When fun needs Insurance: all about Amusement Park Coverage
Summary
30,000 injuries occur at amusement parks each year. We’re looking at how parks and patrons are protected by amusement park insurance, and how venues can lower risks.
In June of this year, a 47-year-old woman from Ohio passed out while riding The Voyage, a roller coaster at an Indiana theme park, and died later that night in the hospital. She was found after the ride had concluded its course on track with no unusual problems. It was reported that EMTs arrived soon after she was found and started first aid.
After the incident, The Voyage was shut down for the rest of the night with respect to the family, and an inspection was conducted. It was found the ride operated as intended.
The authorities revealed that “a full inspection of the roller coaster has been performed, and it was determined that the ride operated as it was intended to.” Although the official cause of death could not be related to the ride, the insurance coverage behind this case opens a debate about the safety and insurance measures each park must have.
In another ongoing case, an 11-year-old boy passed away after a boat ride at a popular Iowa amusement park flipped over and riders were trapped by their seatbelts. The ride was inspected days prior and was found to be in working order, according to the theme park.
There are exceptions, but these fatal park accidents are becoming more common, especially now due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced parks to shut down for over a year.
What Insurance Coverage do Theme Parks have?
Theme parks, trampoline parks, Lazer tag arenas, bowling alleys, arcades, and other venues need to make sure they have a Business Insurance policy tailored to their customer base and the risks they face at these venues. Accidents at theme parks and activity centers result in lawsuit losses amounting to millions of dollars, so a customized insurance plan is important. In fact, there are about 30,000 amusement park injuries each year.
Sometimes, a regular Business Insurance policy will cover these businesses from risk, but each organization must investigate what they offer to guests and what coverage they need.
Even though there are numerous injuries at theme parks every year, this is no reason to avoid the fun. In one study by an industry expert, it was found that the chance of being injured by a ride at a park is one in 16 million; this means it is more likely to get struck by lightning. Even when injuries do occur, they are often minor and parks are prepared to care for guests and make sure coverage is available.
How does Insurance for Theme Parks work?
For those who are worried about injury at theme parks or other venues, we have compiled a list of the most common risks faced by these businesses and how insurance works to protect against them.
A customized Insurance Policy for a theme park works similarly to a regular Business Insurance policy. Because Theme Parks have some added risks, it is important to look out for the following in a policy to make sure they are covered:
- Contagious Disease Coverage: As we have learned recently, this is an important aspect of any business insurance policy. This coverage is especially important for theme parks because thousands of people crowd into a defined space and ride the same rides, so it is easy to spread disease. If an outbreak is traced back to a specific park, insurance will come in handy to handle claims.
- Injury Related to Rides: This coverage is important for covering the expense of medical bills or settlements where a guest is injured on a ride. In the case of the woman that we analyzed, it had been found that the ride did not cause injury to her. If the injury were related to a ride, like the case of the young boy, insurance coverage would help cover medical costs to the family and any future settlements.
- Advertising Mishaps: This aspect of coverage helps with claims of false or misleading advertisement, copyright infringement, and other similar situations. For example, if a park launches an advertising campaign stating that kids ride free on Wednesdays, but park employees make parents of children 9 or older pay on Wednesday the park may face claims of misleading advertising.
- Slip and fall claim: This is huge for parks that incorporate water features into their rides or those with water-based rides. If a guest slips and falls because of water from a ride, this coverage will help pay the expenses. This also applies to other surfaces that a guest may slip and fall on and sustain injury.
These are the primary insurance and coverage that theme parks need to make sure is in place to avoid expensive risks. Every park, pool, and venue is different, so businesses like this often benefit from customized insurance policies.
Although small accidents at theme parks are common, the catastrophic cases bring health and safety concerns to mind for guests. The lesson we can learn from these sad cases is that the best way to assure the health and safety of guests is to perform regular ride inspections, make sure parks are clean, and have the right insurance coverage in place.
If you want to learn more about insurance coverage, visit our blog section and find out more about different business insurance coverage options.
