Escape Room Insurance
An escape room business sells the feeling of being shut in. Insurers are interested in the opposite: how quickly players can get out if something goes wrong, and what the business has done to make sure they always can.
What Insurers Look At First
Beyond that, the risk is a mix of a leisure venue and a small fit-out project. The rooms are built by hand, often with custom electronics, magnetic locks and props that would be expensive and slow to replace, and a fire or flood can close the business while the rooms are rebuilt.
Corporate bookings add another layer. Companies booking team events increasingly ask for a public liability certificate before they confirm, and some ask for a specific limit.
What Escape Room Insurance Covers
Public liability
Claims from players and visitors injured at the venue, or whose property is damaged. Commonly £5 million, which is also the figure many corporate clients ask for.
Employers' liability
A legal requirement once you employ anyone, at a £5 million statutory minimum. Game hosts, front of house and anyone helping with the build all count.
Contents, props and fit-out
The sets, props, electronics, locks, furniture and the work that went into building each room. The figure should be what it would cost to build the rooms again, including your own time, not just the parts.
Business interruption
Income lost while the venue is closed after insured damage. Rebuilding themed rooms takes time, so the indemnity period should reflect how long it would take to design and build them again.
Equipment breakdown
Control systems, sensors, maglocks, screens and audio. A failed control unit can stop a room running, and breakdown cover answers losses that ordinary contents cover does not.
Cyber
Online booking systems hold customer details and take payments. A breach or a booking system taken offline can cost bookings and bring obligations to the people affected.
Where The Cover Stops
Wordings differ between insurers, so treat these as the usual position rather than as universal fact. Where one of them matters to you, it is worth checking on your own schedule before you need to.
Players who cannot get out
If a player is injured because they could not leave a room quickly, the claim turns on the release arrangements. Insurers expect players to be able to leave at any time, and expect that to be tested.
Physical and active games
Rooms that involve crawling, climbing, darkness or physical challenges are rated differently from puzzle-only rooms. Declare any physical elements, because they change the risk.
Players under the influence
Groups often arrive after drinks. Most operators have a policy on refusing entry to intoxicated players, and insurers expect it to be followed.
Mobile games at other venues
Running a game at a client's office or a hired venue is a different risk from your own premises. Equipment in transit and liability at third party premises need to be included.
Wear and gradual damage
Props wear out with use. Insurance covers sudden loss and damage, not the steady replacement of worn props or broken puzzle mechanisms.
Fire Safety And Getting Players Out
Escape rooms are business premises, so the fire safety rules that apply to any business apply here too, including a fire risk assessment by the responsible person. What makes escape rooms different is that the game is built around closed doors, which is exactly what a fire risk assessment looks at closely.
Most operators no longer lock players in at all, or use maglocks that release when power fails, when an emergency button is pressed, or when the fire alarm sounds. Insurers want to know which arrangement you use, whether every room has a clearly marked way out, whether the release is tested, and whether a host is watching each game on camera.
These are the questions that come up after any incident. A written fire risk assessment, a record of release tests and a host briefing that covers what to do in an emergency are simple to keep and make a real difference to how a claim is handled.
Props, Electronics And The Cost Of A Room
The value of an escape room is mostly in what has been built inside it. Custom props, hidden mechanisms, themed decoration and electronics wired into the walls can take months to create, and many of them cannot be bought off a shelf.
When setting the sum insured, include the materials, the electronics, any contractors and the time it took to design and build. If a fire destroys the rooms, the claim is for putting them back, and an underinsured figure means the business either funds the gap or rebuilds smaller.
If you lease the unit, check what you are responsible for under the lease. Fit-out work you paid for is often your responsibility to insure even though the building belongs to the landlord.
Corporate Bookings And Certificates
Team building is a steady source of income for many escape rooms, and corporate clients are more likely to ask for evidence of insurance before booking. Having a current certificate ready, with a public liability limit that matches what your regular clients ask for, avoids losing a booking at the last minute.
If you take games out to clients, the policy should say so. Liability at another venue, equipment in transit and the value of the kit you take with you are separate questions from your own premises.
How To Choose Insurance For An Escape Room
Escape rooms are still a young enough business that some insurers do not know where to place them. We are an FCA regulated broker and do not claim to be the best broker for every operator. These are the things worth judging a broker on, us included.
Do they ask how players get out?
The release arrangements are the first thing an insurer will want to understand. A broker who asks about them is presenting your business accurately.
Have they valued the rooms properly?
The rebuild cost of themed rooms, including design time and electronics, is easy to underestimate. A broker should help you work out a realistic figure rather than accept a guess.
Is the indemnity period long enough to rebuild?
If it would take months to design and build the rooms again, business interruption needs to run for that long. A default period may not be enough.
Have they asked about physical games and mobile events?
These change the risk. A broker who does not ask may leave them uncovered.
Can they provide certificates quickly?
Corporate clients often want proof of cover before booking. A broker who can issue documents promptly helps you keep those bookings.
Factually, we ask how your rooms release before we quote, we help you build the sum insured from what it would cost to recreate each room, we set the business interruption period against realistic rebuild time, and we include mobile games and physical rooms where you run them. We approach several insurers rather than one.
What Moves The Price
Every policy is priced on the business behind it. These are the things that move the premium:
- Number of rooms and how players are released
- Physical elements in any game
- Value of the fit-out, props and electronics
- Annual visitor numbers
- Mobile games or events at other venues
- Turnover and the business interruption figure
- Claims history
We are a broker, so we take it to several insurers rather than quoting one. Call 02382 000820 for a quote.
What We Need To Quote
- The address and whether you own or lease the unit
- Number of rooms and how each one releases players
- The cost of building the rooms, including electronics and props
- Annual turnover and visitor numbers
- Whether you run mobile games or events at other venues
- Your fire risk assessment date
- Five years of claims history
Cover that often goes with this
The gaps we most often find sitting next to this policy.
- Soft play insuranceAnother visitor attraction where records and supervision decide claims.
- Cyber insuranceFor the booking system and the customer data it holds.
- Business interruptionLost income while themed rooms are rebuilt.
- Public liabilityThe certificate corporate clients ask to see.
Common questions
What insurance does an escape room business need?+
Public liability for players and visitors, employers' liability if you have staff, cover for the fit-out, props and electronics, business interruption while rooms are rebuilt, and equipment breakdown for the control systems. Cyber cover is worth considering if you take bookings and payments online.
Do escape rooms have to let players out at any time?+
Insurers expect players to be able to leave a room quickly in an emergency, and fire safety rules apply to escape rooms as business premises. Most operators use unlocked doors or maglocks that release on an emergency button, power failure or fire alarm, and test them regularly.
How much public liability does an escape room need?+
£5 million is a common limit and is often what corporate clients ask for. Some smaller operators choose £2 million, but check what your regular clients require before deciding.
Are my escape room props covered if they are stolen or damaged?+
Props and fit-out can be covered under the contents section for sudden loss or damage, such as fire, flood or theft. Normal wear and tear is not covered. Set the sum insured at the cost of rebuilding each room.
Does escape room insurance cover games run at other venues?+
Only if the policy is written to include them. Mobile games bring liability at third party premises and equipment in transit, so they should be declared when you take out the policy.
Who should I use for escape room insurance?+
A broker who asks how your rooms release, helps you value the fit-out properly, and includes everything you actually run, such as physical games or mobile events. We are an FCA regulated broker and do not claim to be the best, but those are the points to judge any broker on.
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