Insurance Requirements for Events on City Property
An important requirement when planning a special event is to ensure that you purchase necessary liability insurance coverage.
Why is insurance required?
How much insurance should I purchase?
The City requires a minimum of $2 million in liability coverage for all events, with the City of Greater Sudbury added as an additional insured on your policy. This amount may be higher for events that include high-risk activities such as fireworks, inflatables, or alcohol service to the public.
Where can I buy it?
You may get a quote and purchase insurance coverage from InstantRisk which is an independent event liability insurance provider.
This insurance is only available to event organizers who are hosting their event on City of Greater Sudbury property.
To purchase this insurance, you must have a Facility Booking Contract issued by the City of Greater Sudbury Parks and Recreation Services. To complete your facility booking contract, contact Parks and Recreation Services at 705-674-4455 ext. 2446 or email Parks.Recreation@greatersudbury.ca.
After purchasing your policy from InstantRisk, you must provide the City with a certificate of insurance that shows the City of Greater Sudbury listed as an additional insured under your InstantRisk policy.
Customer Support is available at InstantRisk: ·
- E-mail: support@instantriskcoverage.com
- Phone: 1 (800) 517-1390
- Chat link
What if I already have insurance?
Ensure that your liability policy does not contain an exclusion for “injury to participants” who may participate in any planned activities. Verify this with your insurance provider.
Have your existing liability insurance representative provide to the City a valid certificate of insurance naming the City of Greater Sudbury as an additional insured.
The City will accept your liability insurance if it is submitted at least 10 days before your event and meets all required conditions and coverage limits. Additionally, the policy must not include any exclusions for participants.
What if I will be having vendors at my event?
Most insurance plans purchased by the event organizers do not provide liability coverage to their vendors.
As the event organizer, you can also be held liable if a vendor at your event causes injury to individuals or damage to property. In such cases, the injured party may sue both the vendor and the event organizer.
As the event organizer, you are required to collect certificates of liability insurance from all your vendors as proof of their own coverage. Make sure that the event organizer is listed as an additional insured on these policies. Once you have gathered these certificates, you must forward them to your CGS Liaison for review and approval. The certificates should be submitted no less than 10 days before your event.
What if some of my event vendors are uninsured?
As of the time this information was published, InstantRisk can provide quotes for adding additional coverage, including vendor liability coverage, to your insurance policy—provided that you have purchased the main event liability policy from InstantRisk.
When purchasing liability coverage from any other insurance company for your event, ask your insurance representative if they can extend your event liability policy to include liability insurance coverage for your vendors.
Vendors also have the option to purchase liability insurance from various online insurance providers for your event.
Vendor Insurance Retention Program
The City of Greater Sudbury offers a Vendor Insurance Retention Program to make participating in events on City property easier for vendors and activity providers who attend events throughout the year.
How does the program work?
To participate in the program, vendors and activity providers provide the City with one annual Certificate of Insurance that meets the program’s requirements and names the City of Greater Sudbury as an additional insured.
The City will keep the certificate on file for the duration of the insurance period. This means that if you participate in multiple events on City property throughout the year, you do not need to provide a new certificate for every event. One valid certificate can be used for all events during the coverage period.
If your insurance expires or your coverage changes, you will need to provide an updated certificate.
Who can participate?
The program is intended for businesses and activity providers that regularly attend events on City property to provide goods or activities to the public.
Examples include:
- Food and beverage vendors
- Craft and merchandise vendors
- Face painting
- Inflatable attractions
- Animal exhibits, such as petting zoos
- Similar vendors and activity providers
Joining or leaving the program
Vendors and activity providers can join the Vendor Insurance Retention Program at any time during the year. Participation is voluntary, and you can opt out at any time.
If you regularly participate in events on City property and would like to join the program, contact us at events@greatersudbury.ca to find out if you qualify and to receive the insurance requirements.
Annual Insurance Coverage for Community Groups
Community groups seeking affordable and comprehensive annual insurance coverage for meetings, fundraising, events, and day-to-day operations now have a simplified option. BrokerLink Insurance offers a tailored policy specifically designed for community organizations, with general liability coverage options of $2 million or $5 million, providing protection for a range of activities.
Employees, officers, directors, members, and volunteers are automatically included as additional insureds under the general liability policy, ensuring comprehensive protection for all key individuals within the organization. With flexible coverage options, this program offers community groups a reliable, cost-effective way to safeguard their operations and events. Additional coverage options can also be added to fit your group’s specific needs.
If you're interested in receiving a quote, please reach out to: