What Is Sports Tournament Insurance?

Hosting a sports tournament is a big job for a tournament director, with many different things to do. After you have chosen the venue and the date and registered the participants, the next step is to line up sports tournament liability insurance. Most sports venues will require it, but even if they don't, it is prudent to get it. Liability insurance can cover an array of things, including coverage for lawsuits by injured players, protection of equipment, coverage for directors and officials of the tournament and protection against theft.

  1. Basic Coverage

    • Most sports tournament liability policies will provide liability protection for bodily injury, property damage and personal injury. While every effort should always be made to keep both participants and spectators safe, things can happen. An athlete can sustain an injury, and this insurance will provide a set amount toward protection, and legal fees and court costs.

    Facilities

    • Tournament coverage can also include protection of the facilities and the owners of the facilities. This would be considered coverage for the interest of another party. If your tournament is at a municipal stadium, you will be asked to purchase insurance to cover the facility as well as your tournament. Municipal parks departments will often have their own insurance that covers them as well.

    Participants

    • The coverage of the participants is the most important part of liability coverage. Some insurance carriers will exclude this coverage in the basic contract. Lawsuits brought against your organization by an athlete or other participant who may have been injured should always be covered. Make sure that your tournament policy has participant coverage.

    Unique Situations

    • Each sports event is unique. Some tournaments, especially ones that can be affected by weather, should have weather-related liability insurance. A golf tournament, which can be rained out, is a good example. Other events such as a large road race will have to cover the participants, officials and all of the volunteers who are spaced out over a large area. Plan for every contingency.

    Cost

    • Policies will generally cover about $1 million in liability in the basic policy. Per-person charges, as of July 2010, can range from $2 to $4. Extra charges can occur for large park districts or stadiums. These charges will cover all of the personnel and participants in the tournament. As the tournament director, you should figure the cost of insurance coverage into the fees that you charge the participants, teams and even spectators.