Public Liability Insurance

KaramelRose

Not sure if this is the right forum, but I'd appreciate any help or suggestions as feel way out of my depth at the moment.

When I was at school, I was the chair of a drama society that used to put productions on every year. We used to use the school theatre for these performances, and an arrangement was made with the school that it would be free as long as a member of staff was free to supervise.

It's now the 20th anniversary of this student drama society, and I've been put in charge of organising a 20th anniversary show. Having enquired to the school about being a possible venue, as we're no longer students, we're classed as a private booking and as such would need public liability insurance.

We have little to no budget, and were hoping to have free entry to the show, although now I'm seeing that we may have to charge to cover these costs of hire and insurance.

How do I go about getting public liability insurance, and how much is it likely to cost? I have absolutely NO idea about this at all, and am definitley out of my depth.

Any help would be much appreciated.
Holly

mattymoo

I've no idea what single event public liability premiums are like as it's not an area I work in. Below are a couple of firms that specialise in this field - get a quote from them so that you know what to budget for.

http://www.hiscox.co.uk/events/

http://www.event-insurance-online.com/cgi-bin/ei/index.html

http://www.events-insurance.co.uk/pages/one-off-event-insurance/

As for costs, I would hazard a bet that at least one of you has gone on to run their own business. Could they cover the costs and get a mention in the programme? Sort of event sponsorship if you like.

KaramelRose

Thank you for that - the sponsorship is a brilliant idea. Am going to have a ring around at lunch today and see if the venture is still viable. I'm tempted just to cancel, and organise a curry night instead!!

mattymoo

If I was to hazard a guess on premium it would be in the £50 to £250 range.

Use of any form of pyrotechnics in a stage show will push the cost up but I would suspect the school would ban them in any event.

Will you be using the school PA system and lighting? If you use your own the school will probably insist it has been PAT tested and this normally costs £3-5 per item.

dacouch

The price normally depends on the amount of visitors / audiance members.

Check with the school how much cover they require as government / council buildings often require cover of £5m (Some will insist on £10m)