Vendor Liability Insurance Guide
Be confident you have the right protection in place for your business.
What Does Vendor Liability Insurance Cover?
Vendor liability insurance covers accidents involving you, your business, or your booth when attending events (including during set-up and take-down, depending on your policy length).
It’s meant to help you cover the cost of medical bills, legal fees, repair costs, and more so you can handle claims with ease and keep your business running smoothly.
Vendor insurance is most commonly used to cover:
- Artists & Crafters
- Beauty & Body Services
- Booths & Kiosks
- Concessions & Caterers
- DJs & Performers
- Exhibitors
- Food & Beverage VendorsLiquor Services
- Mobile & Virtual Vendors
- Photographers
- Special Event Vendors
- Videographers
General Liability
General Liability helps cover injuries and damages caused by your business operations, typically while occupying a stall or booth space, working at an event, or running a mobile business.
This is the most popular vendor liability insurance coverage since it can cover most of the common claims you face at events and shows, such as:
- A sudden gust of wind blowing your tent into another booth
- Your equipment scratching the floor of a venue
- A customer tripping over part of your setup
- Your electrical short circuits and cuts power to the whole event
Vendors are often required to have general liability insurance before being accepted into an event because of its broad coverage. However, it is important to note that it is not all-inclusive.
Like most vendor coverages, general liability is third-party insurance—meaning it could only cover claims you or your business cause to other entities. Accidents that happen to your business, like theft or damage, could only be covered by a first-party coverage like Inland Marine (available on annual policies).
Damage to Premises Rented to You
You likely know that working as a vendor means working on property, at locations, or in buildings that do not belong to you. That’s why you need Damage to Premises Rented to You.
This coverage can help with:
- Accidental damages to a rented or leased space
- Fire damage in a rental property
- The cost to repair or replace damaged property
It only takes a few seconds for something to be scratched, dented, shattered, or damaged. Often these types of accidents happen while moving equipment and supplies in and out of a venue or setting up a space.
Damage to Rented Premises coverage can only apply to physical locations and items belonging to that location, not loaned property like rental equipment. You could be covered if you accidentally break something like a light fixture or a printer in the space you’re renting.*
*If you opt for a policy longer than seven days, only fire damage can be covered after the seventh day.
Medical Expense Limit
Medical Expense Limit is known as a “no-fault” coverage because it helps cover the cost of medical bills for someone injured in an accident related to your business, regardless of who is at fault.
If someone tripped over their friend’s bag on the ground and hit their head on your table, your insurance could still help cover the cost of their medical treatment. Even though their injury wasn’t your fault, the accident happened in front of your booth, so you’re covered.
The Medical Expense Limit could be used to pay for:
- Cost of medical care or treatment
- Prescriptions and medication
- Emergency room visits
- Surgeries
- Scans or tests
- Rehabilitation or physical therapy
- Funeral expenses
- Loss of income due to the injury
This coverage allows you to help care for injured patrons or customers without paying for it with business or personal funds. It’s like a medical savings account reserved for accidents involving third parties.
Vendor insurance starts at $49/event. Learn more about the cost of vendor insurance today.
Additional Insureds for Vendor Liability Insurance Policies
When preparing to attend an event that requires insurance, it’s common to have someone ask to be added (or “named”) as an additional insured on your policy. Luckily, we offer unlimited additional insureds on vendor policies so you can add as many as you need!
What is an Additional Insured?
An additional insured is a person, business, or entity that could be covered by your policy. Your vendor insurance can help cover the costs for all named parties that result from an accident for which you are liable.
Other people can take on risks by working with you, accepting you for an event, or contracting business with you. No one wants to be responsible for claims, bills, repairs, or lawsuits because of a mistake you are responsible for, so you can add them as an additional insured to help offset that responsibility.
By naming a third party on your policy, you are extending your coverage to them in the case of a claim or accident caused by your business. If someone is hurt or property is damaged and more than one person can be named in a lawsuit, additional insured status comes into play.
Who Can Be an Additional Insured?
An additional insured can be a:
- Venue
- Event
- Planner
- Business
- City
- Retailer
- Landlord
Annual Vendor Insurance Policies
Do you attend multiple events throughout the year? You would benefit from having an annual vendor insurance policy!
Annual plans can:
- Eliminate the need to buy more than one short-term policy
- Include more coverages and insurance protection
- Give you the option to insure your gear and equipment
- Cover you for an unlimited number of events per year
- Help you customize your coverage and increase limits
Most of our annual vendor policies include coverage for Products and Completed Operations and Personal and Advertising Injury, with the ability to add optional extra coverage to your plan.
Products and Completed Operations
If you create, manufacture, wholesale, distribute, retail, or use products, Products and Completed Operations is a great protection to have!
Product insurance can help you cover the cost of injuries and damages caused by products you sell or use as part of your business, like:
- Damage to a customer’s property
- Cuts, burns, or bruises
- Illnesses or allergic reactions
- Manufacturing defects
- Mislabeling or improper labeling
- Art, crafts, and decor
- Beauty and cosmetic products
- Cleaning or repairing supplies
- Clothing and accessories
- Food and beverages
- Pamphlets and handouts
- Photo books and prints
- Vitamins and supplements
*Excludes injuries or damages from children’s toys or products, and injuries or damages that occur during or after installations.
Personal and Advertising Injury
Personal and Advertising Injury helps you cover the cost of claims from infringing on a person or business’s rights, like:
- Copyrighted materials
- Intellectual property
- Misuse of advertising materials
- Libel or slander
- Invasion of privacy
- False arrest or imprisonment
This can all sound confusing or complex, so let’s break it down with some examples.
- Someone sees your artwork on display at a festival and claims you copied their work, so they sue you for copyright reasons.
- A photographer at an event took photos of you and you use them on your site and social media ads. The photographer is suing you for misusing their photos without payment or permission.
- You think someone stole items from your booth, so you tried to hold them at the venue until authorities arrived. They are suing you for false imprisonment.
No one plans for situations like this to happen. That’s why having Personal and Advertising Injury coverage on your policy is a good idea!
Products and Completed Operations
Equipment and Inventory (Inland Marine): Equipment and Inventory insurance safeguards items you use in your business against theft and damages. It could help you pay to repair broken equipment or replace stolen gear. It also covers your product inventory and the supplies you use to make handmade items.
Cyber Liability (Data Breach Protection): Cyber Liability helps you and your customers recover from a cyber attack on your business, like a data breach or ransomware. It can help you notify customers and recover stolen funds or private information.
Professional Liability: Professional Liability helps you pay for injuries or damages resulting from professional advice or services you offer. It can also help cover a breach of contract where you cannot deliver a product or service you previously agreed to. This coverage may be included on some plans or offered as an optional add-on.
Product Liability: Product Liability is similar to Products and Completed Operations—it helps pay for injuries or damages caused by the products you make, distribute, or sell. It is not included in every policy, so you will need to purchase a separate Product Liability plan to have coverage.
Learn more about what vendor insurance is and how it can benefit you.
Annual Vendor Insurance Policies
A Certificate of Insurance for a vendor is a document that proves you have insurance coverage by outlining your policy information and coverage details.
It can be required by venues, event planners, or potential business partners who need to see proof of insurance before allowing you to work with them. You can download as many certificates as you need for free from your online dashboard to use as proof of insurance.
No. General liability policies do not cover liability claims involving alcohol-related accidents. If your business sells, serves, or furnishes alcohol, you need a liquor liability insurance policy to cover the cost of those claims. It is for this reason that Insurance Canopy provides plans that include both general and liquor liability policies, so your business can have the coverage it needs regardless of the nature of the accident.
JoAnne Hammer | Insurance Canopy Program Manager, Certified Insurance Counselor
JoAnne’s 29 years of industry experience make her unmatched in the small business insurance space. She reviewed this page and gave it her stamp of approval so you can know it’s certified by a pro.
