TOUR OPERATOR INSURANCE
What Viator, GetYourGuide, Airbnb Experiences, a cruise line and school departments ask suppliers to hold, what each term means, and which ones to raise with the underwriter before you sign.
Premiums and outcomes described are specific to this client and indicative only. Your own terms will depend on your circumstances and the insurer.
THE SHORT ANSWER
What insurance do Viator, GetYourGuide and cruise lines require?
Viator makes valid public liability insurance a mandatory baseline for every supplier and sets the level by activity risk and destination. GetYourGuide publishes no dollar figure but asks for occurrence-based liability cover that is primary and non-contributory, with a waiver of subrogation, kept for two years after your last booking. Royal Caribbean Group's tour operator agreement asks for general liability of not less than US$2,000,000 per incident, additional insured status, 30 days' cancellation notice and no communicable disease exclusion. The tour operator policies we arrange don't typically give several of these terms automatically, and wordings differ between insurers, so each one needs the underwriter's agreement before you sign.
Figures and terms are as at October 2026, read from each platform's or cruise line's own published document. Other platforms and cruise lines set their terms in the agreement they send you. General information only. It doesn't take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs, and it isn't legal advice.
| Platform | Limit | What the cover must do | Evidence and consequences |
|---|---|---|---|
| GetYourGuide | No dollar figure. A limit appropriate to your services, location and industry standards. | Liability cover on an occurrence form, kept for two years after your last booking is fulfilled. Primary and non-contributory. A waiver of subrogation against the platform. Cover for your contractual indemnity to the platform. | Policy details kept current in the supplier portal. Proof within five business days of a request. Failing to hold or evidence cover is a ground for termination. |
| Viator | No public dollar figure. Viator sets the minimum by activity risk and destination. | Viator's published summary of its August 2026 supplier agreement describes valid public liability insurance as a mandatory baseline for all suppliers. | If your documents expire or are insufficient, the account is frozen from taking new sales until updated documents are approved. Existing bookings must still be honoured. |
| Airbnb Experiences | Hosts must hold liability insurance appropriate for their business. | Airbnb's own program provides liability cover, up to the amount Airbnb states, where the host is legally responsible for a guest's injury or property damage. Check the amount, currency and terms on Airbnb's page. It sits above the host's own insurance, not in front of it. | The program excludes aircraft and certain extreme activities. Hosts in Japan are not covered. Proof of your own insurance may be requested. |
GetYourGuide also holds you responsible for your subcontractors. They must be insured under your policy or hold their own cover that meets the same terms. On the tour operator policies we arrange, your contract guides and suppliers are not insured by your policy, so their own certificates matter.
We could only find published supplier insurance terms for these three platforms. For any other marketplace, the requirement is whatever the agreement you are sent says.
| Item | What the agreement requires |
|---|---|
| Land tours | General liability of not less than US$2,000,000 per incident |
| Water tours | Protection and indemnity plus general liability of not less than US$2,000,000 per incident |
| Tours serving alcohol | Liquor liability of not less than US$2,000,000 per incident |
| Additional insured | The cruise line and its related parties (the agreement's Cruise Line Indemnitees) named as additional insureds in all their capacities |
| Order of payment | A primary and non-contributory endorsement on every policy |
| Recovery rights | A waiver of subrogation in the cruise line's favour |
| Cancellation | The insurer gives the cruise line 30 days' written notice before cancelling |
| Disease | The policy must not exclude infectious or communicable disease |
| Vehicles and boats you don't own | General liability must include contingent motor and contingent watercraft liability |
| Insurer | A minimum AM Best financial strength rating |
This is one cruise line's published agreement. We found no public supplier insurance terms for other cruise lines or shore excursion agents, so don't assume the same figures apply. Ask for the agreement early. More on ship schedules and port days is on our cruise shore excursion insurance page.
| State | Insurance asked of the provider | Other rules |
|---|---|---|
| Western Australia | $20 million public liability and, if appropriate, $5 million professional liability | Staff must not sign waivers, indemnities or disclaimers that absolve a provider from its own negligence, and must not ask parents to sign them. |
| Victoria | At least $10 million public liability, from an APRA-approved insurer | Schools must refuse waivers where the provider seeks to absolve itself of negligence. Working with Children Checks for provider adults in direct contact with students. |
| New South Wales | No dollar minimum in the department's excursions procedure | A risk assessment plan, and a current Working with Children Check for child-related work. |
| Queensland | No dollar minimum in the department's excursions procedure | A risk assessment under the department's guidelines. Bus charter operators show an operator accreditation number. |
Whatever waiver you use with adult retail guests, don't expect it to carry into school contracts in WA or Victoria. See waivers and booking terms. A $5 million professional liability request is a higher professional indemnity limit to ask the underwriter for.
| Term | What it means | How it sits with the policies we arrange |
|---|---|---|
| Additional insured | A third party added to your policy so it can claim under it directly. | Not automatic. On at least one specialist wording we place, an indemnity to others extension can cover a party your agreement requires you to indemnify, at your request, but only as far as your own liability goes. Naming a platform or cruise line needs the underwriter's agreement. |
| Interested party | A third party whose interest is recorded on your policy or certificate. | Not the same as an additional insured. What it gives the other party depends on the wording. Send us the exact text requested. |
| Primary and non-contributory | Your policy pays first and does not ask the other party's insurer to share the loss. | An endorsement to request. Needs the underwriter's agreement before you accept the term. |
| Waiver of subrogation | Your insurer gives up its right to recover from a named party after paying a claim. | Tour operator policies we arrange generally exclude a claim to the extent you waived recovery rights without the insurer's prior consent. Consent has to come first. |
| Contractual indemnity | A promise to make good the other party's loss. | Tour operator policies we arrange can respond only to the extent you would have been liable without the contract, subject to the wording, the schedule and the underwriter's assessment. Extra liability you take on by contract is excluded. |
| Occurrence vs claims made | Occurrence: the policy in force when the injury happened is the one that can respond. Claims made: the policy in force when the claim is made and notified is the one that can respond. | On the tour operator policies we arrange, public liability is typically occurrence-based and professional indemnity is claims made and notified. |
| Notice of cancellation | A promise that the other party is warned before your cover ends. | A notice obligation on the insurer needs the underwriter's agreement. Telling a platform about a change or non-renewal is your own obligation. |
Both GetYourGuide and the cruise line agreement ask for one. On the tour operator policies we arrange, agreeing to waive recovery rights without the insurer's prior consent can remove cover for that claim. Get the consent in writing before you accept the terms.
On at least one specialist wording we place, these are endorsements, not standard features. The underwriter decides whether to add a named party and whether your policy will pay ahead of theirs. GetYourGuide also asks the policy to cover your contractual indemnity to it. On the tour operator policies we arrange, liability you take on by contract can only be covered as far as you would have been liable anyway, so put that clause to the underwriter too.
The cruise line agreement says the policy must not exclude infectious or communicable disease. At least one specialist wording we place excludes communicable disease and notifiable disease, and wordings differ between insurers. Raise this with the underwriter before you sign.
The cruise line's limits are in US dollars. At least one specialist wording we place is governed by Australian law, pays in Australian dollars and, on the schedule we hold, excludes claims brought in a US court or under US law. A US jurisdiction extension is a separate request to the underwriter. Check which law and courts the agreement names. See insurance for overseas tours.
Contingent motor and watercraft liability, and a separate liquor liability limit, need to be put to the underwriter. Tour operator policies we arrange generally exclude liability arising from registered vehicles used by you or on your behalf, including hired vehicles and chartered coaches, with only narrow carve-backs. At least one specialist wording we place also excludes boats over 8 metres used by you or on your behalf, unless someone else owns and operates the vessel and it is used for business entertainment. Whether a paid cruise or chartered boat qualifies is an open question, and insurers treat it differently, so raise it with us before you bind. See vehicles and passenger liability.
Keeping cover for two years after your last booking means renewing a policy for that long. An occurrence policy can respond to an injury that happened while it was in force even if the claim arrives later, subject to the wording, the schedule and the underwriter's assessment. But the clause asks for cover to be maintained. That is a commitment you make, not something the wording gives.
What tour operator policies do and don't do in general is set out in what's covered and what's excluded.
Sources
Published requirements as at October 2026. Confirm the current figure with the platform, cruise line or department before you rely on it. Tank is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, any platform, cruise line or department named on this page.
This page is general information only. It doesn't take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs, and it isn't legal advice. Cover depends on the policy wording, schedule, endorsements and the underwriter's assessment.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
RELATED GUIDES
QUOTE REQUEST
Tell us the tours you run, the platforms, cruise lines or schools you supply, the insurance clauses in their agreements, and your annual revenue.
We'll check how the insurance and indemnity clauses sit with your cover, put them to the specialist insurers and underwriting agencies we approach, and come back with the options available. Your lawyer reviews the agreement itself.
Last updated: 03/10/2026
