Insurance and damage: who covers what

Freight and customs included

the items we carry responsibility for on work abroad

Exhibition stand services

Three separate risks

The first risk is on the road. Panels get scuffed, showcase glass breaks, a crate falls. That is the transport policy, and the sum insured is built on the values in the crate list. Understate the value and the settlement comes back short.

The boundaries between the risks are not always sharp. A crate dropped inside the hall after coming off the truck belongs to which policy, transit or build. When grey areas like that are not defined in the contract, two insurers start corresponding and the claim stays open for months. Writing the boundary down is the practical fix.

The second is on site. Damage caused during the build to a neighbouring stand, to the hall floor or to a third party falls under the contractor’s liability cover. Organisers frequently ask to see that policy before build-up, and some will not issue site passes without it.

The third covers the show days: a visitor who slips, a product taken from the stand, equipment that fails. That period sits with the exhibitor’s own policy. We keep the split of all three in writing within our scope of services.

Recording damage properly

Record damage the moment it is noticed: photograph, date, time, location and a witness. On transit damage, photograph the outer packaging before opening the crate; if the packaging is intact, an argument starts about whether the damage happened on the road or during the build.

Who receives the report is known in advance as well. Transit damage goes to the carrier’s representative, damage inside the hall to the organiser, product damage into the exhibitor’s own record. One incident can need reporting in three places, and learning that on strike night means missing the notification deadline.

For damage inside the hall the organiser has its own report form, usually needing the hall manager’s signature. That form cannot be raised after the fair closes, and damage first remembered on strike night is close to impossible to register.

Damage to the hall floor is its own subject: tape marks, paint, drilled holes and adhesive residue. Venues compare the pre-build and post-strike condition. Photographing the floor before the build is a five-minute habit every crew should have.

What to check in the policy

Read four clauses. Territory: does the policy cover work abroad, and which countries. Period: does it include build-up and tear-down days or only show days. Excess: below what value nothing is paid. Exclusions: glass, electronics and hired equipment are usually treated separately.

A fifth question is worth asking: what does the settlement actually cover. Some policies pay only the value of the material and not the rush cost of remaking a stand in time for the show. Since a fair date cannot be moved, that gap turns into the most argued clause at the moment of a loss.

The policy the organiser insists on normally covers third-party liability, not the stand itself. Confusing the two is a common mistake: a mandatory policy does not mean your own stand is insured, and the distinction gets expensive at the moment of a loss.

On fairs abroad the language of the policy matters as well. If a claim will be filed locally, check how the cover reads in that language. It is a question for the broker, and it should be asked before the show.

How is the sum insured decided?

On replacement cost. A written-down book value does not rebuild a stand after a loss.

Who covers damage to hired furniture?

The hire agreement says so, and it usually sits with the hirer. Photographing existing damage on delivery is the simplest protection.