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Are You Organizing a Food Truck Festival? Here’s What You Need to Know About Insurance

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Planning a food truck festival can be a logistical nightmare. The details of crowd control, parking, permits, power sources, trash can placement, and more can become overwhelming. One other important detail that should never be overlooked is insurance.

Not only do you need event insurance, but each of your vendors should carry insurance and add you as an additional insured on their policy.

Here are a few of the most important things you need to know about insurance for food truck festivals, as well as some tips to mitigate your risks during the event.

Site Evaluation

When evaluating a location for your food truck festival, it’s important to tour the site to evaluate any potential hazards that may exist. During this hazard evaluation tour, ask yourself these questions:

  • Will pathways be icy during a winter snowstorm?
  • Will grassy areas become soggy in a rainstorm?
  • Will black asphalt become too hot during the summer?
  • Are there evacuation exits for both indoor and outdoor venues?
  • Is there access for attendees with disabilities?
  • Are facilities and electrical conduits inspected and operable?
  • Are there fire alarms, sprinkler systems, and fire extinguishers in indoor facilities?
  • Where is parking located?
  • How will you manage crowd control?
  • Will you be offering a shuttle service?
  • Are your traffic coordinators well-trained?

One common claim during large events is “failure to warn.” When considering a site for a food truck festival, it’s important that all potential hazards are clearly marked and/or fenced off. Make sure you have warning signs posted and temporary fencing or barriers where needed.

Event Setup

The number one claim on special events insurance is slips, trips, and falls by attendees. To prevent these hazards, you can do the following to reduce the likelihood of injuries:

  • Notice where there is uneven ground and clearly mark it as such
  • Carefully plan the layout of the event so that there are wide walking areas, places for lines, and eating areas
  • Plan parking so that foot traffic and vehicle traffic rarely cross paths
  • Strategically place food trucks around the perimeter of the event, if possible
  • Watch where electrical cords run and make sure they are taped down and covered where people may walk
  • If ropes and stakes are used to support tents, make sure they are brightly marked so people don’t trip over them
  • Make sure all electrical circuits have ground fault protection and that all extension cords have grounding plugs
  • If your event is held at night, all pathways and parking lots should be well-lit

Security and Medical Service Plan

Crowd control is a key component of any safety plan for an event. Your goal as an event coordinator is that everyone has a good time in a protected and secure environment. Besides hiring well-trained security professionals, you should do the following:

  • Develop a map of the event, vendor booths, exits, and the surrounding areas
  • Have a central command post where all
  • events are coordinated
  • Keep a first aid station, or multiple first aid stations, and prepare for the possibility that an attendee will need to be medically evacuated
  • Coordinate emergency procedures with police and fire personnel

Keep a full report of all injuries and illnesses and forward this report to your insurer after the event.

Liability Insurance

Sometimes obtaining permits is difficult unless you have event liability insurance. Every city, county, and state has different requirements for events, so you’ll need to check your local regulations. However, FLIP is licensed in all 50 states so you can purchase event liability insurance no matter where your event is held.

Each of your vendors and food trucks should also carry liability insurance. Food trucks and food vendors can purchase liability insurance from FLIP. Artists and crafters can purchase liability insurance from Artists, Crafters, and Tradesman (ACT).

It’s important that each of your food vendors, food trucks, and other vendors add your organization as an additional insured on their policy. This protects you from liability claims where vendors are at fault, but your event is included in the lawsuit. To make things simpler, ask your vendors for proof of insurance as part of their application.

Need More Information? We Can Help

Call us at (844) 520-6992 if you have any questions about insuring your next food truck festival or event. We can help your food truck and other vendors obtain liability insurance as well.

If you would like to list your event or festival on our resource pages, where potential vendors and food truck owners can find and apply for your event, contact Troy Smith at Troy@veracityinsurance.com.

BY LYNDSEY LARSEN

Lyndsey Larsen is the Marketing Manager for FLIP and writes about business, marketing, entrepreneurship, and insurance.

Lyndsey Larsen is an experienced writer with a background in corporate communications and nonprofits, SAAS corporations, and nutraceutical companies. She has previously worked as a journalist for regional and national publications. In her spare time, she enjoys chasing butterflies, rockhounding, and spending time with her two kids in Utah’s mountains or deserts. Find Lyndsey on LinkedIn.

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