Keeping up with the traveling carnival

Gone are the days of freakish or ghoulish side show oddities, old time midway barkers and questionable ride-operators with sawdust running
through their veins.

Traveling carnivals have changed dramatically during the 20 years Mitchell Kaliff has presided over the insurance agency his grandfather established in 1917.

Gone are the days of freakish or ghoulish side show oddities, old time midway barkers and questionable ride-operators with sawdust running through their veins. He says carnival workers are “as mainstream as you and I.”

The only thing separating his clients from everyone is that they travel six to nine months of every year, according to the third generation owner of San Antonio-based Kaliff Insurance. He points out that carnival workers are generally highly educated individuals and accredited teachers often accompany the traveling shows to ensure school-aged performers and family members receive an appropriate education while on the road.

With travel being an inherent characteristic of the carnival industry, it’s no surprise that commercial auto and inland marine are major coverages required by the industry. Kaliff said his company services 65 traveling carnivals and every aspect of their operations. In addition to commercial auto and inland marine, he said general liability and workers’ compensation round out a typical carnival’s insurance needs.

Carnivals host more than 7 million patrons per year during a season that generally runs from spring through fall.

Kaliff said the key to successfully insuring the carnival industry is “working hand in glove” with the underwriter. He said it takes a special team of agents working in sync with underwriters to get it right.

T.H.E. Insurance Co., based in Florida and Texas, has been writing traveling carnival business since 1986, according to Don Culpepper, president of the insurer.

“For many years T.H.E.’s accounts had been underwritten by a former carnival owner who knew the ins-and-outs of that industry, and that practice continues through key managers who have spent their lives servicing the carnival niche,” Culpepper maintains.

Culpepper said T.H.E. specializes in this class of business — a class that pays more than $50 million in premium each year. Currently, T.H.E. offers all lines of coverage, including workers’ compensation and surety bonds.

“There are a few other carriers who write the carnival business as part of a diverse book but only T.H.E. specializes in the niche,” claims Culpepper.

He said all of T.H.E.’s carnival accounts have been placed by Allied Specialty Insurance Inc., a specialty agency dedicated to the carnivals.

Knowledge and familiarity with the exposures and operations of traveling carnivals make premium underwriters very hard to find, Culpepper added. “No two carnivals are alike,” Culpepper noted. “Their ride schedules, routes, duration and time of season, locations, the places and conditions under which they play all differ. Rating is very difficult due to the variety of exposures inherent in carnivals, and the ever-changing nature of their liability under the law.”

Kaliff validated the diversity of carnivals, noting they can range in size from five rides to 100 rides and can purchase coverage from $5,000 to $500,000. He said most carnivals are regional, operating among a certain group of states.

Culpepper and Kaliff concur that the highest concentration of liability comes from customer occurrences on the midway, or the main street of the carnival.

“The largest concentration of liability is bodily injury related to the midway, including trip-and-falls and amusement device-related liability exposures,” Culpepper said. “Believe it or not, food products exposure is actually at a minimum.”

Kaliff said carnival food quality is very high and it is rare these days to receive a food-related claim. Also, he notes, the chance of being injured on a carnival ride is less than being injured in a car accident.

Intimately involved with his clients, Kaliff said as a third generation insurer of traveling carnivals, he is now dealing with third generation carnival owners and entertainers. He said there has been very little turnover of personnel at his firm and that makes for a highly familiar group of insureds and a family-like atmosphere when he travels the country visiting his customers.