Venue COI Requirements: What's Standard, What's Excessive, and How to Push Back

A venue in Miami required that my outside florist carry $5 million in general liability, name the venue as additional insured, and provide a waiver of subrogation. The florist had $1 million in GL, which is standard for a small boutique floral company doing corporate work. To meet the $5 million requirement, she would have needed to buy a supplemental policy at $400 for that event. She passed the cost to me. And then the venue’s events coordinator suggested that their “preferred florist partner” didn’t have the same coverage requirements.

That’s the pattern. Excessive COI requirements are sometimes legitimate risk management and sometimes a soft barrier to protect preferred vendor relationships.

What a standard COI requirement looks like

A standard COI requirement for an outside vendor at a commercial event venue includes:

• $1,000,000 per occurrence general liability
• $2,000,000 aggregate
• The venue named as additional insured on the policy
• Proof of coverage provided at least 5 business days before the event

That’s the baseline. It’s what most professional event vendors carry as a standard operating policy. An AV company working corporate events will have this. A catering company with 30 or more employees will have this. A mid-size event production company will have this.

When requirements go above standard

A requirement for $5 million in GL coverage per occurrence is the threshold where it starts to get questionable for small vendors. Large AV production companies and major catering firms often carry $5 million. Boutique florists, independent photographers, and small specialty vendors usually carry $1-2 million.

When a venue requires $5 million from every outside vendor, they’re either:

1. Responding to an incident (a lawsuit that revealed their standard coverage was insufficient).
2. Responding to their legal team’s updated risk template, applied uniformly.
3. Creating a barrier that favors in-house or preferred vendors who’ve already agreed to the terms.

Items 1 and 2 are legitimate. Item 3 is not, but proving it requires knowing whether the preferred vendors are also held to the same standard. Ask.

A waiver of subrogation means the vendor’s insurer cannot sue the venue if the venue was partially responsible for an incident. This protects the venue’s insurer from cross-claims. It’s increasingly common and is standard at historic mansions and museums where irreplaceable property is at risk. It adds $0-75 to a vendor’s policy endorsement and is generally reasonable to require.

An umbrella policy requirement (a separate excess liability policy on top of the GL) is less common and typically reserved for events with open bars, live entertainment, or high headcounts. If a venue requires umbrella coverage from a florist at a 100-person dinner, that’s worth questioning.

How to push back

Step 1: Ask for the rationale in writing.

“Can you send me the venue’s vendor insurance requirements documentation, and explain whether these apply to all outside vendors or whether preferred vendors are held to the same standard?”

A venue with a legitimate policy will produce documentation. A venue using COI requirements as a preferred-vendor barrier will hedge.

Step 2: Ask whether your vendor can meet the requirement with a supplemental endorsement.

Many small vendors can temporarily increase their coverage limits for a single event. An AV tech with $1 million in GL can often buy a $1 million excess endorsement for $150-300 that brings them to $2 million for that event. That solution works for closing a gap between what the vendor carries and what the venue requires.

If the gap requires the vendor to buy $4 million in additional coverage for a $2,500 florals order, the math doesn’t work.

Step 3: Negotiate the requirement down for low-risk vendors.

Coverage requirements should scale with the vendor’s risk profile. A florist placing table arrangements poses different risk than an AV company suspending trussing from the ceiling. Propose tiered requirements:

• High-risk vendors (AV with rigging, catering with kitchen access, production companies): $2M per occurrence
• Standard-risk vendors (floral, photography, registration staff): $1M per occurrence

Many venues, particularly independent hotels and resorts with experienced events teams, will accept this logic.

Step 4: Offer a certificate before the event rather than in advance.

Some vendors can’t produce a certificate months ahead. They can produce one at the point the event contract is active. Ask whether the venue will accept a certificate within 30 days of the event date rather than at contract signing.

Additional insured naming: what it actually means

When a venue requires additional insured status on your vendor’s policy, they’re asking to be covered by the vendor’s policy if a claim arises from the vendor’s work. This is standard and reasonable. What’s not standard is when venues require:

• Primary and non-contributory status (the venue’s own insurance doesn’t kick in until the vendor’s policy is exhausted)
• Additional insured status for the venue’s parent company and all affiliates
• Named insured status (stronger than additional insured; effectively makes the venue a policyholder)

Primary and non-contributory is increasingly common at hotel chains as a standard legal template. It’s worth understanding what you’re signing because it shifts financial exposure to your vendor’s insurer first. If you’re working with an outside AV vendor who carries $2 million in coverage, and the venue’s hotel group requires primary and non-contributory, the AV vendor’s insurer pays first for any claim involving the AV setup, up to $2 million, before the hotel’s own coverage engages.

Your vendor’s broker can explain whether their policy already includes this endorsement or whether adding it costs extra. At most mid-size vendors, it’s included at no additional charge. Ask before you tell your florist they need to restructure their insurance.

COI requirements at regulated venue categories

At historic mansions and museums, the coverage requirements often include specific endorsements for third-party property damage to irreplaceable items. These are legitimate given the risk of damage to artifacts or historic structure. Plan for $2-5 million in aggregate and a $250,000 per-item property damage endorsement for vendors who work near artifacts.

At hotels and resorts, COI requirements are often baked into a master vendor agreement that your preferred outside vendors can apply to be on. If your AV company or caterer isn’t on the approved list, they can usually be added in 30-60 days with the right documentation.

One practical tip: maintain a vendor COI folder for every event. Collect certificates from every outside vendor 5 business days before the event. When a venue calls the morning of and says “we have no certificate on file for your photographer,” you can send it in two minutes instead of spending 45 minutes tracking down the photographer’s broker.

What’s your venue type and your vendor roster? Those two details tell me which COI requirements are most likely to create friction for your specific event.