Club Insurance

Why get club insurance?  (“Club” is the more common British term for what Americans often call “nightclubs.”)  Consider the following.  In February 2003, approximately 100 people died and about another 200 were injured in an accidental Rhode Island dance club fire.  It was the fourth-worst nightclub disaster in United States history in terms of fatalities.  The blaze came to national attention as news networks replayed footage of the fire over and over.  Hundreds of families were affected by the tragedy.  The club owners were subsequently fined more than $1 million because they had not carried workers’ compensation insurance (four of their employees died in the fire and resulting stampede).  Now how important does having proper insurance sound?

Dance club insurance can be obtained at a reasonable cost (although it’s not always cheap) from many different providers.  The best plans will protect your club against many risks, including the following:

• Accidental injuries to employees
• Injuries to patrons
• Damage done to sound or lighting equipment
• Damage done to the outer premises
• Forced closure due to circumstances beyond your control (adverse weather, local riots – hope that never happens! – or practically anything else you can think of)

So how much will you have to pay to get good nightclub coverage?  Hold on to your wallets, folks: the rate could be as much as $1 per square foot per month.  Doesn’t sound like much?  Well, if your dance floor is 50 by 50 feet, that’s $2,500 per month already.  Add in the stage, other rooms and the rest of the club, and you could be spending several thousand dollars on a monthly basis.  Remember, however, how much more costly the alternative can be.  Without good nightclub cover, you could face civil lawsuits or even criminal charges if something bad happens.