Public liability to hold craft fairs in a pub

Charityworker

Hi. I have hired the function room in a pub to on 3 different dates to run craft fairs. I sell table selling space to crafters. The pub has its own public liability and the stall holders also have it. So do I need it as well? I don't mind getting it, just don't want an unnecessary expense. Thanks.

paddyrg

Yes, you could still be sued, and having insurance in place will mitigate that.

poggles

Charityworker wrote: »

Hi. I have hired the function room in a pub to on 3 different dates to run craft fairs. I sell table selling space to crafters. The pub has its own public liability and the stall holders also have it. So do I need it as well? I don't mind getting it, just don't want an unnecessary expense. Thanks.

I wouldn't rely on the individual stallholders cover. e.g. there is a stall holder in one corner of the hall, and a light fitting falls on the head of a customer in the opposite corner of the hall, or perhaps say in the toilets, I doubt the stallholder or their insurance will cough up.

However, if the pub has insurance that covers you and your intended usage, then I see no reason for you to purchase additional cover. If something happens that results in you getting sued, then just pass it to the pub's insurance to handle.

Horace

As an event organiser I wouldn't be relying on the pub's public liability insurance either - normally with venue hire (regardless of the type of venue) the venue will ask the organiser for sight of their own PL insurance. You can either buy an annual policy that covers you for multiple events or you can buy insurance for a one-off event.

To run an event without your own PL insurance in place is foolhardy - there is nothing to stop the pub (in this case) deciding that you are not covered should something happen in the room that you have hired during your event. Really you need to decide whether or not that risk is worth it - can you afford to pay £5 million in damages should someone get hurt at one of your events?

dacouch

poggles wrote: »

I wouldn't rely on the individual stallholders cover. e.g. there is a stall holder in one corner of the hall, and a light fitting falls on the head of a customer in the opposite corner of the hall, or perhaps say in the toilets, I doubt the stallholder or their insurance will cough up.

However, if the pub has insurance that covers you and your intended usage, then I see no reason for you to purchase additional cover. If something happens that results in you getting sued, then just pass it to the pub's insurance to handle.

The Pub's Public Liability will cover the Pub for the Pub's business, it's unlikely to cover the OP for her own liability and will probably contain a clause that businesses hiring the pub should hold their own liability with the Pub's Insurers having a right to subrogate claims against the OP.

Charityworker

Ok thanks. Can anyone recommend a good online company I can buy an annual policy from then? Thanks.

Horace

I used Hiscox but there are others. https://www.hiscox.co.u/events

For the Friends group I currently use http://www.unityinsuranceservices.co.uk/ and they cover our volunteers and our events. Unity provide insurance for charities and not for profit organisations.

Another reasonable one but I haven't used them so I cannot say if they are good or bad is https://www.events-insurance.co.uk.

poggles

dacouch wrote: »

The Pub's Public Liability will cover the Pub for the Pub's business, it's unlikely to cover the OP for her own liability and will probably contain a clause that businesses hiring the pub should hold their own liability with the Pub's Insurers having a right to subrogate claims against the OP.

That's why I particulary said ... and highlighted

poggles wrote: »

... if the pub has insurance that covers you and your intended usage...

:cool:

poggles

Charityworker wrote: »

Ok thanks. Can anyone recommend a good online company I can buy an annual policy from then? Thanks.

If you discover the insurance you mentioned in your OP does not provide complete cover for you and your intended usage, then I would suggest you seek a local insurance broker (one that specialises in small business insurance) who can help you get the cover you really need

Charityworker

Thanks for all your replies. I have now sorted it out through Hiscox which were less than half the price of all the other quotes for the same cover. Including the local insurance brokers.

Aquamania

Charityworker wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies. I have now sorted it out through Hiscox which were less than half the price of all the other quotes for the same cover. Including the local insurance brokers.

If everyone else was quoting roughly twice as much as what you ended up paying, and even twice what an Insurance broker specialising in this field quoted, then I suspect you don't have the same cover as all the others, including the broker, have quoted you for.