It feels like you’ve got enough to worry about when organizing your event. You’ve got to make sure that the golf sponsor signs are set up correctly, that enough participants have registered, and all kinds of other tedious administrative tasks. There’s one task whose importance should trump all else: securing the proper contest insurance coverage.

But what is contest insurance? You’ve been warned to get it, but only have a vague concept of the notion. Is it really that important?

Contest insurance is a contractual agreement that reduces the risk of offering a large prize for a contest. Say for example that the main event of your contest is to have someone sink a hole in one on a particularly difficult course. The lucky golfer to first sink such a shot would win $1,000. If someone does manage to defy the odds, which are 25,000:1 of an amateur making a hole-in-one, the contest insurance provider would pay the winner his or her prize. The organizer wouldn’t be liable for a dime.

This insurance allows organizers to give their participants the chance to win amazing, fabulous prizes, without having to worry about the payout.

As with any other kind of insurance, there are certain variables that go into determining a contest’s risk factor, which is used to determine the insurance rate. Such factors might usually include the prize’s size, number of attempts that’ll be made to win the prize, and the likelihood of the event taking place.

Having this kind of insurance allows organizers to offer larger prizes than they previously could afford, which will help increase the contest’s revenues, build customer loyalty, and establish brand awareness–without ruining the budget.

It goes by different names–hole in one insurance; golf tournament insurance–but no matter what you call it, you need to have contest insurance. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments.