Liability insurance for a wedding planner
A wedding planner does little of the work personally and arranges a great deal. With every loss the first question is therefore: did you cause it, or did someone you engaged?
- Several insurers compared objectively
- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
- AFM licence 12016589
- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
This page in another language: Nederlands
Work out for yourself what it would cost.
Enter your details; you will receive a proposal within one working day.
- 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.
- Independent advice
- Several insurers
- Switching arranged
- Help with claims
In brief
For the AVB only what you yourself do, or have done by people under your supervision, counts: dressing the room, hanging signs and garlands, placing candles, guiding guests, keeping to the timeline. A guest tripping over an unsecured DJ cable, a plinth that topples, a burn mark on an antique table top: that is third-party injury or property damage and the core territory of the policy, with Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code as the basis.
You also engage suppliers: catering, DJ, photographer, transport, florist. You are not automatically liable for their mistakes, but you are the first to be approached, particularly where you sign the contracts in your own name. Have every supplier prove they hold their own liability insurance and record that you act as an intermediary and do not supply yourself. The defence costs of an unfounded claim fall under the AVB, and in this profession that is often the policy's practical value.
What falls outside: a wedding that does not go ahead because of severe weather, illness or a venue pulling out costs money without anything being damaged, and that belongs with events cover or a events insurance. Poor scheduling that causes costs to be incurred twice is pure financial loss and belongs with the professional indemnity insurance for self-employed professionals. You can read the general explanation on the hub page on the AVB.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB).
Independent, personal, sorted quickly
We compare your business liability insurance (AVB) across dozens of insurers, explain where the real differences lie, and arrange the switch from start to finish — without you having to chase it yourself.
Business liability insurance (AVB)
Compare
Get coveredWhy arrange it through Finass Verzekert?
We look at the terms as well as the premium, and stay your point of contact when there is a claim.
Independent
We are not tied to one insurer and compare on the basis of an objective analysis of several companies.
One fixed adviser
You call or email someone who knows your file. No menu options, no changing call centres.
Switching without hassle
We cancel your old policy and align the start date, so you are never a day without cover.
Help with claims
We report the claim and monitor how it is handled. In urgent cases you can reach us on the emergency line.
What to look out for
Four subjects that determine on a wedding day whether your policy works.
Candles, fire bowls and sparklers
Naked flames appear on many policies as exclusion or as a risk that must be notified, and wedding venues often require written permission for them. Fire damage to a historic building runs up fast. Put in writing in advance who places the fire, who watches it and who extinguishes it, and state honestly when you apply how often you work with fire.
Hired crockery, furniture and decorations
Crockery, lounge sets, festoon lighting and backdrops are hired in. That property is in your keeping without your owning it, so the care, custody and control exclusion applies and the hire firm simply charges for breakages and damage. Ask for care, custody and control cover or have the couple hire directly, so that the risk does not sit with you by contract.
Damage to the wedding venue
A hole in a plastered wall from a fixing point, tape that pulls the paint off a door, a tripod knocked into a mirrored wall: damage to the building you work in is the most common claim. If you regularly work in hired rooms, also check whether the tenant's liability is covered as well.
Animals and transport on the day
A horse-drawn carriage, doves released or a dog in the ceremony bring the strict liability in Article 6:179 of the Dutch Civil Code into play, which rests with the keeper of the animal. If you arrange transport for guests, bear in mind the motor vehicle exclusion and the compulsory insurance in Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM); that damage never runs through the AVB.
What does your premium depend on?
- Number of weddings per year: determines how often you are exposed to a public risk
- Annual turnover: the usual basis for calculation
- Setting up and taking down yourself: coordinating only is a lighter risk than dressing the venue yourself
- Use of naked flames: subject to disclosure and sometimes insurable only after assessment
- Value of hired styling: a factor in choosing care, custody and control cover
- Weddings abroad: the area of cover must match this
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| A guest is injured when a festoon light you hung comes loose and falls | Yes | No |
| While dressing the room you spill wine over the groom's morning suit | Yes | No |
| While unloading you damage a guest's car with a crate of decorations | Yes | No |
| You book the ceremony room on the wrong date and the couple has to move to a more expensive option | No | Yes |
| Your running order makes the photographer miss the vows and the shoot has to be redone | No | Yes |
| An assistant you hired twists an ankle carrying flower arrangements | Provided that | No |
If something was broken or someone was injured, the AVB responds. If your coordination only cost money, the BAV does.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
A guest was injured by a plinth falling over. Covered?
If you placed that plinth and did not secure it adequately, you are liable under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code and the injury falls under the AVB. The insurer will look at the set-up, the surface and whether children or dancing guests were nearby. Report the incident immediately, even where the guest has not yet made a claim.
The caterer caused the damage. Is that my problem?
In law the caterer is liable for his own mistakes, but you are often approached first because you are the point of contact. Your AVB covers your own liability and the costs of defending a claim brought against you wrongly. Ask every supplier for their policy schedule in advance, therefore, and record in writing that you act as an intermediary.
The wedding reception did not go ahead because of severe weather.
That is not a liability matter. Nobody was injured and nothing was damaged. The loss consists of costs already paid and services not received. Cancellation losses of that kind belong with an events or cancellation insurance taken out by the couple. Your AVB only comes into play if someone says you made a mistake that led to injury or property damage.
We hired crockery that went back broken.
Breakage of hired equipment falls under the care, custody and control exclusion and is not paid on a standard AVB. The hire firm will charge it to you under the hire agreement. Choose a policy with care, custody and control cover, or have the couple sign the hire agreement so that you are not the contracting party.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB)The main page
- Liability insurance for a wedding organiserStyling, venue, subcontractors
- Liability insurance for a theatre companyAudience in the auditorium, rigging, volunteers
- Liability insurance for a stylistSamples on loan, alterations, shoots on location
- Liability insurance for a styling agencyGoods on loan, key management, dressing on location
- Liability insurance for a videographerAlone on location, drones, hired lenses
- Liability insurance for a training agencyHired-in trainers, in-company, own training venue
- Liability insurance for a self-employed DJWorking solo on site, borrowed backline, your own injury
- Liability insurance for a training institutePractical rooms, course participants, placements and examinations