Do you want to know how much it cost to insure an amusement park business? If YES, here are 11 best general liability insurance policies for amusement parks.
The successful amusement park model specializes more on the customer’s entire experience, offering a wide range of services and entertainment options including parking, trams, restaurant options, water parks, roller coasters, live animal attractions, stage shows, arcade games, and family friendly fun.
However, the bigger the property, the more entertainment choices the park is able to offer customers. The park customer base will depend largely on the theme of the park. Some parks focus solely on family friendly entertainment, others work best for teens and young adults, and real – life adventure parks like zip – lines, go – carts, and mixed athletic challenges can target adults.
Can Amusement Parks Generate Enough Income to Pay Insurance Premiums?
Amusement parks get income majorly through the selling of standard entry ticket. However, add – ons are where the real profits are and those can include premium prices charged for additional services like food, T – shirts, collectibles, framed photos, and other valuable items.
The rides or theme are the attractions that bring customers to the door, but it is the extras that bring in the main money. Note that small entertainment venues expect their customers to visit for two to three hours. For an arcade, the charge can range from $10 to $20 for a flat entry fee while more complicated indoor parks may charge $20 to $50 per person.
A large amusement park can charge between $40 and $100 per person, depending on variety of amusements and size of the park. A busy small indoor park can engineer profits of $100,000 to $200,000 per year while the large outdoor venues can generate millions in revenue during the season.
In the United States, over 375 million people visit more than 400 amusement parks every year. From amusement parks and theme parks to trampoline parks or family fun centres; there will be a lot going on and your first concern should be the safety of your guests and employees.
Is Insurance Needed for Protect an Amusement Park & Theme Park?
Note that with crowds, rides, and some adrenaline, accidents are bound to happen. Business insurance protects your assets in the wake of injury and property damage claims made by third parties. Without the coverage, your company could be on the hook for thousands or even millions of dollars in damages.
4 Ways Insurance Can Protect an Amusement Park & Theme Park
An amusement park environment offers the stage for a variety of scenarios where insurance could play a role in protecting your business. Here are a few examples:
i. Ride – related injuries
For instance, a child is injured when a ride malfunctions. If it is determined that park personnel did not do timely inspections, the business could be seen as being negligent and required to pay damages to the injured party.
Adequate insurance for family entertainment centers would likely cover medical bills as well as any settlements or judgments. It would also provide coverage if you failed to post adequate warnings regarding the potential risks posed by a ride.
ii. Slips and falls
Amusement parks, more especially water or skating parks, are very vulnerable to premises liability claims. The park business could be held responsible if a guest suffers an injury after slipping and falling on a wet surface. In a worst – case scenario, the family of a drowning victim could sue your business. Amusement park insurance could protect you in these situations.
iii. Advertising
Note that physical injuries are not the only liability issues that recreation parks encounter. Let’s imagine a park launches an advertising campaign featuring a new logo that closely resembles one used by another park. The owners of the other facility could sue the park and the park management for logo or trademark infringement. This is when liability policy could prevent a substantial financial loss that would cripple the company.
iv. Communicable Disease Coverage
Adequate insurance will offer liability protection, resulting directly from a pandemic, in the event a park is named in a lawsuit regarding a customer alleging they were exposed from the park’s operation.
Insurance Policies for an Amusement Park
The cost of building an amusement park can really be breathtaking. That is why to make sure your amusement park is a success, both with your guests and your investors; you will need to plan carefully, gather an experienced team to oversee the design and construction, and carefully considered other options that include insurance and a host of other business decisions. Below are necessary insurance policies for an amusement park in the United States.
1. Outdoor & Recreational Insurance
Cost
- Median cost per year: $800
- Policy limit: $1 million per occurrence
- Policy deductible: $500
Outdoor & Recreation insurance provides general liability insurance to protect businesses from bodily injury and property damage resulting from their products and operations. Businesses in the sports, leisure and recreation industries, like an amusement park, cater to individuals that “pay – to – play” and rely on your expertise, gear, and instructions to safeguard them during the activity.
If – or when – an accident occurs, the company may be held legally liable for the injuries caused to another while participating in the activities of the business. Note that legal fees alone may cripple a business but indemnification costs and punitive damage awards will almost certainly destroy it.
2. General Liability Insurance
Cost
- Median cost per year: $350 – $800
- Policy limit: $1 million per occurrence
- Policy deductible: $450
Although businesses in the United States are not legally required to carry general liability insurance, running your amusement park without it is extremely risky. If your business is sued, you could end up facing fees totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more). That’s the more reason having a sufficient CGL policy will help compensate for these damages.
3. Conversion Insurance
Cost
- Median cost per year: $650
- Policy limit: $1 million per occurrence
- Policy deductible: $140
This is a common type of insurance taken out by companies, as it protects your business against theft by a customer. ‘Theft’ in this context refers to cases where customers willingly or otherwise neglect to return helmets, belts, or maybe other rented equipment. This policy protects your business against these losses that could ridicule your business.
4. Business Income Insurance
Cost
- Median cost per year: $650
- Policy limit: $1 million per occurrence
- Policy deductible: $200
This insurance is typically similar to the Loss of Use coverage; this insurance covers the loss of products and equipment due to damage to your property or business assets. This means you can safely suspend operations as you work towards getting your business up and running again after some mishaps.
5. Business Owners Policy
Cost
- Median cost per year: $1,650
- Policy limit: $1 million per occurrence
- Policy deductible: $550
A Business Owners Policy, also known as a BOP, are combination packages for business owners who need several, important insurance products. This type of insurance policy will typically combine the features of two, very important policies: General Liability Insurance and Commercial Property Insurance.
Note that a combination of these policies will cover issues that involve personal injury, claims against your business related to false advertising and damage to your property. You will need this insurance once you start your park business, hire employees, or both.
6. Errors & Omissions
Cost
- Median cost per year: $900
- Policy limit: $1 million per occurrence
- Policy deductible: $350
There are several decisions a business like an Amusement park must make that may result in a claim. This may include the choice not to issue a ticket to someone. These types of decisions and several others can lead to a lawsuit against your business.
Also known as Professional Liability Insurance, E&O Insurance is designed to protect a business when a lawsuit arises from a claim relating to a decision you or a surrogate made while providing services. As your service is related to recreation and fun services, the type of claim will relate to how the business is managed. In both cases, your business may be on the hook for a legal complaint.
7. Workers Compensation
Cost
- Median cost per year: $1,300
- Policy limit: $1 million per occurrence
- Policy deductible: $700
Most states require businesses to carry workers’ compensation insurance for their employees. This coverage protects your employees if they become injured at work or fall ill after a work – related accident. It not only covers an employee’s medical bills and lost wages if they need time to recover, but also any disability benefits stemming from a work – related accident.
8. Commercial Property Insurance
Cost
- Median cost per year: $2,100
- Policy limit: $1 million per occurrence
- Policy deductible: $850
As an amusement park owner, you must have made major investments in your park’s rides and related equipment. Commercial property insurance would cover the cost of repairing or replacing your damaged property in the event of a fire or natural disaster so you can recover quickly.
This insurance policy is important for two, the first is coverage for income properties damaged as a result of natural or man – made disasters, and secondly loss coverage in case you are unable to draw an income due to damaged properties. Commercial properties insurance helps to prevent any financial loss.
9. Cyber Liability Insurance
Cost
- Median cost per year: $800
- Policy limit: $1 million per occurrence
- Policy deductible: $370
Cyber attacks are on the rise. Even if your park is small, a cyber attack could result in stolen personal data from your customers. This should be a concern for all businesses, as almost all businesses now own or utilize digital data collected from their clients.
You will need this insurance once you begin to collect data digitally from customers, maybe for POS transactions and any other online process. This can include bank account information, credit card information, or other personal information.
10. Commercial Auto Insurance
Cost
- Median cost per year: $600
- Policy limit: $1 million per occurrence
- Policy deductible: $150
Any vehicle you use primarily for business requires commercial auto coverage. Your policy will protect your vehicle, the driver and others on the road in the event of an accident by covering any related vehicle repair costs as well as medical treatment for anyone injured.
There is some complexity surrounding what is and is not covered if you drive your personal vehicle for business use, so be sure to do your research to make sure you are fully covered.
11. Commercial Umbrella Insurance
Cost
- Median cost per year: $750
- Policy limit: $1 million per occurrence
- Policy deductible: $150
While your general liability insurance policy covers most claims, some accidents or lawsuits may be so catastrophic that they threaten to exhaust the limits of your primary coverage. Commercial umbrella insurance protects you from paying out – of – pocket for any legal fees and awarded damages that exceed your primary policy.
Conclusion
Without proper coverage, an amusement park could be the hook for thousands or even millions of dollars in damage. When purchasing or renewing your insurance, makes sure you double check what is covered and what is not. You may find that cover for your park is no longer adequate. So always check the terms. Be clear about what you want and get it in writing.