Event Organiser Liability: Minimising your exposure #2

Organisational Culture

Most event organisers would agree that the main reason to prevent injuries and accidents at their event is a simple, moral imperative to protect one another. There’s no shame in acknowledging, though, that the financial cost of such incidents to event organisers can be worryingly high. A key strategy you can employ is to develop a ‘culture of safety’ at your event. This might sound like a more abstract concept than previous sections of this blog post -  but in fact you can take a few easy steps to nurture a positive safety culture. 

Your objective should be to instil a positive attitude in your staff, contractors, and suppliers working at your event site. They should instinctively feel that safety is the number one priority, and that no safety concern is too small or insignificant to be addressed. Organisers should make sure each team member or department has sufficient time and budget to complete their work safely, as cutting corners increases hazards. It’s good practice to have an “open-door policy”, and welcome your team to report hazards or incidents with no fear of reprisals. How you approach discipline at your event site can affect the safety culture. In many cases, it’s better to educate than to punish - and provided your management team leads by example, your team on the ground should follow suit. With a bit of time and effort, developing a wrap-around safety culture will mean each and every participant of your event has safety at the forefront of your mind - and a reduction in incidents will naturally follow, thus reducing exposure of organisers to fines, penalties, and compensation payments. 

High Quality Insurance

A good event liability insurance policy, (not to mention event cancellation insurance policy!) is your last line of defence. Things do go wrong, and sometimes even well-intentioned safety systems fail, resulting in accidents or injury. The role of the insurer is to return the victim to the position they were in prior to the incident - typically in the form of compensation payments. In this particular case, Vento has got your back - we provide high quality liability protection, and it’s quick and easy to generate a quote on our homepage.

For more information about Public Liability insurance for events, or Employers' Liability for events, please contact support@ventoinsurance.com