"No one expects the Spanish Inquisition"
No one expects the unexpected yet you have to plan for it. When I was planning our Health and Fitness Expo I called on Paul Cook for advice figuring out what exactly I needed coverage for and what policies covered what. I thought that everyone could benefit from his great advice so I’ve asked him to do a guest post on the topic of Risk.
This advice is not just applicable to the show/event organizer but to the exhibitor as well. Never assume someone else has you covered.
Guest Post by Paul Cook of Clarity Event Insurance
The exciting time is upon you as you know that your event is going to be fabulous. After all you are involved in its success.
To ensure that everything runs smoothly and is the event to remember here are some of our basic tips to help with your planning.
People – Are You Looking After Them?
Many organisers believe that the venue hired will automatically have insurance cover that they can rely on. Well I hate to say it but this is a myth.
The venue may well have its own insurance in place but that will be for its own accidents and not those that you as the coach could be responsible for.
So if you have an accident and one of your group of delegates becomes injured the problem will find its way to your door.
So here is what I suggest;
Ensure that you have a Public Liability (sorry for the jargon – it’s the insurance world speak) insurance policy in your name/company name.
Basically if there is an accident or injury caused to one of your delegates or someone from outside your group then you will have a policy to use. It is basically “people cover” at least it’s easier to remember it that way.
By the way some venues will not let you in to hold your event unless you can prove that you have Public Liability (people cover) insurance in your own name. So that could stop you even before you begin.
Once you have the insurance I suggest that you act as though you don’t have any safety net. This will mean that you take more care with the way that plan your event.
Put yourself in the place of your delegates and work through what you are asking them to do. Is there anything hazardous/dangerous that you need them to undertake? If there is think of how you can make it as safe as possible.
Don’t forget to tell your insurance company/broker about anything hazardous as they will need to know.
Kit (Equipment) – Is it Your Responsibility?
So now that you have your venue all lined up and the “people cover” in hand it would be wise to know if you have any responsibility to the equipment of the venue that you are using?
Do not assume anything again as this can leave you with problems. Ask the venue and make sure that they have the kit (equipment) insured and if they don’t then you need to take action and find some insurance.
This advice also applies to any kit that you may need to hire in for your event. Equipment hire companies will no doubt wish to see evidence of insurance before they release any kit into your control. They would be mad not to.
Remember also that you may need to insure the kit for the travel to and from the venue from the hire company so arrange for this to be covered.
Double check any equipment hire contract for any small print. What would happen for example if the kit you hired was damaged or stolen whilst in your control?
How much money could you end up having to pay out if that were to happen? Find out at the outset and make sure you understand all the requirements.
Money Money Money
So you have your people cover and you know what is needed on the equipment front; it is time to have a look at the final of our tips which is all about the money.
With any contract that you sign especially the venue one make sure that you understand what you are taking on. I have lost count of the number of times that event organisers have said they are ok because they can cover the deposit if it all goes wrong.
Well that may be the case but the deposit is only the start. What you need to be looking at is the overall amount payable that you have agreed to.
Have a look at the figure and establish if you can comfortably still pay this from your own funds if you need to. If you cannot then you might want to consider taking out a Cancellation Insurance policy (more jargon from the insurance world) but basically this is your money cover.
Now before you just go and buy a policy which covers just the venue costs I suggest that you add all the other expenses you have (AV hire, caterers, contractors, theming etc) and put all the expenses into the pot.
At this point you can approach your insurance company/broker to obtain quotations.
The (Cancellation insurance) money cover will help you but it is not there to be a financial guarantee.
So if you don’t have enough people attending your event the insurance policy will not make up the shortfall.
Right now some people are asking for Cancellation cover to include volcanic ash losses. Well for anyone applying now that will be a non –starter as we all know that the problem is there and can be seen by all.
It would be like asking for medical cover when you have a medical condition. So common sense needs to be applied. But do be aware of the relevance and importance of this cover.
As a catastrophe cover it is very useful. It is there to protect you from unforeseen problems that could cause your event to be cancelled/postponed or abandoned.
You might also want to think about how you are going to be paid if the event doesn’t go ahead. Keep thinking of the money when it comes to planning your session.
Summary
This has been a very basic and brief article on three fundamental areas for planning your event.
To make it simple just think along the areas of:
People
Kit (Equipment)
Money
and you will not go too far wrong.
Remember also that whilst insurance is useful it is not there to alleviate all the risk management planning that you need to be considering.
We hope these tips spur some other questions and that you have a great event(s).
About the Author
Paul Cook is an entrepreneur who has created and developed businesses specifically for the events industry. Clarity Event Insurance is his specialist event and media insurance brokerage and Planet Planit (follow on twitter @planetplanitbiz) is his internet publishing business. Planet Planit has in a very short space of time become the website for event planners everywhere to go to for event planning information.
Paul’s passion is connecting people and ideas. Through his businesses and his leadership in Meeting Professionals International he is a recognized industry figure known for his pragmatic, creative and common sense business approach.
Suggested Reading: Risk It! How to Run Great Events and Live with the Risk by Paul Cook (@planetplanitbiz) and Richard John available at Lulu.com
