Every venue needs a clear answer to one question: what insurance do we require from vendors? This hub gives you a sensible baseline and a by-vendor-type table you can adapt with your broker.
A quick disclaimer up front: the numbers below are common requirements, not advice. Set your own with your insurance broker and put them in your contract.
The baseline most venues use
- Commercial general liability: $1,000,000 per occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate
- Additional insured: your venue named on the vendor's general liability policy
- Liquor liability: required for anyone serving alcohol
- Workers' compensation: where the vendor has employees
- Auto liability: where the vendor uses vehicles (deliveries, food trucks)
If you require additional insured status, also confirm the wording — see additional insured and the common trap in certificate holder vs additional insured.
Common requirements by vendor type
| Vendor type | General liability | Liquor liability | Workers' comp | Auto | Additional insured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caterer | $1M / $2M | If serving alcohol | If employees | If delivering | Yes |
| Bartender / bar service | $1M / $2M | Yes | If employees | — | Yes |
| DJ / band | $1M / $2M | — | If employees | — | Yes |
| Florist | $1M / $2M | — | If employees | If delivering | Often |
| Photographer / videographer | $1M / $2M | — | If employees | — | Often |
| Rentals / tents | $1M / $2M | — | If employees | If delivering | Yes |
| Food truck | $1M / $2M | If serving alcohol | If employees | Yes | Yes |
| Planner / coordinator | $1M / $2M | — | If employees | — | Often |
Use this as a starting point and adjust with your broker for your state, your property and your contracts.
How to set your requirements
- Pick your general liability floor. $1M/$2M is the common baseline.
- Add coverage by risk. Alcohol → liquor liability. Employees → workers' comp. Vehicles → auto.
- Require additional insured for vendors whose work involves guests or equipment.
- Write it down. A signed vendor agreement makes your requirements enforceable and makes "additional insured where required by written contract" wording actually apply.
- Collect and check a COI from every vendor before the event.
What this means for your venue
Setting requirements is the easy part. The work is collecting a certificate from every vendor, reading each one against the right rule for that vendor type, and chasing the ones that are missing or wrong — often in the final weeks before an event. That's the exact job VenueCOI's COI tracking software handles: it emails each vendor an upload link, checks their certificate against your per-vendor-type rules, and reminds the ones who haven't complied.
Next steps: learn how to request a COI from vendors (with a copy-paste template), and if alcohol is involved, read liquor liability for weddings and events. You can also check a vendor's certificate free.