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Events and production
Event organiser public liability insurance pays compensation and legal costs if someone is injured or their property is damaged because of your event. It matters because venues usually require it and a single injury claim can outlast the event by years.
Part of: Event organisers' insurance
In short
Public liability is not compulsory, but most venues, councils and landowners require it before they will let you run an event. It covers injury to attendees and the public, and damage to third-party property, where you are legally liable. Claims usually turn on whether you took reasonable care, so risk assessments, contractor checks and records matter. Hazardous activities, damage to hired premises, your own equipment and contractual indemnities are common gaps. Contractors should carry their own cover. All cover is subject to the insurer's acceptance and the policy terms.
Public liability insurance pays compensation and legal costs if someone who is not your employee is injured, or their property is damaged, because of your event and you are legally liable. For organisers that means attendees, exhibitors, performers who are not employed by you, neighbours and passers-by.
Typical claims are trips over cables or uneven ground, falls from temporary staging, crowd surges, injuries from falling structures or signage, and damage to a venue's floors, walls or fittings. A policy usually pays the claimant's damages and their legal costs if you are found liable, and your own defence costs, up to the limit of indemnity and subject to the excess.
Public liability is not compulsory by law, but venues, councils and landowners commonly make it a condition of hire. See public liability insurance for how the cover works generally, and what public liability does not cover.
Most injury claims at events are brought in negligence or under the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957. Section 2 of the Act says an occupier owes visitors the common duty of care: to take such care as is reasonable in all the circumstances to see that visitors are reasonably safe for the purposes they are there.
Health and safety law also applies. Flintshire County Council's event safety guidance notes that organisers have a general duty to protect employees, volunteers and spectators so far as reasonably practicable. Our page on the Occupiers' Liability Acts covers the detail.
The Purple Guide is the industry's main reference on health, safety and welfare at music and other events. According to the Purple Guide's own site, it was originally published by the Health and Safety Executive and the Events Industry Forum took over its publication in 2012. It is guidance, not law, and is available by subscription.
Insurers, venues and local authorities often ask whether your planning follows recognised good practice. In practice that usually means a written risk assessment, an event management plan for larger events, a site plan, stewarding and first aid arrangements, and records of contractor checks. For a liability insurer these documents show how you reduce the chance of a claim; for a court they can be evidence that you took reasonable care.
Keep them. Injury claims can arrive long after the event, and an organiser who can produce the risk assessment, briefing notes and inspection records is in a far stronger position.
Venues and landowners commonly ask organisers for:
Read the indemnity clause before you sign. A promise to indemnify the venue for all claims however caused may go further than your policy's contractual liability cover. Under section 2 of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, a business cannot exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, and other exclusions of negligence liability must be reasonable. See venue hire insurance requirements and when a contract requires public liability.
Organisers are often blamed for things their contractors did. Check what each party carries before the event, not after a claim.
| Who | Cover they should usually have | What to collect |
|---|---|---|
| Staging, structures, marquees and electrics | Public liability, and employers' liability for their staff | Certificates, method statements and sign-off on completion |
| Caterers and food traders | Public and products liability | Certificates and local authority food hygiene registration details |
| Security and stewarding firms | Public liability and employers' liability, often with wrongful arrest cover | Certificates and licensing details; see event security insurance |
| Inflatables and rides | Public liability covering the specific equipment | Certificates and inspection records |
| Volunteers | Usually your own policies | Check your employers' and public liability wordings treat volunteers as insured |
Volunteers can count as employees for employers' liability purposes, depending on the arrangement, so ask how your policy treats them. See employers' liability insurance. For inflatables, see inflatable play equipment safety.
Illustrative: at a charity fun run a marshal's gazebo blows over and cuts a spectator's head. The organiser's public liability policy responds, but the insurer asks for the risk assessment, the weather plan and evidence the gazebo was weighted to the supplier's instructions. Good records make that conversation short.
Apex arranges insurance for events and film and TV production. A broker reads each enquiry and comes back with options, with no fee for a quote; cover is subject to the insurer's acceptance and the policy terms. To quote we need your business activities, turnover, location and claims history, plus the event type, dates, venue, expected attendance, any hazardous activities, the contractors you use and any limit the venue requires.
See also event organisers' insurance and Martyn's Law, event cancellation insurance and festival insurance.
It is not a legal requirement, but most venues, councils and landowners make it a condition of hire, and without it you would pay injury and damage claims yourself. Organisers owe a duty of care to attendees and the public, and claims can arise from trips, falling structures or crowd problems.
It depends on the event and on what the venue or landowner requires in the hire agreement. Check the contract before buying, because the required limit is usually stated there. Larger events, hazardous activities and public sites tend to attract higher requirements.
Usually not for their own negligence. Contractors such as staging firms, caterers and security companies should carry their own public liability, and employers' liability for their staff. Collect their certificates before the event and check their policies cover the work they are doing for you.
The Purple Guide is guidance on health, safety and welfare at music and other events, published by the Events Industry Forum. It is not law, but venues, councils and insurers often expect organisers to plan in line with recognised good practice, and it can help show you took reasonable care.
It depends on the wording. Volunteers may be treated as employees for employers' liability purposes, or as members of the public under public liability. Tell the insurer you use volunteers and check that both policies treat them as covered for the tasks they will do.
Tell us what your business does, your turnover and any claims. A broker reads every enquiry and comes back with options. No fee for a quote. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Start a commercial enquiry Request a callbackApex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information, not advice on your individual circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.
