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Menlo
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Special Event Insurance in California

One event, one policy, covered in days not weeks. Start a quote in minutes and a licensed California broker shops the event markets for you.

We shop the market for you, no broker fees

  • Travelers

    Special event coverage

  • Markel

    Event liability and cancellation

  • Progressive Commercial

    Wedding and event coverage

  • Starr

    Event risks

  • Great American

    Specialty event programs

  • QBE

    Event and entertainment

  • Hiscox

    Event liability

  • AmTrust

    Event liability packages

What the event market writes in California

Events from 50 to 3,000 attendees

Private events, weddings, corporate gatherings and festivals in attendee bands from under fifty to three thousand, single events or repeat and annual events.

Liability sized to the venue's demand

Venues require it, and the market delivers: per occurrence limits matching the venue's certificate requirements, with setup and takedown days included.

Alcohol and hours drive the price

Whether alcohol is served and when the event ends, before midnight, one a.m. or two a.m., are the two questions that move the premium the most.

One policy, one event

Single event terms with terrorism coverage offered, covering the event day plus setup and takedown, so a venue certificate is satisfied without an annual policy nobody needed.

How it works

  1. 10 minute form

    A few questions about your business or home.

  2. We shop the market

    We compare carriers and read the forms line by line.

  3. Pick the best policy

    We explain what is covered, what is not, and what it costs.

The venue wants a certificate, not an explanation

Every venue asks for the same thing: a certificate naming them, with limits they specify, before the doors open. Event liability is the fastest policy in insurance to place, and the slowest to explain after someone is hurt.

Attendee bands price the event

From under fifty attendees to three thousand in bands, and the band matters more than the headcount: a two hundred person event in the wrong band pays the thousand person price.

Alcohol is the second question

Whether alcohol is served, and by whom, changes both eligibility and price, and a venue will ask before the market does.

The clock matters

Events ending before midnight write cleanest, one a.m. and two a.m. endings each add, because the claims happen after the bar stops serving.

Written for California events, including:

  • Weddings and private events
  • Corporate gatherings
  • Festivals and community events
  • Repeat and annual events
  • Events to 3,000 attendees
  • Alcohol service with review

What changes your premium

There is no flat rate for this coverage. These are the inputs a carrier prices against, and they are the same things the quote form asks you for.

  • Attendee band, from 0-50 to 2001-3000
  • Alcohol served or not
  • Event end time: before midnight, 1 or 2 a.m.
  • Single event or repeat and annual
  • Setup and takedown days

Text us. We're by your side.

13:19
506

Menlo Agent

  1. Today, 9:41 AM
  2. Our lease for a second location starts September 1. Does our current policy cover it?
  3. Not automatically. Send me the address, square footage, operations, contents value, and move in date. I will ask the carrier to add it before you take possession.
  4. Sending the lease details now.

  5. Received. The location was added effective September 1. Your updated policy is ready.

    View updated policy

    menloinsurance.com

Questions we get asked

Does the venue require this?

Almost always. Venues name themselves on the policy and specify limits, and the certificate has to reach them before the doors open.

Does it cover alcohol service?

Alcohol is one of the rating questions: served or not, and when the event ends, because late service with alcohol is where event claims concentrate.

Are setup and takedown covered?

Yes, the policy can include the setup and takedown days around the event, not just the event itself.

Can an annual series be covered?

Yes, repeat and annual events have their own form, usually cheaper per event than single policies bought twelve times.

How big can the event be?

Attendee bands run from under fifty to two thousand one to three thousand attendees; larger events are placed market by market.

Can you write this where my business is?

We are licensed in California, Texas, Pennsylvania and New York, and applications in Ohio, North Carolina and Michigan are with those states now. We do not quote a state before its license is issued. Start a quote and we will tell you where you stand before you spend time on it.

What actually happens after I start a quote?

You answer a short set of questions, and a licensed broker at Menlo reads them, maps your operation to a class, and shops it with the carriers we are appointed with. There is no instant bind and no black box. You talk to a person before anything is quoted.

Get it placed by someone who reads the fine print

Start a quote and a licensed broker takes it from there, or talk to one now.

Talk to a licensed broker