Host Liquor Liability Insurance

If you’re planning to have alcohol served at your wedding, then it is important to consider adding host liquor liability insurance onto your event insurance policy. Your guests will hopefully behave like responsible adults at all times, but in the event that alcohol fuels a fight where someone gets injured or something similarly troublesome, host liquor liability insurance will cover you.

In this post, we’ll provide an all-encompassing overview of host liquor liability insurance, including an explanation of why it should be considered for weddings and some helpful tips on how to discourage overdrinking at weddings.

What is Host Liquor Liability Insurance?

Guests will generally expect liquor to be available at weddings and as soon as you become the “host”, you suddenly have a burden of responsibility to ensure that nothing bad happens as a result of being connected to the supply of that alcohol.

A host liquor liability insurance policy will protect you against losses or damages in case of claims arising from any alcohol-related incidents that might occur at an event such as a wedding. Such “incidents” might include bodily injury or property damage caused by an intoxicated guest who was served liquor at a wedding.

Liquor Liability Terms to Know

What is the difference between Primary liquor liability coverage and Host liquor liability coverage? The main difference between these coverages is whether or not the individual or company buying the insurance engages in the serving of alcohol as a business.

Example: a bar, pub or restaurant would require primary liquor liability insurance, whereas a couple who only wanted to “cover their bases” during a wedding could get host liquor liability insurance.

What does it mean to be “over-served”? This refers to when a customer is served too much alcohol, placing the liability on the bartender. In the US, there is the “Dram Shop Act,” which makes a business which sells alcohol or a host who serves liquor to a drinker who is obviously already intoxicated, strictly liable to anyone injured by the drunken guest. The best protection against a situation like this occurring at your wedding (aside from doing a dry wedding) is to hire an experienced bartender; they generally know when it is time to refuse someone more drinks.

Liquor Laws & Licenses

A liquor license (or licence) is any license, permit, registration, qualification or other approval required to sell, dispense or distribute alcoholic beverages.

In Canada, multiple provinces require that events (including weddings) that will be serving alcohol have the servers trained under a server training program. This is to ensure that servers are prepared to make informed choices when they sell, serve or offer alcohol. Regulations vary by province. In Ontario for example, there is Smart Serve and in BC, there is Serving it Right.

In the US, liquor licenses are issued separately by each individual state. In New York for example, there is the New York State Liquor Authority, which offers 30 different permits that can be applied for online. In California, there is the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, where alcoholic beverage licenses can be applied for and obtained.

Examples of Alcohol-Fueled Wedding Incidents

More and more, the providers of alcohol are being hit with lawsuits due to alcohol-related accidents at weddings. The venue is usually charged, but the couples holding the wedding are often also named. Examples of alcohol-fueled wedding incidents (where lawsuits may or may not have been involved) include:

In 2018, Daily Mail reported on a wedding in Ludhiana in Punjab, India, where alcohol was being served for free. The wedding day ended in a chaotic brawl (much of it caught on video), with many drunken guests throwing chairs and plates at each other.

In 2014, ABC reported on a wedding in Hobart, Tasmania that ended with the bride in the hospital and the groom and best man under arrest because of an alcohol-fueled brawl at their wedding reception. It took six police units to bring the situation under control.

In 2012, The Telegraph reported that police were called to English soccer player Danny Guthrie’s wedding after a huge brawl broke out on the dance floor. The fight erupted between the groom’s family and the bride’s side as the proceedings neared an end.

None of the above examples indicate that the married couple had a host liquor liability insurance policy in place, but it certainly would have been advisable to have one, in all cases.

How to Discourage Overdrinking at a Wedding

Assuming you’ve ruled out the option of doing a dry wedding (a wedding without any alcohol), then consider these tips to reduce your chances of an alcohol-fueled wedding disaster:

A cash bar, so guests have to pay at least a small amount
Limited drink tickets, perhaps 2 or 3 per guest
Wine- and beer-only bar (no hard liquor shots)
Hire an experienced bartender (or two)
Serve a “midnight snack;” the food will help absorb alcohol
Give guests activities rather than a bar alone, e.g., board games, a photo booth, a scavenger hunt, special dances
Remove drunk driving as a possibility by providing a shuttle service from the wedding venue back to the hotel where guests are staying

How to Buy Host Liquor Liability Insurance

Get started by completing the Event Insurance quote form at Front Row, indicating that “Yes, alcohol will be served at the event.” From there, we’ll need to have a third party (usually the wedding venue itself) have their own primary liquor liability policy. This third party must then add you on as an additional insured. This costs an additional premium but is inexpensive and is certainly well worth the effort for the added peace of mind that it brings if you are indeed hosting a wedding where alcohol is being served.

CITATIONS:

All this lovely gear was stolen! Don’t let this be your gear.

Thanks to cooperation between the FBI, the US embassy and Argentinian federal police, this massive haul of film production gear worth ~$3M was recovered in September 2018. The thieves had apparently targeted equipment in Hollywood and other US cities and then smuggled it into Argentina. As of May 2019, four people have been arrested in the US and 17 suspects have been identified in Argentina.

Film Equipment Theft – Prevention Tips

We’ve provided some tips & tricks for how to guard your film equipment, as well as some information on how to insure your equipment so you are protected in any worst case scenario situations.

1. Exterior/Location Filming

Key individuals should be responsible and accountable for transporting equipment from trucks and trailers to the filming set/location
There should be a tracking process established for logging equipment in/out when transported between destinations
Securely store equipment when not in use, especially hard-to-replace items like custom props, sets and wardrobes
Station security personnel within sight of exposed equipment, ideally at all times
Heighten security presence whenever filming in crime-ridden neighbourhoods

2. Interior Filming

Always favour buildings that have a central security alarm system, and check with building facilities that the system is actually running properly
Favour buildings that have security guard personnel on site
The building ideally has a concierge who facilitates logging in/approval of visitors
If you need to store equipment in the building overnight, double-check that the room is secure and inform security personnel about it

3. Employee/Crew Theft

Have written policy in place informing cast/crew that it is unacceptable to take any objects from set as “souvenirs”; clearly communicate policy to cast/crew
Conduct reference/background checks on all new employees/crewmembers
All employees/crewmembers should wear highly visible ID badges while on set
Make use of sign-in/sign-out sheets for entering/exiting locations
Conduct inventory checks on regular basis

4. Vehicles (including rental cars, vans and trucks)

Ensure vehicles transporting valuable equipment are as nondescript as possible (don’t call attention to the vehicles)
Any equipment stored in a vehicle should always be locked and kept out of sight (e.g., covered with blankets)
Ideally have multiple drivers available to limit the number of extended stops and take turns monitoring the vehicle during stops
If overnight: ideally stay at reputable hotels; hotel parking lots should be well-lit and monitored by cameras and security guards

5. Air Travel (planes carrying production equipment)

Always have a clearly marked luggage tag and have a card with emergency contact information placed inside the luggage/container
Whenever possible, carry some valuable items onto the plane instead of checking them in, such as laptops and smaller cameras
Maintain an inventory listing the shipped items, along with planned shipping itinerary and equipment serial numbers

Consider Film Equipment Insurance – DigiGear

There seems to be no published information on whether or not the equipment involved in the Hollywood-Argentina smuggle was insured. If it wasn’t insured, no doubt, the owners of said equipment were likely kicking themselves after this massive theft occurred.

Avoid a similar fate by insuring your film equipment with Front Row under a DigiGear policy.

INSURANCE FOR THEFT OF CAMERA AND FILM EQUIPMENT

THEFT FROM VEHICLE: PHOTOGRAPHY INSURANCE EXPLAINED