Styling · venue · subcontractors
Liability insurance for a wedding organiser
A wedding day happens once and cannot be repeated. That makes the emotional weight great, but in insurance terms all that counts is whether there is injury or damage to property — and who made the mistake.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Aansprakelijkheidsverzekering voor een bruiloftorganisatie.
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The calculator and the quote form below are in Dutch. Prefer to do this in English? Email info@finassverzekert.nl or call 072 - 509 24 56 and we will take it from there.
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- We compare the offerings of several insurers
- An adviser checks whether the cover suits your activities
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
Public and employers' liability insurance (AVB) pays for injury and property damage caused by you or your staff. In organising weddings that risk lies mainly in the styling and the set-up: an arch that falls over, candles that set a tablecloth alight, a floral arrangement that falls from a staircase, a guest who trips over the edge of a carpet or an extension lead. Venues, castles and country estates therefore almost always ask for a certificate of insurance before you are allowed to set up.
The second point to note is the venue itself. If you hire the hall or the grounds in your own name, you are the hirer and you need tenant's liability for fire and water damage to the premises hired. If you fix anything to walls, ceilings or listed features, you also run into the care, custody and control exclusion: the part of the building you are working on is in your care and damage to it is not covered as standard.
The third point is the chain of suppliers. You hire in caterers, DJs, photographers and hire companies, but the couple has one contract: the one with you. Under Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code you can be liable for the mistakes of non-subordinates carrying out your assignment. Record by contract that every supplier has cover of its own and ask for that evidence every year.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB).
Where a wedding day comes unstuck
Four points that determine whether losses around a wedding fall within the cover.
Candles, fire pits and mood lighting
Naked flames are the most common cause of major losses at a wedding venue. Many policies have a separate clause or a exclusionfor this, and the venue imposes requirements in its house rules. Declare the use of naked flames, fire pits and pyrotechnic effects to your insurer in advance and record in writing who supervises during and after the party.
Cancellation is not a liability loss
If the day does not go ahead because of weather, illness or a venue dropping out, the loss is pure financial loss and is not covered on the AVB. The same applies to a planning error that causes the couple to incur costs. For the cancellation risk there is events insurance; for errors in organisation and advice there is professional indemnity insurance.
Hired furniture, crockery and props
Chairs, marquees, sound equipment, linen and crockery you hire in and have in your care until they are returned. Damage to them falls under the care, custody and control exclusion, while the hire company will hold you responsible for it all the same. Ask for care, custody and control cover or leave the risk with the hire company by contract; check the provision on items missing afterwards as well, because theft is a separate matter.
Food, drink and the catering
If you provide the catering yourself or under your own name, product liability comes into play in the case of food poisoning; check that this section is included or whether a separate product liability insurance is needed. If you buy the catering in from a third party, record that that party is insured itself and that you are only acting as an agent.
What does your premium depend on?
- Number of weddings per year — and the average number of guests
- Setting up yourself or subcontracting — doing the assembly yourself raises the risk
- Outdoor venues and marquees — wind and ground conditions are a factor of their own
- Naked flames and decorative lighting — requires the insurer's agreement
- Wage bill and hiring in — permanent staff, casual workers and freelancers
- Sum insured and excess — venues often set a minimum for this
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is why comparing pays off.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| A guest trips over an extension lead your team laid alongside the dance floor | Yes | No |
| A candle sets a tablecloth and the hall's curtain alight | Provided that | No |
| Guests fall ill from the catering you provided under your own name | Provided that | No |
| You apply for the licence for the outdoor part too late and the party has to move inside | No | Yes |
| The wedding car you arranged does not turn up and the couple miss the ceremony | No | Yes |
| The couple demand their costs back after the day did not go ahead because of a storm | No | No |
Errors in the organisation belong with the BAV, losses on the day itself with the AVB, and the risk of the day not going ahead with neither.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often about this.
A guest damages the venue. Does our insurance pay?
Only if you are liable, for example because your set-up or your instructions caused the incident. Damage a guest causes themselves is their own liability, usually through a personal liability insurance (AVP). The venue can hold you liable as the hirer, however; look at the hire agreement, therefore, and make sure tenant's liability is included.
We damage a wedding dress or the rings. Is that covered?
Usually not. Items belonging to the couple that you hold, keep or transport are in your care, and the care, custody and control exclusion then applies. Looking after valuable items needs separate care, custody and control or valuables cover. It is more practical to record that the couple remain responsible themselves for rings, jewellery and clothing.
Do the DJ, photographer and caterer have to have cover of their own?
Yes. Without cover of their own, their losses come to you through the contract chain, because the couple has a contract only with you. Include an obligation to insure and an indemnity in your supplier agreements and ask for a valid certificate of insurance. State as well whether you are acting as an agent or as the contracting party, because that changes your position.
What should we do if there is an incident during the day?
Record the situation with photographs and note the names of witnesses, and report the incident to your insurer as soon as you can; Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to report without unnecessary delay. Do not admit liability towards the couple or the venue and do not promise compensation, however awkward that feels on the day. The assessment lies with the insurer.
Read more
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