Throughout the year, many businesses in Springfield, Massachusetts will host company events. Alcohol will likely be served at a number of these events, which presents potential liability risks. Before your business hosts an event where alcohol is served, make sure it’s protected from these risks by liquor liability insurance.

Get Liquor Liability Insurance for Your Springfield, MA Business Before Hosting a Company Event Where Alcohol is Served

Multiple Parties May be Held for Alcohol-Induced Accidents

Whenever there is an accident involving alcohol, multiple parties may be held responsible for any injuries or property damage that occur. The intoxicated individual, of course, is often held liable, but so may be the person or organization who provided the alcohol. If someone becomes intoxicated at a company event and falls, gets into a fight, or is involved in a car accident, any or all of the following parties might be held responsible:

• The individual

• The server or bartender who actually served the alcohol

• The catering company that provided the alcohol (if the event was catered)

• The business or individual who owned the property where the event was held

• The business that put on the event

If your Springfield, MA business hosts and event, it will certainly fall into the last category. Depending on where the event is and who’s serving beverages, it might also fall into several other categories.

Since lawyers frequently seek reparations from anyone who might be responsible, there’s a good chance your business could be sued if an intoxicated guest is involved in an accident or other incident. If it’s sued, your business will probably at least need to pay for legal representation, and it might have to also pay a settlement. Liquor liability insurance can help with both of these potential expenses (provided a claim is covered by a policy).

Require Everyone Involved to Have Liquor Liability Insurance Coverage

The first step you can take to protect your business is to require the people and companies involved with your event to carry their own liquor liability policy. This won’t directly protect your business, but it will indirectly benefit your company. By ensuring others have insurance, you’ll reduce the chances of financial burden for another person’s or company’s error.

Specifically, you’ll want to make sure that all of the following parties have liquor liability coverage:

• Bartenders and servers should have their own individual policies or be insured under their employer’s policy

• Catering companies should have a policy if they’ll be serving alcohol

• The owner of the property should have a liquor liability policy

If the event is being held at a facility where alcohol is regularly served, the property owner may already have a liquor liability policy. If alcohol usually isn’t served on the premises, you may be asked to cover the cost of purchasing a temporary policy for your business’ event.

If the event is being held at an individual's home or other property (rather than at a commercial property), you’ll want to have them check their homeowners insurance. Many homeowners policies provide some liquor liability coverage, but the coverage is usually minimal. Make sure the individual has at least some protection, and offer to pay for additional coverage if it’s needed.

Get Your Springfield, MA Business Liquor Liability Coverage

Your business will also need it’s own liquor liability coverage. Many insurers that offer liquor liability policies in Massachusetts provide temporary policies, which usually provide coverage for 1 to 30 days. These policies are typically quite affordable, and they’re often designed specifically for businesses that infrequently need liquor liability coverage -- such as businesses that host events where alcohol is served.

In order to obtain temporary liquor liability coverage, your business will probably first need a license from Massachusetts’ Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission. The commission offers a special license, named the “1-Day License” that any enterprise can apply for (provided it doesn’t have another license application pending with or another current license from the commission).

For help finding liquor liability insurance for your Springfield, MA business, contact an independent insurance agent in the area. They’ll be able to get quotes for policies that will provide coverage during your business’ event, and they can tell you exactly what’s needed to obtain these policies. With an agent, it will be easy to navigate the license and insurance application process, so you can make sure your business is best protected.