Let's say you are one of the vendor's at an Oktoberfest festival or event. How do protect your business from the typical mishaps that occur at a festival? Can't think of any examples on how your business would be at risk for a pesky two day festival? Here are a few of the top claims that occur from these events:
1.) WEATHER - We can't control it and sometimes, it doesn't cooperate. You can control this financial risk by getting weather insurance for an event. Whether it's snow, rain, adverse weather, wind, event cancellation, these types of perils are all insurable. If you were a food vendor and purchased thousands of sausages for an Oktoberfest event only to find out that the event was cancelled....how would you recoup your cost? Because let's be honest, where else are you going to need thousands of sausages?
2.) LIQUOR CLAIMS - The vendors serving beer can control how much a festival attendee drinks on site. But the unfortunate thing is, most eager festival attendees pre-party. And vendors that are serving alcohol typically don't know how much they've had prior to coming to the event. If a person at the event gets in a fight, breaks a stores window, or drives off and gets in an accident, the person who served the patron could be sued for the damages. Make sure that your business is covered by purchasing Liquor Liability if you are in the business of serving alcohol to event goers. If you are not a bar, tavern, liquor store, etc., you still have an exposure if liquor is being served on your site. In order to properly protect your business, purchase host liquor liability, a type of policy tailored to someone who is not in the business of alcohol sales, production, or service, but who needs liability coverage for hosting the event. Liquor liability is normally excluded on all general liability policies unless requested to be included by your agent.
3.) SLIP AND FALLS - This is one of the most typical claim that pops up at events. Someone trips over uneven payment or a curb...or an extension cord that is helping power one of the vendors stands. If you are hosting the event, make sure a solid safety procedure is in place for events such as Oktoberfest. All vendors should be required to sign off on a safety manual prior to setting up shop. Everything from security, to sanitation, to crowd management, to first aid protocol should be covered in this document. Whether you have EMS services on stand-by, have a standing first aid station, or both, make sure vendors know who to call or what to do if someone trips and falls or an unfortunate emergency occurs.
4.) VANDALISM - Anyone remember an old cheer? Let's get a little bit rowdy, R-O-W-D-Y! This is exactly what happens when you cram a bunch of people drinking alcoholic beverages into a roped off concrete street. Sounds like fun, right?! Not if you're a local store that gets it's window broken by a few rowdy festival goers. If you're a local business owner and know a festival is coming up in the near future, it may be smart to double check your insurance policy to confirm what your glass deductible is let alone your property/general liability deductible. Secondly, look around the store, do a quick estimated value total for all property in the store and check that against what your business personal property limit is on your current policy. Most business owners don't have time to update their policies every year so making sure that limit is adequate saves a lot of headaches down the road.
In short, it pays to be prepared. Don't gamble on a two day festival by not protecting your business properly. If your current general liability policies doesn't cover specific events, such as an Oktoberfest, secure event insurance. It's cheap, easy to obtain and protects against most, if not all of the perils, listed above! Happy Oktoberfest month!
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