Event & Activity Safety Library

We advise you not to sponsor this activity due to the significant bodily injury and property damage exposure.

Grad Nights are fun, end of the year activities for the kids. Grad Nights can be dances, dinners, casino nights, or even all night events held at activity centers and amusement parks. Typically, the students arrive at a specified time and are not released until a specified time. Grad nights sometimes include athletic activities, mechanical rides and/or amusement devices. Follow these tips to reduce your exposure:

• Have all students and parents sign accident waivers
• Use vendors that provide a Certificate of Insurance and add your school group as an Additional Insured
• If using security for the event, make sure the vendor is licensed and insured
• Request that students be dropped off and picked up by a parent or authorized adult
• Use chartered bus services, not private passenger autos, if transporting students
• See Post Prom/After Prom Parties for more tips!

Keep your Haunted House safe and spooky with these helpful tips:

• We recommend have a volunteer parent act as a safety committee chairperson
• Keep your Haunted House on school property
• Have your local fire department perform an inspection
• Don’t use strobe lights in your haunted house as they can trigger seizures

If your Booster Club/PTO has a float in a parade, we recommend that you follow these safety guidelines.

• Hire a vendor to provide any vehicle or trailer used and have them name your school group as an Additional Insured on their liability policy 
• Have parade participants walk next to the float instead of riding on the float
• Don’t throw any candy or favors into the crowd

While kids face peer pressure every day, it is highest around graduation and prom. Many students feel invincible and may not make the best decisions. Post Prom Parties, Grad Nights, Senior Nights, and Lock Ins can be a way for your school group to provide a fun, memorable and safe evening for the kids. Everyone is able to attend and they won’t have to make the decision to drink or not. This may be the last time they are all together as a class. Your school or another organization may already host this type of event. If not, and your Booster Club/PTO decides to organize this event, make sure you keep safety in mind when planning the activities.

• Hire a licensed vendor to provide an entertainment package and allow them to setup, tear down, and run all of the games and activities
• Have all vendors provide a Certificate of Liability and name your school group as an Additional Insured
• Use shorter shifts for volunteers to ensure better supervision of the children
• All chaperones should be at least 18 years old
• Require all participants, and parents of minor children, to sign liability waivers
• Keep this event on school grounds if possible, or use the your local YMCA or similar facility that has experience hosting this type of fun, organized event
• Consider holding this event at a local amusement park

Coming up with new and fun ideas for fundraising and to keep the children entertained can be a challenge. These types of event have become very popular, and unfortunately, they can be quite risky. The color powder, blacklight powder, foam, paint, etc can contain harmful ingredients. They may cause allergic reactions, burns or even loss of eyesight. Always keep the safety of the children in mind when planning activities.

Keep your Hay Ride safe with these handy tips:

• Use a vendor who will name your group as an Additional Insured on their liability policy to provide the tractor, wagon, and driving services
• Inspect your route for any hazards and be sure to select the route carefully
• Use a wagon with sturdy side panels rather than a flatbed-type vehicle
• Have the driver tow only one wagon at a time
• When the wagon is moving, passengers should not stand or crawl around
• Volunteers should supervise the passengers during loading and unloading
• Ask all passengers to keep their arms and legs inside the wagon
• Use tractor-drawn wagons, rather than horse-drawn wagons

Although Dunk Tanks may seem fun, they can cause injuries to the individuals being dunked. These types of mechanical devices are excluded from the policy. A Sponge Toss is a safer alternative for the participant. If your group chooses to use a Dunk Tank, follow these tips to minimize your risk:

• Your school group should not rent and operate this device
• Do not borrow or use a homemade Dunk Tank
• Instead, have a vendor provide and operate the device
• Obtain a Certificate of Insurance from the vendor listing your school group as an Additional Insured on at least a $1,000,000 liability policy

Although fun, Moon Bounces or Bounce Houses can cause injuries that may not be covered by this insurance. Here are some tips to help reduce injuries and minimize your risk.

• Use a vendor to provide and operate this type of device and do not borrow or operate it yourself
• Have the vendor add your Booster Club/PTO as an Additional Insured on their $1,000,000 liability policy
• Put children that are close in age and size together when bouncing

Schools and School Districts will often drop their sports or athletic programs due to the liability exposure. Athletic events, sports, and other physical type activities can cause serious injury to the participants. You are advised to fund athletics/sports programs for your school district by donation and to not run them as a school group activity. These activities include baseball, basketball, cheerleading, football, gymnastics, martial arts, soccer, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball and any other event, activity or program involving physical activity. If your school group decides to proceed with this activity, even though this policy provides no coverage for sports or athletic participants, use these guidelines to limit or reduce your exposure:

• Have all participants (or for minor children, their parents) to sign a Liability Waiver available from your school district business manager or find one here
• Use school or school district property for these activities and keep the entire event on campus
• Require all athletic or sports participants to have their own medical insurance
• Find out if your school district offers low-cost accident insurance to parents or your school group
• Consider buying our Accident Medical Plus

This event may be held on school grounds or at a local skating rink. Ice Skating and Roller Skating are considered athletic activities and therefore this policy does not provide coverage for the participants. If your group decides to hold this type of event, we recommend that you have all participants, or their parents, sign accident waivers. When using a local vendor, have them provide a Certificate of Insurance showing they have a liability policy of at least $1,000,000 and name your Booster Club/PTO as an Additional Insured. When held off school property, we recommend that you require the parents to bring their kids to the skating rink and to stay for the entire event.

Is your Booster Club planning a golf game or tournament? Golf Tournaments are acceptable events!

While we understand that swimming and swim parties might sound like a great idea, this activity can be very dangerous. Our Liability Plus policy excludes swimming participants and we strongly advise you not to run this type of event directly. Instead, allow your school to organize and run these events. If you decide to hold this type of event anyway, make sure to have a certified lifeguard over 18 years old on duty at all times. We also recommend that you require parents to stay on the premises and to help chaperone for the entire event.

Rock Climbing has become a popular activity for many school groups. While they are fun for the kids, these amusement devices can cause injuries. Use the tips below to reduce your risk when putting on this type of event:

• Use a licensed vendor to set up, run, and take down the Rock Climbing Wall
• Require the vendor to be present and to supervise the entire activity
• Make sure the vendor has at least a $1,000,000 liability policy and names your Booster Club/PTO as an Additional Insured
• Hold this event on school grounds
• Have Liability Waivers signed by all participants (or their parents)

Schools across the nation are continuing to experience tighter budgets, causing them to ask Booster Clubs and PTOs to organize many programs traditionally run directly by the school. After school programs face the same legal issues that a school faces. In addition to General Liability losses, running these programs exposes your group to potential Worker’s Compensation losses, IRS tax and/or penalty problems and employment related laws. These exposures are outside of the scope of this General Liability policy. We recommend that you fund after school programs and classes for the school rather than run them directly. An alternative is to fund these programs through the local Parks and Rec Department or YMCA. If you choose to run these programs directly, follow these tips to reduce your General Liability exposure:

• Run the after school program or class on school grounds
• Keep classes and activities academic instead of athletic
• Have volunteers, rather than paid staff, teach or conduct the classes
• Consider using a vendor to run the programs and have them name your group as an Additional Insured on their $1,000,000 General Liability Insurance policy and provide proof of Worker’s Compensation Insurance

See After School Programs.

Providing child care services may be convenient for parents, but there are some risks associated with this activity. We recommend that this activity take place on school grounds during Booster Club or PTO meetings.

• Have parents remain on campus and close by at all times
• Require at least two adults (over age 18) to be present at all times
• Do not have volunteers change diapers
• Keep hot liquids outside of the child care room and away from children

As the demand for day care grows, you may find your school asking you to run a day care program before and after school. We recommend that you do not run a day care program directly, and that you instead fund this program through your school. In addition to a liability exposure, day care programs are subject to strict state regulations and typically require licenses, inspections, and experienced staff. Our Liability Plus insurance does not contemplate any legal issues that are involved in running a day care.

Field trips are fun outings for the children. Many Booster Clubs/PTOs organize field trips for the school.

• Do head counts throughout the day and make sure all students are accounted for before leaving any location
• If your group is responsible for transporting children, use chartered bus services available through your school district, and do not use private passenger autos
• There should be at least two adults (over age 18) present at all times
• Keep a ratio of at least 1 adult to every 4 students
• Have a Liability Waiver, available from your school district business manager, signed by all students (or parents of minor children)

We advise your school group not to sponsor any overnight activities. If your Booster Club/PTO decides to host this type of event, you are responsible for anything that happens to the children during the entire event. We recommend that you ask the school to host this type of event rather than holding it as a school group activity. Many schools will not sponsor overnight events because of the liability exposure.

This activity is not excluded by our Liability Plus policy.

At school group events, you may need volunteers to help direct parking and sometimes collect parking fees. We recommend that the volunteers do not drive or park the vehicles themselves. Instead, have attendees park their own cars in a prearranged location. We advise that you not provide valet services.

We recommend that your Booster Club/PTO does not directly run or actively participate in a crossing guard program, or any program that involves controlling street traffic. Instead, allow the school district to run the program and help out by providing the funds to make the program possible.

We advise your group to not sponsor this activity.

We recommend that your school group does not sponsor any activity involving firearms or other weapons. These types of activities have a significant bodily injury exposure.

These types of events can include pony or elephant rides, horseback riding, donkey basketball or any other type of game or ride involving an animal. These types of activities can result in injuries and we strongly advise your school group not to sponsor any activities involving animals. If you decide to have any of these activities, follow these guidelines to help reduce your exposure to a lawsuit:

• Have all participants sign a Liability Waiver available from your school district business manager or find one here
• Keep the event on your school campus
• Use a vendor that is able and willing to add your school group as an Additional Insured on a $1,000,000 liability policy

This activity is not covered by this policy. This includes any use or sale of fireworks, commercial fireworks displays or any similar type pyrotechnic display or device.

Events such as Wine Tastings, Silent Auctions, and even Fundraising Dinners may have alcohol available for consumption. This can create a liquor liability exposure for your school group. If someone consumes too much alcohol at your event and is involved in an accident, your Booster Club/PTO may be named in a lawsuit. Follow these tips to help reduce your risk.

• Keep tight control over the amount alcohol that any individual consumes during your event
• Hold these types of events at a local hotel or restaurant that will already have the necessary liquor license and liquor liability insurance coverage
• This policy does not provide any coverage for the furnishing or serving of alcohol if your school group receives any monetary compensation
• When hosting an even where your school group is furnishing or serving alcoholic beverages, please contact R.V. Nuccio & Associates for One Day Special Event Insurance where liquor liability is available for purchase

Mud runs and obstacle course have become very popular events. These events have caused serious injuries and even deaths. This policy does not provide any coverage for the participants of these type of events. Instead of a mud run or obstacle course, consider a Walk-A-Thon or Jog-A-Thon.