Booster Club Event Insurance: What to Check Before Your Next Fundraiser or Event

Does Booster Club Insurance Cover Fundraisers and Events?

Booster club general liability insurance may cover many common fundraisers and events, but you should never assume that every activity is automatically covered. Insurance policies have exclusions, and some activities may require special precautions, additional coverage, or approval from your insurance provider.

That matters because events are one of the places where booster clubs create the most exposure.

A normal school year might include concession stands, spiritwear sales, auctions, fun runs, banquets, golf outings, carnivals, food sales, family events, raffles, and dozens of other activities. Most of the time, everything goes exactly as planned.

But an event also creates opportunities for someone to be injured, property to be damaged, a vendor to cause a problem, a volunteer to have an auto accident, or an activity to fall outside the club's insurance coverage.

Don't be afraid of holding events. Fundraisers and community activities are central to what many clubs do. The goal is to spend a few minutes asking the right questions before event day.

Association Insurance Management (AIM), which specializes in insurance for booster clubs, publishes guidance identifying events that may be covered, activities that require extra caution, and activities that may be excluded. AIM also advises organizations to contact the insurer when an activity is not clearly addressed rather than assuming it is covered.

Start With One Simple Question: Is This Event Covered?

Before approving a fundraiser, ask whether the activity fits within your booster club's current insurance. That sounds obvious, but it is easy to skip.

A board member proposes a fun idea. Everyone likes it. A volunteer finds a vendor. The board picks a date. Flyers go out. Deposits are paid. Only later does someone ask, "Does our insurance cover this?"

Reverse that order. Insurance should be one of the questions considered before your club makes financial commitments to an unfamiliar event.

Be Extra Careful With Higher-Risk Activities

The more unusual the activity, the more important it becomes to verify coverage. AIM's general liability materials specifically identify exclusions involving activities such as:

• Motorized or mechanical rides
• Automobiles and vehicular transportation
• Watercraft
• Zip lining
• Bungee jumping
• Parasailing
• Scuba diving
• Hot air balloons
• Certain organized athletic activities
• Weapons and archery
• Snow skiing and snowboarding

Those examples come from AIM's policy guidance and should not be treated as a universal list for every insurance company. Your own policy controls what your club is and is not covered to do.

Still, they demonstrate an important principle: a club should not assume that paying for general liability insurance means it can organize any event imaginable.

If an activity involves unusual physical risk, transportation, machinery, animals, water, heights, weapons, or other hazards, contact your insurance provider before proceeding.

Are Booster Club Fun Runs and Athletic Events Covered?

Athletic activities deserve special attention because many booster clubs support sports programs. AIM distinguishes between limited-duration events organized by the booster organization and an athletic team or program with a regular practice and competition schedule.

For example, AIM states that one-day activities such as fun runs and field days can fall within its general liability coverage when they are organized by the insured organization. It distinguishes those events from regularly operating athletic organizations such as teams, leagues, or camps.

That distinction is important for athletic booster clubs. Your club may support the football team, basketball team, cheerleading program, band, or another student activity. That does not necessarily mean the booster club's insurance is providing insurance for the underlying athletic team or school program.

Ask your insurer exactly where the boundary falls between a booster-club-sponsored fundraiser or special event and the school's regular athletic or extracurricular program.

Do You Need a Liability Waiver for a Booster Club Event?

A liability waiver can be a useful risk-management tool, but it should not be treated as a substitute for insurance or safe event practices.

Many organizations assume that if every participant signs a waiver, the organization cannot be sued. That is not true. An organization cannot simply sign away all liability, and a waiver will not necessarily protect the organization if it is found at fault for an injury. AIM nevertheless considers waivers useful because they can document the participant's understanding of the activity and its risks.

Waivers may be particularly appropriate for physical activities, fun runs, athletic events, and other events where participants knowingly accept some level of risk.

A waiver can be part of your safety plan. It should not be your entire safety plan.

Make Sure Your Vendors Have Their Own Insurance

Booster clubs frequently hire outside businesses for events. You might hire:

• A caterer
• A food truck
• An entertainment company
• An inflatable or amusement vendor
• A DJ
• A photographer
• A transportation provider
• An equipment rental company
• A contractor or service provider

Hiring a professional company does not automatically transfer every risk away from your booster club. One important step is asking the vendor for a Certificate of Insurance.

What Is a Certificate of Insurance?

A Certificate of Insurance is a document showing that a business or organization has insurance in effect at the time the certificate is issued.

For a booster club, it provides evidence that the vendor has its own insurance rather than expecting your club's policy to absorb the vendor's risks. When reviewing a vendor's insurance, make sure the document identifies the correct business and that the policy dates cover your event.

The type of insurance should also make sense for the service being provided. For example, a company transporting people creates a different exposure from a photographer taking event pictures. If you are unsure what insurance to require from a particular vendor, ask your own insurance provider before signing the vendor contract.

What Does "Additional Insured" Mean?

You may encounter the term additional insured when renting a facility or hiring a vendor.

In simple terms, being added as an additional insured extends certain liability protection under another party's policy to the additional organization for covered situations. For example, a venue may require your booster club to provide proof of insurance and add the venue as an additional insured for your event.

Your club may also consider asking certain vendors to add the booster club as an additional insured under the vendor's liability policy.

Do not confuse "additional insured" with simply receiving a Certificate of Insurance. They are related concepts, but receiving proof that a vendor has insurance does not necessarily mean your booster club has been added to the vendor's policy.

Requirements can vary considerably depending on the venue, vendor, insurer, and contract, so this is another area where your insurance provider can help.

Read the Venue Contract Before You Sign It

Insurance questions often appear inside rental and facility agreements. A school, park district, banquet facility, municipality, or private event venue may require your booster club to:

• Carry a particular type of liability insurance
• Provide a Certificate of Insurance
• Name the venue as an additional insured
• Agree to certain indemnification or hold-harmless provisions
• Accept responsibility for specific activities or damages

Do not wait until two days before the event to discover these requirements. Send insurance requirements to your insurer early enough to obtain the necessary documentation and clarify anything you do not understand.

If a contract asks your club to assume significant legal obligations, consider obtaining legal advice before signing it.

Be Careful When Volunteers Drive for the Booster Club

Transportation creates a separate insurance issue that booster club leaders can easily overlook.

Imagine a volunteer drives to a warehouse to pick up cases of food for the concession stand. Another parent transports equipment to an event. The club rents a van. Or the booster club hires a charter bus for a special activity. Those situations involve vehicles, and ordinary general liability insurance may not provide the coverage you expect.

AIM's general liability materials identify automobile and vehicular transportation are often excluded from standard general liability coverage. Optional endorsements may be available for certain exposures involving rented, hired, borrowed, or volunteer-owned vehicles used in connection with organization activities.

This does not mean every booster club needs additional auto coverage. It means clubs that use vehicles for organization business should ask how those activities are insured. Do not assume that the driver's personal auto policy, the school's policy, and the booster club's policy automatically fit together without gaps.

What About Food and Alcohol at Booster Club Events?

Food is common at booster club events. Alcohol requires additional caution.

If a booster club is hosting an event where alcohol will be served or sold, ask the insurance provider and venue exactly how liquor-related liability is handled before the event.

AIM's general liability policy includes certain host liquor protection, while noting that responsibility can shift depending on who is selling or serving the alcohol. Verify that a caterer or venue responsible for alcohol sales has appropriate liquor liability insurance.

Because alcohol laws and insurance requirements can vary, this is not an area where booster clubs should rely on assumptions. If alcohol is part of an event, discuss it specifically with your insurance provider and venue.

Protect Booster Club Property at the Event

Event insurance is not only about injuries. Your booster club might bring thousands of dollars worth of property to an event:

• Spiritwear inventory
• Concession equipment
• Cash boxes
• Signs and banners
• Auction items
• Raffle prizes
• Computers or payment equipment
• Tents, tables, and displays

Think about what would happen if those items were stolen, damaged by weather, or destroyed.

AIM offers property coverage for certain organization property, fundraising merchandise, auction items, raffle prizes, and supplies while they are in the organization's possession. Coverage depends on the policy, so clubs with valuable inventory or event equipment should verify what is protected.

Use Good Safety Practices Even When You Have Insurance

Insurance should never become an excuse to ignore obvious hazards. A safer event is better for everyone, whether or not a claim would ultimately be covered. Walk through the event area before participants arrive. Look for:

• Trip hazards
• Loose cords
• Wet or slippery surfaces
• Poor lighting
• Unsecured equipment
• Blocked exits
• Unsafe traffic patterns
• Overcrowded areas
• Activities without appropriate adult supervision

Assign clear responsibilities to volunteers instead of assuming someone else will notice a problem.

Have a plan for emergencies. Know who will contact emergency services if necessary, where participants should go, and who is responsible for communicating with the venue or school.

Good risk management usually comes down to ordinary common sense applied consistently.

Booster Club Event Insurance Checklist

Before your next fundraiser or event, work through this checklist with the board or event chair.

1. Describe the event clearly. Make sure everyone understands exactly what activities will occur, not simply the event's name.
2. Confirm that the activity is covered. If the event is unusual or potentially high-risk, verify coverage with your insurance provider.
3. Review the venue agreement. Look for insurance, additional insured, indemnification, and other risk-related requirements.
4. Check your vendors. Obtain appropriate proof of insurance and verify that coverage is current for the event date.
5. Determine whether waivers are appropriate. Pay particular attention to physical activities and events involving minors.
6. Review transportation. Determine whether volunteers, rented vehicles, buses, or other transportation will be used.
7. Identify valuable property. Consider merchandise, equipment, prizes, electronics, and other club property brought to the event.
8. Plan volunteer supervision. Make sure volunteers understand their roles and that higher-risk areas have appropriate oversight.
9. Inspect the site for obvious hazards. Fix problems before participants arrive whenever possible.
10. Keep important documentation. Save contracts, certificates of insurance, event approvals, waivers, receipts, and other records where future board members can find them.

That checklist may take only a few minutes for a simple event. For a large fundraiser, it can prevent important details from getting lost while dozens of volunteers focus on tickets, food, decorations, sponsors, communications, and everything else required to make the event successful.

Make Event Planning Easier for Future Volunteers

Booster clubs frequently repeat successful fundraisers from year to year, but the volunteers organizing them change.

That creates an opportunity to improve your process. After an event, keep a record of:

• Which insurer questions were asked
• Which vendors were used
• Which insurance documents were required
• Which waivers were used
• Any safety issues that arose
• Any incidents or claims
• Changes you would make next year

Then the next group of volunteers starts with experience rather than starting from zero.

When in Doubt, Ask Before the Event

The most important lesson in booster club event insurance may also be the simplest: If you are not sure an activity is covered, ask.

Do not try to interpret complicated policy language while setting up tables the morning of the fundraiser. Ask early enough that you still have time to change the event, obtain additional coverage, select a different vendor, satisfy a venue requirement, or add appropriate safety precautions.

If your booster club needs help understanding event-related insurance, Association Insurance Management specializes in coverage for volunteer organizations including booster clubs.