Offer the big prize without betting the charity on it.
Prize indemnification lets you hang a $50,000 car on the par-3 without your organization being on the hook if someone actually makes the shot. Pair it with one-day event liability and you can satisfy the venue, the sponsors, and your own board with a single phone call.
What we cover
Coverage is built around your operation — these are the pieces we most often place.
Hole-in-One Prize Indemnification
You pay a premium that's a small fraction of the prize; the carrier pays the prize if an eligible player aces the designated hole. Cars, cash, vacations, and merchandise all work. This is a prize-indemnity contract, not liability insurance.
Tournament General Liability
One-day or multi-day event liability for charity scrambles, corporate outings, and member-guest tournaments. Typically $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate, with the course and sponsors added as additional insureds.
Host Liquor Liability
If your event serves alcohol — and it will — host liquor is a separate consideration from the course's own liquor policy. Whether you need it depends on who holds the license and who pours.
Secondary Prize Coverage
Closest-to-the-pin, longest drive, putting contests, and shootouts. Usually bundled with the hole-in-one placement at minimal extra cost and worth including for the marketing value alone.
Event Cancellation
Non-refundable deposits and lost fundraising if weather or an unforeseen event kills the tournament. Worth pricing for large charity events with real money committed up front.
Participant Accident / Medical
Excess medical coverage for players injured during the event, which pays regardless of fault. Common addition for charity tournaments where organizers want goodwill protection, not just liability defense.
Spectator & Volunteer Liability
Larger events with galleries, volunteers, and vendors expand the exposure well beyond the players. Volunteers in particular sit in an awkward gap between employee and guest.
Equipment & Property in Your Care
Rented tents, staging, sound equipment, and the prize vehicle itself while it sits on display next to the tee. Often required by the dealership loaning the car.
What underwriters ask
Golf markets weigh these very differently from one another — which is the whole reason to shop more than one.
- Prize value and prize type — cash, vehicle, vacation, or merchandise
- Yardage of the designated hole, measured tee to pin on the day of play
- Number of eligible participants taking a shot at the prize
- Whether the field is amateur only, or open to professionals and low-handicap players
- Independent witness arrangements at both the tee and the green
- Event date, format (scramble, best ball, stroke), and number of days
- Whether alcohol is served and by whom
- Sponsor and venue contract requirements — limits, additional insureds, waiver of subrogation
- Spectators, volunteers, and any vendors or amusement activities on site
- Whether the event is run by a charity, a corporation, or the course itself
Frequently asked
How much does hole-in-one insurance cost?
It scales with the prize value, the yardage, and the number of players. As a rough shape, a $10,000 prize on a 165-yard hole with around 100 golfers commonly runs a few hundred dollars total. Larger prizes and shorter holes cost more because the odds shift. We can usually quote a specific event within the hour.
What are the yardage requirements?
Carriers set minimums, and they vary by program and by prize size. A widely used baseline is roughly 150 yards for men and 130 for women, with larger prizes often requiring longer holes. The hole must be measured on the day of the event and the tee markers must actually be set at the stated yardage — this is the single most common reason a prize claim gets contested.
Do I really need independent witnesses?
Yes, and this is not negotiable. Nearly every carrier requires at least one independent, unrelated adult observer stationed at the tee and at the green who can attest to the shot. If you can't staff witnesses on the designated hole for the entire event, tell us up front — fewer carriers will write it, but we know which ones will.
Is prize indemnification actually insurance?
It's a prize-indemnity contract rather than a traditional liability policy, which is why it's placed through specialized prize providers rather than standard carriers. Practically it behaves the same way: you pay a premium, they pay the prize. It does not cover injuries or property damage — that's what the tournament liability policy is for.
The course says it already has insurance. Why would my tournament need its own?
The course's policy protects the course, not your organization. If a player or spectator is injured at your charity event, your group can be named regardless of whose grass it happened on. Most courses will in fact require your event to carry its own liability and name them as an additional insured before they'll hand over the tee sheet.
How late can I set this up?
Frequently same day for a straightforward prize placement, though the paperwork must be right and the setup requirements must be met. Larger events with multiple sponsors, high limits, and specific contractual wording deserve a few days. Call as soon as the date is on the calendar.
Can you cover a shootout or a putting contest instead?
Yes. Putting contests, closest-to-the-pin, longest drive, and multi-round shootouts all have their own prize structures. They're often cheap enough to add alongside the main hole-in-one prize and give you more sponsor inventory to sell.
Get a tournament quote
Tell us about the operation and we'll come back with real markets — not a lead form sold three times over.