Company Holiday Parties and Liquor Liability
Posted on Mon, Dec 13, 2010
It is that time of year when many companies throw holiday parties to show appreciation to hard working employees. While a festive get together can be a lot of fun, it can also expose the company to liability risks. Your company can be held liable for accidents and injuries caused by party attendees having too much to drink.
Most general liability policies cover your business for incidents resulting from serving alcoholic beverages as long as you are not in the business of selling, making, storing or distributing liquor. As a result, if someone from the party gets injured or injures others as a result of being over served, your insurance policy would respond. If you are in a liquor related business such as a country club, restaurant, or liquor store, among others, you would need to purchase liquor liability coverage.
Having coverage and having enough coverage are two separate issues. If you have not had a recent discussion with your insurance agent regarding your liability insurance limits, it would make good sense to place that call. Another way to further protect your company and your employees is to hire a professional bartender who carries liquor liability insurance coverage. Most catering companies offer this service. This keeps employees from pouring their own drinks and, in general, it works well to prevent the abuse of alcohol.