Most, if not all, non-profit organizations hold special events to help fundraise to continue their mission. These events, especially if they are held off-premises, require liabilty coverage for the organization. The unendorsed General Liability will not offer coverage to these events. Generally, this means that the organization must purchase a Special Event policy, which will provide liability protection to the organization for lawsuits arising from property damage and/or bodily injury during the event. The policies are separate from the General Liability policy and offer coverage limits specific for the event. The cost depends on the type of event, the number of participants and if alcohol is being served.
However, insurance carriers that specialize in non-profit organizations will include this coverage for a specified number of events, usually with a limit of participants (e.g. 2-3 special events per year, with less than 1000 attendees each). These companies will ask if you plan to hold events duting the underwriting process. They then can add the premium(if any) to their proposals, thus eliminating the uncertainty and hassle of finding coverage and the additional cost that a special event policy will produce.
When looking for insurance coverage for your non-profit organization, make sure your company includes special event coverage. if not, please give us a call, we can help.
