What Is Event Insurance and Do I Need It?

What Is Event Insurance?

Event insurance is coverage you can buy to protect yourself financially when you're hosting a special event, such as a wedding, anniversary party or family reunion. Special event insurance may reimburse you for deposits and other losses if you're forced to cancel or postpone a special event for a covered reason. It can also help protect you from legal liability if someone is injured at your event and pay for damage to property during your event.

If you have to file a claim, you'll typically need to provide documentation of your expenses to be reimbursed. There may also be a deductible to pay before your event insurance coverage kicks in.

What Does Event Insurance Cover?

Special event insurance generally offers two types of coverage—event cancellation insurance and liability insurance—and typically covers private events including:

• Weddings
• Anniversary parties
• Baby showers or gender reveal parties
• Birthday parties
• Quinceañeras
• Anniversary parties
• Birthday parties
• Funeral services
• Family reunions
• Retirement parties
• Religious celebrations such as christenings, bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs

Event cancellation and liability insurance may be sold separately, or you may be required to buy one type of coverage to purchase the other.

Event Liability Insurance

Event liability insurance covers property damage or injury to people that occurs due to your event. For example, suppose a wedding guest trips and falls onto a table full of champagne glasses, breaking both the glasses and her arm. Event liability insurance would help pay for the guest's medical care and the cost of replacing the glassware. You can typically buy event liability insurance with or without liquor liability coverage for alcohol-related injuries or property damage.

Some event venues have their own liability insurance, but many require event hosts to buy their own. Even if your chosen venue has liability insurance, you should check to make sure there aren't any gaps that could require buying additional coverage.

Event Cancellation Insurance

Event cancellation insurance covers costs related to canceling, rescheduling or postponing your special event for covered reasons. Cancellation insurance usually covers natural disasters or unforeseen severe weather and the illness or injury of a key participant, such as a member of the wedding party.

In addition, event cancellation coverage typically reimburses nonrefundable deposits paid to a vendor who goes out of business or doesn't show up to the event, such as a florist, event planner, caterer or photographer. Some policies also cover the cost of finding last-minute replacements for these vendors.

Many event cancellation policies allow you to add coverage for situations like:

• The event organizer or other key participant being called to active military duty
• Canceling or postponing a honeymoon or destination event because of severe weather, illness or injury
• Damage to gifts or wedding clothes, such as the bride's dress or the attendants' tuxedos
• Damage to or loss of wedding photos
• Professional counseling for distress due to the cancellation

What Isn't Covered by Event Insurance?

Event insurance typically won't cover the following types of gatherings:

• Paid events such as concerts or business seminars
• Bachelor or bachelorette parties
• Sporting events
• Political events
• Events that involve firearms or explosives
• Events involving animals
• Sporting events
• Events featuring motorized vehicles such as planes, tractors or boats

Many event insurance policies also exclude:

• Voluntary event cancellation
• Pandemics or communicable diseases, such as coronavirus
• Damage to equipment rented from a company other than the venue

There may be other exclusions; carefully review the terms of any event insurance policy before purchasing.

Tip: Some event insurance covers voluntary cancellation. For example, WedSure offers "change of heart" coverage, and BriteCo offers "cancel for any reason" coverage, although coverage is more limited than with other types of cancellations.

How Much Is Event Insurance?

The price of event insurance typically starts at less than $100. The cost of event insurance coverage depends on the size of the guest list, duration of the event, total event budget and the amount and type of coverage you purchase.

The average wedding costs $33,000, according to 2024 data from wedding site The Knot, and other celebrations can easily cost that much or more. You could lose a lot of money if your event has to be canceled. As a host, you could also face legal liability if someone is injured. Given what's at stake financially, you may decide that spending a few hundred dollars on event insurance is worth the cost.

Tip: If you don't plan to serve liquor, skipping liquor liability coverage is generally an option that can save you some money on your premium.

Do I Need Event Insurance?

Some venues require hosts to purchase a certain amount of event liability insurance. You may even need to list the venue as a named insured on your policy. If your venue doesn't require liability insurance, there's no requirement to buy it. However, it's a good idea to check the venue's liability insurance and make sure it's adequate.

For events at your home, homeowners insurance or renters insurance typically covers liability and property damage. In addition to liability coverage, these policies generally include personal property coverage, which pays to replace or repair possessions that are stolen or damaged by a covered event. If someone absconds with a wedding gift or breaks your heirloom vase, for example, your renters or homeowners insurance usually covers it.

Homeowners insurance or your venue's liability insurance won't cover event cancellation. Whether to buy this coverage depends on your risk tolerance and budget. Checking your vendor contracts to see how much money a cancellation would cost you can help you make the decision. If you're planning a large event with dozens of vendors and hundreds of guests, purchasing event cancellation coverage could provide peace of mind.

Learn more: Is Wedding Insurance Worth It?

How to Get Event Insurance

To get event insurance, follow these steps:

1. Calculate your risk. Review your event expenses, deposits and vendor refund policies to determine how much coverage you need.
2. Check your existing coverage. Find out what's covered by your home or renters insurance, the venue, your vendors or even the credit cards you use to pay for event expenses. For instance, booking your honeymoon with a card that includes credit card travel insurance could cover some of the costs if your trip is canceled, interrupted or delayed.
3. Research your options. Your homeowners or renters insurance provider is a good starting point; if they sell event insurance, you might get a discount as an existing customer. Allstate, Geico, Progressive, Travelers and USAA are among the major insurance carriers that sell event insurance. You can also check coverage available through specialty insurance providers such as BriteCo, Eventsured, GatherGuard, WedSafe and WedSure.
4. Know when to buy. You can usually buy event insurance up to two years prior to the event; venues may require proof of insurance 30 days before your event. Generally, 14 or 15 days before your event is the latest you can buy coverage.
5. Choose your policy and pay the premium. Compare insurance quotes and select the best option. Unlike auto or home insurance, which charge ongoing premiums, buying special event insurance usually involves just one payment.

Tip: Not sure where to start your search for event insurance? Your event planner or venue staff may have a list of recommended insurance companies.

Learn more: Ways to Pay for Your Wedding

The Bottom Line

Unforeseen problems may derail your special celebration, but purchasing event insurance can help keep them from throwing your finances off track. If you are considering using a credit card or loan to finance your big event, Experian can match you with personal loan and credit card offers based on your credit profile.