Co-Hosting an Event With Another Organization: Who Owns the Liability?

A food bank and a neighborhood association co-host a harvest festival in a city park. The city’s event permit lists only the association. During the festival, a canopy that a food bank volunteer brought from home tips over, injuring a guest. The two organizations divide the work, but they may not share liability equally. 

Liability follows three things: whose name appears on the permit and contracts, which organization controlled the activity, and whose volunteer acted. Each co-host’s liability insurance for nonprofits and coverage for its volunteers depends on how the partners divide those three things before the event.

Who Owns the Liability When Two Organizations Host One Event?

The first factor is the name on the permit. For example, under San Francisco’s special event permit requirements, the city may require an event organizer to carry liability insurance for damage or injuries during the event. The organizer’s name must match the name on the insurance and the permit application, and the policy must name the city as an additional insured. For co-hosts, the permit holder’s policy is the one the city relies on, even when its partner runs some of the activities. At the festival, the association’s policy could be challenged by the guest’s claim, although a food bank volunteer set up the canopy.

The second and third factors, control and conduct, bring in the other co-host. Each organization owes a duty of care to the public for activities it controls and for the work of its own volunteers. Because the food bank controlled the canopy setup, the guest’s claim could also name the food bank and its volunteers. A canopy that the volunteer owns also raises questions about volunteer-owned equipment, such as who inspected it before the event.

When one injury can lead to claims against both partners and a volunteer, the partners need to decide in advance who owns each part of the event.

Put the Division of Responsibility in Writing

A short co-hosting agreement should record five decisions:

• Name the permit and contract holder. Identify which organization signs the permit and venue contract, because that organization takes on the insurance requirements attached to them.
• Assign each activity to one organization. Give every activity a single owner, so the organization that controls an activity also answers for it.
• Decide on additional insured status. Agree whether each co-host will name the other as an additional insured on its liability policy. Additional insured status gives the partner protection under that policy, so exchange certificates of insurance that show it and confirm the terms with your agent.
• Have counsel review indemnification language. Hold harmless and indemnification clauses shift who pays for certain claims, so have a lawyer review them before either organization signs.
• Assign volunteers to tasks. State which organization’s volunteers staff each task, and orient them before the event, so every volunteer’s conduct traces back to one organization.

With ownership on paper, each co-host can check that its insurance covers the parts it owns.

How Liability Insurance for Nonprofits and Volunteer Coverage Work Together

Start with your organization’s policy. If your organization holds the permit, ask your agent whether the policy meets the permit’s requirements. If it doesn’t, ask whether the policy covers the activities your organization controls at an event for which another organization holds the permit.

Next, look at your volunteers. VIS volunteer liability insurance defends volunteers against allegations of bodily injury or property damage. If the injured guest names the food bank’s volunteer in a claim, the VIS policy provides legal defense for the volunteer, so the volunteer doesn’t pay for a lawyer personally. 

Insuring volunteers separately also protects the organization. When the VIS policy defends a volunteer, the claim against him or her doesn’t draw on the organization’s own policy limits or affect its claims experience.

Finally, ask your partner how its volunteers are insured. If a partner’s volunteers lack insurance, a claim against one of them could reach the partner’s policy or the volunteer personally.

Settle Ownership Before the Event Begins

Before the first volunteer arrives, put each partner’s responsibilities in writing, then confirm that your liability insurance for nonprofits and your volunteers’ coverage match the parts you own.

VIS members enjoy 24/7 access to the “VIS Vault” of risk-management resources, including dozens of “Preventer Papers” addressing injury prevention and vehicle safety. Before agreeing to co-host, protect your volunteers with VIS volunteer liability and accident insurance: click “Get volunteer insurance now” on the VIS home page, call 800.222.8920, or explore VIS member benefits.

About the Author

William R. Henry, Jr. is Vice President and Director of Member Benefits at Volunteers Insurance Service Association, Inc. (VIS), where he leads membership development and delivers risk management solutions tailored to volunteer-based organizations nationwide. A recognized authority on volunteer risk management, he is a frequent speaker and author on best practices for safe and effective volunteer engagement. He is accredited by the International Association of Business Communicators. With a background in communications, journalism, and public affairs, Henry brings a strategic perspective to supporting nonprofit organizations across the United States.

About VIS

Volunteers Insurance Service Association, Inc. (VIS) is a membership organization serving more than 3,500 volunteer-based nonprofit organizations and public entities nationwide. VIS is the only association that offers these three insurance programs designed specifically for volunteers: volunteer accident, volunteer liability, and volunteer excess automobile liability.

If you are interested in protecting your volunteers through the unique VIS insurance program, please click on the “Get volunteer insurance now” link on the home page, or call 800.222.8920. For more information on VIS’s risk-management resources for members and our vendor partners, click on the “Member Benefits” tab.