Event Promoter Insurance

The unique multi-event insurance required in the proposed ordinance is at this time untested.  If the ordinance passes, it would include the following:

License-required insurance basics

• The ordinance requires promoters to have an insurance policy that provides $300,000 in liability coverage per event (the ordinance as first introduced required promoters to have a $1 million policy per event). 

• Promoters without their own insurance policies may be added as “additionally insured” to a PPA/Special Events licensee’s policy.

• Promoters must “co-insure” the City of Chicago for their liability coverage. 

The experimental proposal

• Entertainment insurance experts with whom we initially spoke suggested that a single event, $300,000 coverage policy would cost a promoter between $300 and $400 per event in premiums.

• The City approached an individual insurance broker about crafting an experimental multi-event promoter insurance policy with $300,000 in liability coverage that could be used in the initial period after the ordinance became law.  

• This broker has proposed a policy under which a promoter would purchase a five (5) event coverage, with premiums adjusted based on the size of the venues being used. The proposal’s premiums would be:
• For promoted events at venues with less than 100 seats: $225
• For promoted events at venues with between 101-250 seats: $330
• For promoted events at venues with between 501-1000 seats: $800

• If a promoter promotes at a space that demands policy liability coverage exceeding $300,000, the promoter would pay for the increase in premiums for that one event only.