Vendor Event Risk Assessment and Safety Checklist: How to Stay Safe and Confident at Every Event
You need to be ready for anything when selling at events. Busy events mean more leads and more foot traffic, but they also increase the risk of accidents, like a customer tripping over your booth. While vendor insurance helps protect your business in the event of a lawsuit or injury, prevention is the key to being event-ready.
Keep your business (and your customers) safe by learning how to conduct a risk assessment for vendors using our guide, which includes a downloadable event safety checklist.
What is a risk assessment? While venues and event organizers conduct their own risk assessments, vendors should be on the lookout, too. A risk assessment outlines potential safety risks and hazards with a plan to help prevent and manage them.
Your Vendor Event Safety Checklist (Free Download)
Are you an event planner or organizer? Insurance Canopy makes it easy (and free!) to manage vendor risks. You can provide vendors with quick access to insurance and manage all their certificates in one place.
Why Safety & Risk Assessment Should Be on Your Radar
Imagine your booth collapsing mid-event; your display falls onto a nearby stall, injuring an event attendee. Accidents like these happen, and if you don’t take the right steps to prevent them, your finances, reputation, and ability to book future events could be at stake.
Vendor insurance safeguards you from paying out of pocket for claims like these; however, prevention is the best medicine. Performing a risk audit is a must for small businesses, especially at large events with bigger risks. A little preparation today could save you from a massive headache tomorrow.
Did you know? To qualify for an event, venues often ask for a copy of your risk assessment and to be added as an additional insured on your Certificate of Insurance (COI).
Key Risks Event Vendors Can’t Ignore
As a vendor, you’re responsible for running your booth safely — even if the venue hires personnel to help set up. Event organizers may remove vendors who don’t meet health and safety requirements, so it’s essential that you and any employees know the following risks.
Vendor insurance safeguards you from paying out of pocket for claims like these; however, prevention is the best medicine. Performing a risk audit is a must for small businesses, especially at large events with bigger risks. A little preparation today could save you from a massive headache tomorrow.
| Top Vendor Risks | What it Means | Examples | How to Assess |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Safety |
Anything that poses a threat to the physical or personal safety of others, especially during emergencies |
Your booth display blocks emergency exit signs during a fire Unsecured extension cords cause a customer to trip and fall |
Ensure all displays, equipment, and booth supports are properly secured or stored and removed from walkways and emergency routes |
|
Product |
The potential for a product to cause harm, injury, illness, or damage to a customer or their property |
One of your products has a sharp edge and cuts a customer A customer has an allergic reaction to your food after cross-contamination |
Inspect all products and equipment before the event, and be sure to follow all food safety regulations |
|
Environment |
Weather-related or environmental hazards, such as strong winds or improper waste disposal |
A strong gust of wind at an outdoor event blows your booth into the crowd A grease spill from your concession stand damages the venue’s floor |
Always monitor the weather before events and have a plan in place to clean or dispose of waste properly |
|
Compliance |
Failure to follow laws, industry regulations, event rules, or contractual obligations |
You fail to show the event organizer your required business license or permit Your electrical cords aren’t properly secured, violating the event’s electrical safety codes |
Review the event rules and regulations, including health and safety requirements |
|
Theft |
Hazards that pose a threat to physical or personal information and belongings |
A customer’s payment information is stolen from your card reading device A piece of your equipment goes missing overnight during a multi-day event |
Have cybersecurity measures in place, and always secure your equipment before leaving |
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| Top Vendor Risks | What it Means | Examples | How to Assess |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety | Anything that poses a threat to the physical or personal safety of others, especially during emergencies | Your booth display blocks emergency exit signs during a fire Unsecured extension cords cause a customer to trip and fall | Ensure all displays, equipment, and booth supports are properly secured or stored and removed from walkways and emergency routes |
| Product | The potential for a product to cause harm, injury, illness, or damage to a customer or their property | One of your products has a sharp edge and cuts a customer A customer has an allergic reaction to your food after cross-contamination | Inspect all products and equipment before the event, and be sure to follow all food safety regulations |
| Environment | Weather-related or environmental hazards, such as strong winds or improper waste disposal | A strong gust of wind at an outdoor event blows your booth into the crowd A grease spill from your concession stand damages the venue’s floor | Always monitor the weather before events and have a plan in place to clean or dispose of waste properly |
| Compliance | Failure to follow laws, industry regulations, event rules, or contractual obligations | You fail to show the event organizer your required business license or permit Your electrical cords aren’t properly secured, violating the event’s electrical safety codes | Review the event rules and regulations, including health and safety requirements |
| Theft | Hazards that pose a threat to physical or personal information and belongings | A customer’s payment information is stolen from your card reading device A piece of your equipment goes missing overnight during a multi-day event | Have cybersecurity measures in place, and always secure your equipment before leaving |
Whether it’s a misunderstanding of a contract or just poor planning, ignoring the risks could cost your business, potentially leading to:
- Lost sales
- Lawsuits
- Costly claims
- Loss of licenses or permits
- Damaged reputation
- Stolen company information
36 to 53% of small businesses are sued every year, with the average liability suit costing them at least $54,000. Thankfully, every risk has a solution. This risk assessment helps you find them.
How to Run a Quick Vendor Risk Assessment
With your event safety checklist in hand, take the following steps to identify and manage potential risks:
- Evaluate the venue: Walk the venue with fresh eyes, considering the size, location, and unique needs of the event
- Identify touchpoints: Take note of areas where customers interact with you, your display, and your products
- Inspect your setup: Ensure booth supports and signage are secure, then make sure your layout is easy to navigate
- Flag the risks: Add each risk to your checklist, prioritizing them by likelihood and the severity of impact
- Write down fixes: Decide how to handle each risk with the appropriate risk-handling strategies.
After you’ve monitored each risk, review your insurance coverage to make sure you’re protected. Keep your risk assessment checklist with your insurance certificate and other event-related paperwork to show event officials you’re prepared.
The Role of Insurance in Vendor Safety
Vendor insurance isn’t just a requirement — it’s your safety net.
Insurance helps manage risks by shifting the financial responsibility from your business to an insurer, covering the cost of legal fees and damages that could happen at an event. With your policy, you’ll also receive vendor proof of insurance, used to:
- Verify your coverage limits and types, ensuring your policy meets venue requirements. You can see a breakdown of the types of coverage you’ll need.
- Name the venue as an additional insured, protecting them from liabilities related to your business. Our policy lets you add unlimited additional insureds.
- Provide peace of mind, so you can worry less about what could go wrong and focus on having a successful event.
Insurance Canopy covers your booth and your business at events with affordable general liability plans and same-day coverage designed to fit your schedule.
As your business grows, our annual policies extend coverage to your products with optional add-on protections for things like damaged or stolen equipment and sensitive online data.
Don’t wait until something goes wrong — be the vendor who’s prepared. Get a vendor insurance quote in minutes with Insurance Canopy.
Learn more about how vendor insurance can protect your business with frequently asked questions and our guide to vendor insurance requirements and risks.
FAQs About Event Vendor Risk Assessment and Safety
Why might a venue ask to be named as an additional insured on your insurance policy?
A venue asks to be named as an additional insured on your policy to transfer the risk of financial responsibility for vendor-related accidents to your business.
Do all vendors need insurance to attend events?
Yes, all vendors are required to have a certificate of insurance to attend most events. Get the coverage you need for the events you attend by comparing providers and their policies.
Risk assessment vs safety checklist: what's the difference?
A risk assessment for vendors is the process of identifying and evaluating potential risks, while a safety checklist is a tool used to check for these risks and ensure compliance with event safety regulations.
How much does vendor insurance cost?
Vendor insurance starts at $49 per event. The final cost of insurance depends on your policy length, type, and additional coverages.
