Vendors vs the Storm:
When Weather Gets in the Way of Selling at Events
A clear forecast makes an event day feel promising, but outdoor vendors know conditions can change fast, affecting their setup and their sales.
Insurance Canopy surveyed 700 U.S. outdoor vendors about weather-related losses in the past year. Here’s what the forecast cost them.
Two in Three Vendors Were Hit by Bad Weather
Insurance Canopy’s survey found that 66% of outdoor vendors had their own property damaged by weather, most often a tent or canopy.
Rain, Storms, & High Winds Cost Vendors Most
55% of outdoor vendors lost money to rain, followed by storms (51%) and high winds (40%).
1 in 4 Vendors Had Property Damage Without Coverage
According to Insurance Canopy’s survey, 26% of all outdoor vendors had weather damage to their setup and had no coverage for it.
Some Vendors Are Covered for Liability (Not Their Gear)
Insurance Canopy’s data revealed that 25% of vendors only had general liability coverage, which does not cover their own booth, tools, or display.
Without Required Insurance, Many Vendors Go Without
71% of vendors who have never been asked for proof of insurance carry none at all.
Property Coverage Makes Recovery More Likely
72% of vendors with property coverage were at least partially reimbursed for a weather-related loss compared to 4% of those without insurance.
Insurance Canopy’s Vendors vs the Storm report summarizes how weather affects vendors financially, where insurance gaps leave them exposed, and how the right coverage can help protect against those losses.
How Weather Damages Vendor Setups & Cuts Into Sales
For outdoor vendors, bad weather can damage setups, cancel selling days, and quickly turn into a financial loss.
What Kind of Weather Risks & Damages Do Vendors Face?
Two-thirds of outdoor vendors had their own property damaged by weather last year, with tents and canopies falling victim to damage most often. Rain and storms were the leading causes, but vendors affected by high winds were more than twice as likely to have canopy damage.
The highlights:
- 66% of outdoor vendors had weather damage to their property in the past 12 months
- Tents, canopies, and booths were the most commonly damaged items
- 55% of vendors lost money to rain or flooding, and 51% lost money to storms
| Damaged property | % of Outdoor Vendors |
| Tent, canopy, or booth | 39% |
| Stock or product, including spoilage | 28% |
| Equipment (coolers, displays, tools) | 27% |
| Vehicle or trailer | 17% |
| Weather event | % of Outdoor Vendors |
| Rain or flooding | 55% |
| Thunderstorms, lightning, severe storms | 51% |
| High winds or gusts | 40% |
| Extreme heat | 36% |
| Hail or snow | 18% |
| Wildfire smoke or poor air quality | 13% |
What Happens When High Winds Blow Away a Vendor Booth?
Among vendors who lost money because of high winds:
- 58% had damage to their canopy or tent
- 39% had equipment damaged
Compared with other weather types, vendors affected by wind were more likely to have canopy damage.
Which Weather Worries Vendors Most?
When asked which weather risks concerned them most, vendors cited:
- 34% severe storms
- 24% rain
- 14% high winds
- 14% extreme heat
Out of those surveyed, 61% of vendors in the South lost money to storms and lightning, compared to 45% everywhere else, making storm and hurricane season a critical time to have the right insurance.
How Often Does Weather Disrupt Outdoor Events & Vendor Sales?
Weather can be a common and costly obstacle for outdoor vendors. Insurance Canopy’s survey found that 84% were affected by weather in the past year, and 56% lost sales when an event was canceled or cut short. The median vendor loses about one selling day in every seven to weather.
For many vendors, weather problems happen more than once:
- 64% were impacted two or more times in the past year
- 15% were impacted four or more times
A Chance of Storms: 69% of storm-affected vendors lost sales due to a canceled or cut-short event, compared to 42% of other vendors, suggesting storms may increase the likelihood of lost selling opportunities.
Missed events can take a meaningful bite out of a vendor’s selling season, too:
- 24% lose eight or more selling days a year to weather
- The median vendor doing 25 or fewer events loses about 30% of their season
- The median vendor doing 51 or more events loses about 7% of their season
Weather losses add up financially, with the median worst single loss falling between $500 and $999. Meanwhile:
- 36% had a worst loss of $1,000 or more
- 16% lost $2,500 or more
- 5% lost $5,000 or more
These disruptions aren’t getting any easier to weather. 39% of vendors said weather disruptions increased over the past five years, while 46% said they stayed the same.
With selling days and thousands of dollars potentially at stake, the next question is what insurance vendors had in place to help cover those losses.
What Does Vendor Insurance Cover When Weather Damages My Booth?
A standard vendor insurance policy won’t cover weather damage to your own booth, inventory, or equipment. That takes inland marine insurance, which is available as an optional add-on.
What Does General Liability Cover & Who Carries It?
Vendor insurance is a general liability insurance policy designed to help pay when a vendor accidentally injures someone or damages someone else’s property at an event. On its own, it does not cover the vendor’s own booth, inventory, or equipment.
One in four outdoor vendors carries only general liability insurance, with no property coverage.
18% of all outdoor vendors had property damaged by weather while carrying general liability insurance only. They had insurance, just not the coverage that protects their own property.
Here’s a glimpse at what general liability insurance covers for vendors and what it doesn’t:
What General Liability Can Cover
- An injured customer or attendee
- Damage to someone else’s property
What General Liability Does Not Cover
- The vendor’s own booth, stock, equipment, or trailer
- Lost sales or booth fees from canceled events
What Insurance Covers Weather Damage to a Vendor’s Booth?
Coverage for a vendor’s booth, tools, equipment, and stock (called inland marine insurance) can help cover a vendor’s mobile property for sudden damages, including those caused by weather. Inland marine is sometimes bundled with a business owner’s policy, but liability-only policies don’t include this coverage automatically.
Coverage gaps are common among outdoor vendors, especially when it comes to protecting their own property:
- 52% carry property or inland marine coverage (meaning just under half do not)
- 26% had property damaged by weather with no coverage for their own property
- 18% carry no business insurance at all
Knowing which types of vendor insurance protect your property helps you close these gaps. Event requirements shape what many vendors carry, so which vendors get asked?
Who’s Least Protected: Small Businesses & Owners Ages 45-60
The smallest vendor businesses surveyed had the biggest coverage gaps and were the least confident that they could absorb a major weather loss:
- 34% of vendors with under $25,000 in annual income carry no insurance, compared with just 3% of those earning $100,000 or more
- 36% of the smallest vendors carry property coverage, compared with 80% of the largest
- 30% of the smallest vendors had property damaged without coverage for it, versus 10% of the largest
- 58% of the smallest vendors aren’t confident they could absorb a $5,000 loss, compared with 24% of the largest
- 72% of vendors ages 18–28 carry property coverage, compared with 42% of vendors ages 45–60
The vendors with the least financial room to absorb a weather loss are also among the least likely to have coverage for their property.
How Often Do Events Ask Vendors for Proof of Insurance?
Most outdoor vendors have been asked for proof of insurance, and those who face insurance requirements are more likely to carry coverage.
Who Gets Asked for Proof of Insurance and Who Doesn’t?
When markets, fairs, and festivals require vendors to carry liability insurance, organizers commonly ask for a certificate of insurance (COI) to prove they have coverage.
Of the 700 vendors Insurance Canopy surveyed, 81% have been asked to provide proof of insurance, and 40% say they’re asked more often now than when they started doing events. Among vendors who have never been asked for a COI, 71% carry no insurance at all.
Vendors Who Have Been Asked for Proof
Vendors who face vendor insurance requirements are more likely to carry insurance; only 7% go without coverage.
Farm and food vendors are the most likely to be asked for proof of insurance:
| Vendor type | Those Asked for a COI |
| Farm & Produce | 95% |
| Food | 91% |
| Handmade | 72% |
| Resale | 71% |
| All Vendors | 81% |
Vendors Who Have Never Been Asked for a COI
Insurance Canopy’s survey found that 71% of vendors who were not asked to show proof of insurance had no business insurance at all, making them less likely to have coverage when it’s not required.
Frequent Vendors Are More Likely to Be Insured
The more events vendors attend, the more likely they are to carry insurance:
- 26+ events: 94% carry insurance
- 25 or fewer events: 74% carry insurance
- Event requirements may influence whether vendors buy insurance, but the coverage they carry matters most when a change in the forecast comes with a cost.
Who Pays When Weather Damages a Vendor’s Setup?
When weather damages a vendor’s setup, the coverage they carry often determines if and how much they’re reimbursed.
How Often Are Vendors Reimbursed for Weather-Related Damages?
Vendors with property coverage were more likely to get money back from a weather-related property loss, with 72% at least partially reimbursed compared to 4% of vendors with no insurance.
That gap shows how difficult it can be to recover the cost of property losses without the right coverage. For this survey, reimbursement included money paid by either an insurer or an event organizer, so these figures do not represent insurance claim payments alone.
Does Vendor Insurance Cover a Canceled Event or Booth Fee?
Vendor insurance does not cover canceled events. Normally, event organizers are responsible for refunding lost costs like booth fees when they cancel an event due to weather, but it depends on their refund policy.
Among weather-affected vendors who were not fully reimbursed, common reasons included:
- 27% said the deductible was too high
- 26% said the loss was too small to bother with
- 25% worried about a premium increase
- 24% weren’t sure the loss was covered
- 21% had no coverage for weather damages
- 19% did not know they could file a claim
Simply having coverage is only part of recovering from a weather loss. Understanding what your policy covers, when to file a claim, and what deductible applies can also affect how much you get back.
What Happens When Vendors Have to Cover the Loss Themselves?
When reimbursement fell short, vendors often turned to their own finances to help recover from their worst loss:
- 30% used personal savings
- 29% raised prices
- 25% skipped paying themselves
- 22% took on debt or used credit cards
- 19% delayed restocking
- 16% borrowed from family or friends
- 12% cut staff or hours
Those costs can put real pressure on a small business. About two in three vendors’ worst losses were under $1,000, and 45% of vendors said they were not confident they could absorb a $5,000 weather loss. And 13% have seriously considered closing because of weather risks.
How Different Vendors Compare: Food, Farm/Produce, Handmade, & Resellers
Weather affects every type of vendor, but property damage, coverage, and financial vulnerability vary based on what they sell.
What Weather & Insurance Risks Do Different Types of Vendors Face?
In the last year, every type of vendor surveyed experienced weather damage to their property. Food and farm vendors had the most damages, but they were also the best insured among the group for property coverage.
Meanwhile, handmade sellers and resellers, who were less likely to be asked for proof of insurance, are less likely to be insured than food and farm vendors.
| Survey result | Handmade & artisan(245) | Food trucks & caterers(215) | Farm & produce(98) | Resale(116) |
| Own property damaged by weather | 60% | 74% | 81% | 54% |
| Vehicle or trailer damaged | 11% | 27% | 16% | 15% |
| Carries no business insurance | 28% | 7% | 8% | 26% |
| Carries general liability only | 27% | 24% | 20% | 25% |
| Carries property or inland marine coverage | 40% | 66% | 69% | 44% |
| Property damaged with no coverage | 30% | 23% | 21% | 28% |
| Has been asked for proof of insurance | 72% | 91% | 95% | 71% |
| Not confident they could absorb a $5,000 loss | 56% | 32% | 43% | 49% |
| Seriously considered closing | 9% | 18% | 19% | 9% |
*Insurance Canopy survey of 700 U.S. outdoor vendors, 2026
What Vendors Sell vs How They’re Insured
Whatever each vendor sells, whether it’s food or handmade goods, about a quarter of vendors were insured for other people’s losses only and not their own, revealing a common gap in coverage.
While food and farm vendors were more likely to carry property coverage, they were also more likely to consider closing due to potential damages. This may reflect higher fixed costs and reliance on their vehicles, especially considering 27% of food vendors had vehicle or trailer damage.
How Do Vendors Respond to Weather Risks?
Vendors are already changing how they sell because of the weather, but many still say clearer, more affordable coverage would help them protect their business.
How Are Vendors Protecting Their Business From Weather Risks and Property Damage?
Most vendors are already adapting to weather risks: 80% have changed how they work because of weather, most commonly skipping outdoor events. But when asked what would help the most, the top choice was affordable insurance that clearly covers weather-related losses.
What Are Vendors Doing to Prepare for Weather Risk?
Outdoor vendors are changing when, where, and how they sell at events because of the weather:
- 39% canceled or skipped an event because of weather
- 25% raised prices due to weather-related risk
- 23% invested in sturdier equipment or tents
- 16% bought more insurance
- 10% stopped doing outdoor events
Vendors can take steps to manage event risks and reduce their exposure, including practical measures such as using tent weights and stakes, and monitoring wind ratings. Only 16% have bought more insurance, even though affordable coverage topped the list of what would help.
What Do Vendors Say Would Help Most?
Preparing for bad weather is one thing, but vendors also identified what would make weather risks easier to manage:
- 36% want affordable insurance that clearly covers weather
- 30% want better weather forecasting or planning tools
- 29% want clearer weather policies from event organizers
- 27% want a larger financial cushion
- 23% want sturdier equipment or tents
- 9% said nothing would help
Some Vendors Need Different Coverage, Not a Different Policy
Among vendors who carry general liability only, 44% say affordable insurance that clearly covers weather would help them most. Adding inland marine coverage to their liability policy can help close that gap for booths, inventory, and other gear used at events.
Finding Coverage That Fits How You Sell
Weather is unpredictable, but your coverage shouldn’t be. That’s why vendors can customize policies based on how often they sell and the gear they bring with them to events.
Vendors doing occasional markets or pop-ups may prefer one-day vendor insurance, while frequent vendors can choose annual coverage for protection across multiple events and seasons. Both offer optional inland marine coverage to help protect your gear from risks like bad weather.
Quick Answers About Vendor Insurance & Weather
Do I Need Insurance to Sell at a Farmers Market, Flea Market, or Craft Fair?
Most markets and fairs ask for general liability and a certificate of insurance (COI) naming the event as an additional insured. 81% of outdoor vendors surveyed by Insurance Canopy have been asked to provide proof of insurance for a market, festival, or fair.
Is a Pop-up Tent Covered Under Vendor Insurance if a Storm Destroys It?
Typically only if the policy includes property or inland marine coverage, since general liability alone does not pay for a vendor’s own tent or booth. Canopy damage is the most common type of property damage in the survey, with 39% of vendors reporting damage last year and 58% of vendors affected by high winds reporting canopy damage.
Does General Liability Cover Weather Damage to My Own Booth and Stock?
No. General liability is designed to help cover third-party injury or property damage claims, like if a vendor accidentally injures someone or damages someone else’s property.
It does not cover the vendor’s own booth, stock, equipment, or vehicle. A quarter of the outdoor vendors we surveyed carry general liability only, and 18% of all vendors had property damaged last year while carrying general liability alone.
Is a Food Trailer Damaged by Hail at a Festival Covered Under Vendor Insurance?
Trailer damage may be covered by commercial auto insurance, but not standard vendor liability or inland marine coverage. Vendors can add physical damage coverage for the trailer to the same commercial auto policy that covers the vehicle used to tow it.
The right protection matters, considering 17% of outdoor vendors surveyed had a vehicle or trailer damaged by weather last year, including 27% of food vendors.
What Common Mistakes Do Vendors Make That Insurance Protects Against?
Vendor insurance is built to protect vendors from the cost of common accidents, like a customer getting hurt at your booth or accidentally damaging a venue’s property.
It can also help vendors meet event insurance requirements, which are becoming more common: 40% of surveyed vendors said they’re asked for proof of insurance more often now than when they first started.
Does Vendor Insurance Refund a Booth Fee When Rain Cancels an Event?
If an event organizer cancels an event due to rain, booth fee refunds typically depend on the organizer’s refund policy. Vendor insurance generally covers liability and, when added, certain property losses, but not lost sales or organizer-canceled events.
Separate vendor refund protection may help reimburse eligible booth fees if the event still takes place, but the vendor cannot attend for a covered reason, such as bad weather. It does not apply when the organizer cancels the event. Last year, 56% of outdoor vendors lost sales because an event was canceled or cut short.
How Often Do Outdoor Vendors Lose Money to Bad Weather?
Most outdoor vendors lose money to bad weather more than once a year. 84% of outdoor vendors were impacted by adverse weather in the past 12 months, and 64% were impacted at least twice. The median vendor loses about one day in seven during the selling season, and 36% had a single worst loss of $1,000 or more.
Methodology
Insurance Canopy’s findings are from a survey of 700 U.S. adults who own or operate a business selling at outdoor markets, fairs, festivals and other outdoor events, fielded via Pollfish from July 31 to August 20, 2026. Respondents qualified through a screening question. The sample includes vendors for whom outdoor selling is their main work (34%) and those who run it alongside other employment (66%), with regional quotas across all four Census regions (South 252, Midwest 160, Northeast 159, West 129). Answer options were shown in randomized order. Statistics are unweighted. Share of season lost is estimated from vendors’ answers on days lost and events worked each year. Every figure is a share of all 700 respondents unless the sentence names a different group. Vendor types included: 245 handmade and artisan, 215 food (172 mobile food, 43 caterers), 98 farm and produce, 116 resale; 26 in other categories appear in all-vendor figures only.