Festivals Acadiens et Créoles returns to Girard Park October 8 through 11, and for a lot of Acadiana small businesses, that weekend has been circled on the calendar for months. Food vendors are prepping for the Bayou Food Festival, artisans are loading up for the Louisiana Craft Fair, and pop-up shops are counting on a few big days to carry the quarter.
It's far from the only stop. Between Festival International in downtown Lafayette, the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival, the Giant Omelette Celebration in Abbeville, and weekend markets from Baton Rouge to Covington, a busy vendor in south Louisiana can work a dozen events a year. Each one brings crowds, tents, extension cords, generators, and hot oil into a public space. That's real liability for a business that might be a trailer and a card reader.
Most organized festivals, markets, and municipal events ask vendors for a certificate of insurance before assigning a booth. The certificate shows you carry liability coverage, and many organizers also want to be listed as an additional insured. If a festivalgoer is hurt at your booth and sues both you and the event, your policy can then respond on the organizer's behalf as well.
Requirements vary from event to event, including minimum limits. Read the vendor packet closely and send it to your agent early. Certificates are usually quick to issue once coverage is in place, but adding an additional insured or raising a limit can take longer, and nobody wants to sort that out the week of setup.
General liability covers injuries to other people and damage to their property that come from your business operations. At a festival, that could be a customer tripping over a tent stake, a canopy catching a gust and landing on the next booth, or a child touching a hot surface. These are ordinary moments with expensive outcomes.
If you work several events a year, an annual policy usually makes more sense than buying one-event coverage each time. It keeps you ready for last-minute bookings and makes certificate requests simpler. If you also run a storefront or commercial kitchen, a business owners policy may bundle your liability and property coverage together.
Whether you're selling boudin out of Scott, plate lunches out of Carencro, or kettle corn out of Broussard, product liability belongs in the conversation. A customer who gets sick or reacts to an ingredient may file a claim well after the festival wraps. Products coverage is typically part of a general liability policy, but confirm it's included and that the limits fit the volume you serve.
Tents, fryers, generators, coolers, display racks, and inventory all spend festival weekends away from home base. A homeowners policy often provides little coverage for business property, and commercial property policies are usually written for a fixed location. Inland marine coverage, sometimes called an equipment floater, follows your equipment and inventory from the trailer to the booth and back. For craft vendors in Youngsville or Maurice bringing months of handmade work to a single event, that protection matters as much as liability.
If you sell or serve beer, wine, daiquiris, or cocktails, general liability generally won't cover claims tied to alcohol. Liquor liability is its own coverage, and events that allow alcohol sales typically expect vendors to carry it along with the required state and local permits.
Festival weekends often mean extra hands: a cousin on the register, a friend on the fryer, a couple of college students paid in cash. Louisiana's workers' compensation requirements generally kick in once you have even one employee, and seasonal or part-time help can count. We walked through the details in our recent post, Louisiana Workers' Comp Made Simple. If anyone is helping you for pay, talk with us about workers' comp before the event rather than after an injury.
A food truck, a trailer, or a pickup loaded with inventory is being used for business. Personal auto policies can limit or exclude business use, which leaves a gap on the drive to Girard Park or the ride home from a North Shore market. Commercial auto coverage closes it.
Kastner Insurance Group works with small businesses across Acadiana, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and the North Shore, including vendors who spend their weekends under a pop-up tent. We'll review what your events require and help you get the right coverage in place before load-in. Call 337-291-0018 or contact us online, and have your vendor packet handy.
Founded in 2017, Kastner Insurance Group is a full-service, independent insurance broker based in Lafayette, LA. Our insurance agents specialize in offering a variety of insurance products tailored to individual and commercial needs, making sure clients receive personalized and comprehensive coverage options from a variety of insurance companies/insurance carriers.
With over 43 years of combined experience, the team at Kastner Insurance Group is dedicated to providing expert advice and exceptional service. They proudly serve professional offices and businesses across Lafayette city/parish, Youngsville, Broussard, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Alexandria, Acadiana, and statewide in Louisiana.
Call us today or visit our website for a customized quote.
Lafayette Insurance, affordable insurance, truck insurance, auto insurance Lafayette LA, commercial insurance, commercial insurance Louisiana, marine insurance, hull insurance