Charity event insurance

Charity event insurance is designed to protect organisations and attendees against financial and third-party risks during fundraising or one-off charity events. Events are an effective way of building public awareness while raising money for the causes that matter. But let’s face it – between bustling crowds, unpredictable weather and potentially “risky” activities, there’s also a lot that can go wrong on the day. Not only that, but events can be a significant investment, requiring substantial time, energy and money to ensure things run smoothly and donation opportunities are maximised.

With so much at risk, it’s likely that your charity will be looking for some sort of safety net to protect against any unexpected incidents – which is where charity events insurance comes in.

There may also be cover your charity is legally obligated to have regardless of the events you run, such as employers’ liability insurance.

Essentially, if something could go wrong, or there’s even the slightest risk that an event organiser, staff member, volunteer or service user could get sick or injured at your event, then it’s both your legal and moral obligation to ensure you’ve assessed the risks involved and arranged the appropriate cover for your charity.

Charity event insurance in the UK can vary depending on your insurer and individual requirements. However, at Endsleigh, we can usually provide cover for:

• Employers’ and public liability for multiple events
• Employers’ and public liability for one-off charity events
• Cancellation and disruption cover
• Adverse weather cover
• Cover for property and equipment during transit to, from and whilst at the event (including cover against loss, damage or theft)
• Liability for damage to venues – so if you’re renting a location for an event, you’ll be covered for damage to their property.

Public liability insurance for charity events in the UK is designed to cover charity event organisers against potential claims. Any event presents risks and these can be costly for event organisers if any claims are made. With our public liability insurance for charity events, you will be covered for the following:

• Accidental bodily injury to a member of the public
• Accidental death of a member of the public
• Accidental damage to third-party property
• Accidental loss to third-party property

Our charity events insurance includes public liability insurance as well as employers liability insurance which covers you against claims made by staff and volunteers.

All sorts!

Don’t worry if you’re running a slightly “unusual” event – our insurer partners are very flexible with the types of events they’ll cover - from larger outdoor events, to smaller ones in village halls. So even if you don’t see it listed below, get in touch to tell us more about what you’re planning and we’ll help you find the right cover.

Among other types of events, we can provide cover for:

• Sports events and tournaments
• Carnivals, festivals, summer fetes, fairs and open days
• Planting projects
• Craft fairs
• Raffles
• Bake sales (in fact, food events of any kind)
• Car boot sales / jumble sales
• Art shows and exhibits
• Auctions
• Concerts and galas
• Live performances (such as drama productions)
• Non-sporting competitions
• Casino nights and more!

It’s a good idea to arrange charity event insurance as soon as your charity signs a contract or starts investing money in an event, to protect any deposits or overlays.

We’ll aim to build an insurance solution that covers all of your charity events insurance needs without having to regularly get in touch with us – but if you do need to make a change to your policy, we’ll respond the same day and won’t charge administration fees for any transaction, including new business, mid-term or renewal.

While charity event insurance itself is not technically a legal requirement, there may be elements of cover your organisation is legally obligated to have.

Trustees have a legal duty to act in a charity’s best interests, especially in relation to the organisation’s assets, resources, service users, staff and volunteers.

For example, if you have employees, you are legally required to have at least £5 million employers’ liability insurance in place – and you could be fined as much as £2,500 for every day you are not properly insured.

Equally, some venues may even require you to have public liability insurance for events in place before they’ll allow you to hold your event on their premises. This is to protect your organisation if a member of the public claims against your business in certain circumstances. They should let you know when you book the venue if this is the case.

But even if you’re not required to have cover in place, it’s still important to assess, mitigate and insure against these risks, as this will protect your organisation from potentially costly third party compensation claims and ensure you’re always fulfilling your duty of care to staff, volunteers and service users.

Visit the government website to find out more about your charity’s legal obligations.

As many as you like – we can either provide  one off charity event insurance or cover for multiple charity events throughout the year as part of your combined insurance solution. So speak to us to build a policy that meets your requirements.

Or head to our charity insurance page to find out more about our full range of services.

No - stallholders, suppliers and exhibitors should have their own public liability cover in place for their activities at events, as this policy will only protect your charity’s assets and liabilities.

No - cancellation and curtailment will only be covered if you have to cancel your event due to insured incidents, such as a fire or flood at the venue. When getting an event cancellation insurance quote, you should make yourself aware of the insured incidents as a priority!