Insuring a gala or a welcome weekend (WEI): cover and liability
Civil liability, extensions to check, suppliers' certificates: what a student association must insure before a gala or a welcome weekend (WEI).
A gala brings hundreds of people together in a hired venue; a welcome weekend (WEI) puts students on a coach, then in accommodation. If someone is injured or the venue is damaged, the first question will be: who is liable, and who pays? It is better to have answered it before signing.
Who is liable for what
When it organises an event, the association is liable for damage caused to others by its activity: a guest injured by a badly secured installation, borrowed equipment damaged, a venue left in a poor state. This is its civil liability (responsabilité civile).
The officers and the volunteers act on the association's behalf. In principle, the association answers for what they do as part of their role; a serious personal fault can nevertheless engage their own liability, including criminal liability. Hence the value of a policy that also covers the volunteers, and of an organisation that avoids putting them in a difficult position.
Is insurance compulsory?
There is no general obligation for all associations to be insured. But:
- sports associations are required to insure their own civil liability, that of their volunteers and that of the people taking part (article L321-1 of the French Sports Code);
- the school almost always requires an insurance certificate before authorising an event or lending premises;
- the owner of the venue and the transport company also ask for a certificate, more often than not.
In practice, a student association that organises events cannot do without it.
The extensions to check in the policy
A "basic" civil liability policy does not always cover everything. Before a gala or a welcome weekend, check in black and white:
- premises occupied temporarily (hired venue, holiday rental): damage to the building, fire, water damage;
- the activities on offer: sport, water sports or thrill activities may be excluded or require an option;
- the sale or serving of drinks, if you run a bar;
- numbers: some policies cap the number of participants per event;
- cover for volunteers and, as an option, individuelle accident (personal accident cover) for their own injuries.
Ask your insurer for a certificate specific to the event, dated, stating the venue and the number of participants.
Suppliers: ask for their certificates
The transport company, the caterer, the security firm and the sound and lighting supplier have their own professional liability insurance. Ask them for a current insurance certificate before signing, and keep it with the contract. If a supplier causes damage, its insurance is the one that must pay, not yours.
If there is an incident
- Make people safe and call the emergency services if necessary.
- Write down the facts the same day: time, place, witnesses, photos.
- Report the claim to the insurer within the period set in the policy (often a few working days).
- Tell the school if the event was taking place under its responsibility or on its premises.
With toGaether
In toGaether, the insurance certificate is filed in the association's documents with its end date: the school sees which associations are covered, and an alert warns you before it expires. Suppliers' contracts and certificates are kept in the event's documents.
To prepare the weekend itself, read how to organise a welcome weekend without incident.
This article gives general guidance; only your policy, read with your insurer, says exactly what is covered.
