemnity cover can help with the financial implications of compensation claims such as this and also legal action if someone says you, or a contractor has made an error. We also cover breach of contract as standard with our tailored PI cover for your sector which may offer additional reassurance.
Public liability insurance
Professional event organisers work closely with people on a regular basis, so public liability insurance may be considered a key type of cover for this role. When you’re tasked with organising an inaugural charity fundraiser on a public field, the setup has to be carefully managed. Unfortunately, a dog walker falls over a stray flagpole and decides to start legal proceedings. Public liability cover can step in to assist with the cost of defending or settling claims of injury or damage to personal property.
Employers’ liability insurance
During busier periods in your event calendar, it’s impossible for you to manage the workload on your own. You decide to welcome assistance during this time to share tasks and ensure the smooth running of every conference, ball and tournament. When you do so, employers’ liability cover might become a legal requirement (external link). This helps to cover your business for compensation claims if a paid employee or volunteer becomes ill or injured in the context of their work.
Insurance for event organisers: FAQs
What insurance does an event organiser need?
As an event organiser, you’ll often find you need two types of insurance – business insurance for the everyday risks any company or self-employed professional might encounter, plus event insurance to cover specific problems that can surround events.
Business insurance can cover an event organiser for issues such as client complaints and risks to employees – for instance, if an assistant claims they’ve been injured at the office. It can’t, however, help if you need to cancel an event – for this, event organisers need specific event insurance.
Event insurance also helps to underwrite a range of risks that might become more pronounced during the events you organise. This might be the case if, for instance, you normally work in a small office with 10 employees but need to contract a 100-strong team of temporary staff for an exhibition.
How much does event management insurance cost?
Business insurance quotes with Hiscox start at just £7.85 a month* – how much your event management cover will cost depends on the cover you select and the policy limits you set.
For instance, a corporate wellness event manager may benefit from setting a larger limit of professional indemnity insurance. This could safeguard against a client claiming a massage therapist you hired made a mistake, which also cost them business.
Discover more about what to consider when looking how much business insurance will cost you as an event planner.
*Figures based on an average of all business insurance policies sold to at least 10% of our customer base between January 2025 and January 2026.
Does event planner insurance insure the event too?
Business insurance for event and wedding planners can cover a range of problems which may surface at an event, such as guest injuries.
Event insurance is a separate policy, however – it’s designed to underwrite specific conferences, exhibitions, sporting or charity events.
This product covers risks such as cancellation, the non-appearance of a key person or speaker and can come with a range of add-ons for international travel. Some professional event planners choose to purchase this in addition to their standard business insurance.
Do I need multiple event insurance?
You’re likely to oversee several events per year so you may benefit from event organiser insurance. However, you might also want multiple event insurance which is separate to a tailored planner policy.
Your event management cover can be built to include protection against public liability risks, however, there are also other potential stumbling blocks when running a number of events.
This includes the increased possibility of multiple cancellations, adverse weather or even unexpected venue closures.
Hiscox is part of the leading event industry associations, including the AEO, ABPCO, EVCOM and ICCA – that’s why we provide flexible insurance options to meet your needs.
Related articles and guides
What is a public liability certificate?
Public liability insurance is sometimes considered a key cover for event organisers – learn about the accompanying certificate with our guide.
Using social media for your business
In events, inspiration is part of what you sell. Learn how to use social media to build a brand and gain connections with our guide.
Volunteer accident: Claims story
In event management, organisers often need to lean on support from volunteers – discover how insurance can assist a planner with this claims story.