The Hartford doesn’t offer festival insurance online, but a local agency or Tivly may be able to help you find the coverage you need. The following content includes information from various sources and can change over time.
What Is Festival Event Insurance?
Festival insurance is made up of different types of business insurance coverages designed to help protect you from the unique risks that come with hosting a festival or other big event, like equipment damage or liability claims. Whether you're an event organizer, vendor or performer, festival insurance can help protect you from costly disruptions, so you can focus on putting on a great show.
Although The Hartford doesn’t offer festival insurance, we can help connect you with Tivly, so you can get the coverage you’re looking for.
Why Might You Need Festival Event Insurance?
Festival insurance is a collection of coverages designed to help protect event organizers from unexpected disruptions and liability risks. Imagine a sudden storm forces you to cancel an event, leaving you on the hook for non-refundable vendor payments and lost revenue. Or a festivalgoer files a claim after they were injured by a collapsing stage barrier. The right coverage can help you navigate setbacks with confidence and focus on delivering a memorable experience.
Here are some examples of how festival insurance can help:
- Event Cancellations: Severe storms force you to cancel your festival, leading to major losses. Business income insurance can help you recoup lost revenue.
- Vendor Property Damage: A food vendor’s cooking equipment catches fire, damaging your event space. Insurance can help cover the repair costs.
- Equipment Theft: Someone steals sound gear overnight from your venue. Insurance can help replace it, so the show can go on.
Who May Need Festival Event Insurance?
Business insurance coverage can help many types of businesses, including:
- Festival organizers
- Event planners
- Food vendors
- Artisans
What Festival Insurance Coverages Might I Need?
When it comes to protecting your festival, you’ll want coverage that matches your potential risks. Many festival business owners start with a Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) because of the peace of mind it can provide. A BOP combines three types of coverage into one policy:
General liability insurance helps protect your festival from claims that it caused bodily injury or property damage to others.
Commercial property insurance helps protect the owned or rented equipment, tools and supplies you rely on to operate your festival. These can include:
- Staging
- Tents
- Tables and chairs
- Fencing
- Lights
- Sound equipment
Business income insurance helps replace your lost income if you can’t operate temporarily because of covered property damage caused by fire, wind or theft.
It’s important to know that a BOP won’t cover every kind of claim. You’ll need other types of business insurance to create a more comprehensive plan, including:
Workers’ compensation insurance to give your employees benefits to help them recover from a work-related injury or illness.
Commercial auto insurance to help cover bodily injury or property damage claims from an auto accident that occurs while you or an employee uses a business-owned vehicle for work.
How Much Does Festival Insurance Cost?
While The Hartford doesn’t offer festival insurance, here are the average costs small business customers pay for common types of coverage. You can use these amounts to help estimate your costs:**
- BOP: $1,687 a year, or about $141 a month
- Stand-alone general liability insurance: $810 a year, or about $68 a month
- Workers’ compensation insurance: $1,032 a year, or $86 a month
- Professional liability insurance: $744 a year, or $62 a month1
The cost of festival insurance varies because every event has unique risks. Insurance companies consider several factors when determining your coverage cost, including:
- Number of employees
- Location of your event
- Type of coverage
- Your claims history
- Coverage limits you select
To find out your specific festival event insurance costs, get a free quote online through Tivly.
General Liability Insurance
“Someone tripped over a loose cable by the stage and tweaked their knee. They filed a claim the next day to pay for their medical bills.”
General liability insurance helps cover claims that your event caused bodily injury or property damage to someone else.
Liquor Liability Insurance
“An attendee got into a car accident after the festival, claiming we over-served them alcohol.”
Liquor liability insurance helps protect events that sell, serve or distribute alcohol. This type of insurance can help cover claims of bodily injury or property damage that an intoxicated customer causes after someone at your festival serves them alcohol.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
“Before the gates even opened, one of our setup crew threw out his back lifting speakers. He needed weeks off to recover.”
Workers’ compensation insurance gives your team benefits to help them recover from work-related injuries or illnesses. It can help pay their medical bills and replace lost wages.
Commercial Auto Insurance
“My field manager was driving our box truck to pick up supplies when he lost control and side swiped a parked car.”
Commercial auto insurance helps protect your employees on the road if they get into an accident while using a company-owned vehicle for work.
Commercial Property Insurance
“A fire broke out in a food vendor’s tent. It damaged several vendors’ booths, including our tents that we had set up.”
Commercial property insurance helps protect your business' equipment, furniture and inventory from loss or damage caused by things like storms, fires or vandalism.
Business Income Insurance
“A storm brought strong winds and toppled our tents and lights the night before the festival. We had to postpone the first day to set everything up again, but we had to refund ticketholders.”
Business income insurance helps replace lost income if you can’t operate temporarily because of a covered event like wind damage.
Get a Quote for Festival Insurance Options
Insurance coverage can help protect your festival business, so you don’t miss a beat. Get a quote from Tivly today.
Last Updated: April 24, 2026
1 What you pay for professional liability insurance will vary by product, limits chosen and risk class or hazard group associated with your business.
2 The Hartford, “Water and Freezing Damage, Burglary Lead The Hartford’s Top Five Small Business Claims,” viewed March 2026.
3 NIOSH, "About Motor Vehicle Safety at Work,” viewed April 2025.
4 National Fire Protection Association, “Fire Loss in the United States,” viewed April 2025.
** Costs, premiums, and coverages mentioned are estimates and are not guaranteed. Actual cost, premium, and coverage are determined at the time of quote or issue and are specific to an individual risk. Premiums are based on information provided to The Hartford, including, but not limited to, underwriting and rating criteria. All examples included on this website or in an advertisement are intended for informational purposes only and are not an offer or a guarantee of premium or coverage. Coverage and products described are subject to the terms and conditions found in the policy contract. Any educational information provided about available coverages does not modify the policy language or imply that any claim is covered. Products are not available in all states or for all businesses.
The Hartford does not currently have a product available to provide the coverage described on this page. You are being referred to Tivly in an effort to connect you with a carrier who may provide this coverage. This link will redirect you to a third-party website, owned and operated by an independent party ("Tivly"). Any link you make to or from the Tivly website will be at your own risk. Any use of the Tivly website will be subject to and any information you provide will be governed by the terms of the Tivly website, including those relating to confidentiality, data privacy and security. The Hartford and its affiliates (collectively "The Hartford") do not endorse or approve and make no warranties, representations or undertakings relating to the content of the Tivly website. The Hartford assumes no liability for loss, damage and any other consequence resulting directly or indirectly from your access to the Tivly website or any information that you may provide on the Tivly website.
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