Back Yard Celebration Question

brianna11313

My Fiance and I really want to have a back yard barbeque at a friends house for our reception. However we need to know if we need to purchase liability insurance because we will be providing beer and wine...does anyone know?


Thanks

morenachica110

That all depends on your state. I don't know anything about Illinois, but for safety purposes I would recommend it anyways. For me, through my insurance company, for $500,000 covered it would be $150 oayment. I don't think that's bad. Also, with a backyard wedding, keep in mind that you'll need to have anough restrooms for the amount of people you have and be careful if you serve your own food. 

NOLAbridealmost

I grew up in Illinois although I don't practice law there. From what I remember, they have some of the strictest social host liability laws in the nation--particularly regarding underage guests.  If I were you, I'd contact several reputable caterers/bartenders (big names in the community) and ask them about it and try to get a consensus. My guess is that their answers should be pretty straight-forward, but if it seems fuzzy I'd consult with a lawyer at that point. 

Without knowing more about illinois law, I'd say you can't go wrong getting a liability policy for the wedding.

jess9802

Your first call should be to your insurance agent. Find out what your homeowners policy will cover and consider the purchase of an umbrella policy for additional liability coverage. It's not just about social host liability (for injuries that occur off-site as a result of alcohol served at your wedding), but about the injuries that can occur at the wedding itself.

kmmssg

Most important - your friend needs to discuss this with HIS insurance agent.  In all honesty, there is no way I would put that kind of liability on a friend.  It is a given that there WILL be some kind of liability in all of this.  I would make your friend's agent the first stop in all of this.  You are asking an awful lot here.

clfa1301

I Live in Illinois, and am having a backyar wedding/reception in August.  We talked to several insurance agents, and they all agreed that our regular insurance would cover anything...but we may add some liability coverage for a month, anyway. 

 

We are putting in a couple of port a potties in the yard, but mostly, because our septic system can't handle 200 people flushing, and frankly, I don't want them all in my bathrooms!  

If you don't SELL the liquor, but it is avaialble, you are ok.  If you SELL it, you may need a Dram shoppe rider on your insurance..that is how it was explained to me..

Hope this helps