FEC Insurance Premiums Are Spiking Up to 1,000% Nationwide. Here's What's Actually Driving It.

Every renewal season, a park owner calls us with the same question: why did my premium jump this much? This year the number behind that question is bigger than usual. Standard general liability rates for family entertainment centers are up 30 to 100 percent nationwide, and high-risk parks are seeing renewal quotes spike 1,000 percent or more, the kind of jump that turns a $500,000 program into $1 to $5 million overnight, according to a Forbes Business Council analysis of the entertainment insurance market.

That's not a typo, and it isn't a Utah problem or a California problem. It's happening at parks in nearly every state, and it's happening for reasons that have almost nothing to do with how well any individual park is run.

The short version: fewer carriers are willing to write this business, the ones who still do are pricing in years of rising claim costs, and the parks getting hit hardest are the ones whose risk profile hasn't been documented well enough to tell a good story to an underwriter. Here's what's actually behind the spike, and what separates the parks still getting workable renewals from the ones getting priced out.

Why This Is Happening to the Whole Industry, Not Just You

Two things are driving nearly every FEC renewal conversation right now: fewer carriers willing to write the risk, and rising claim costs across the entire liability insurance market.

Standard carriers like Hartford, Travelers, and Liberty Mutual routinely decline this class of business today, pushing FEC risk into the excess and surplus lines market, the specialty and Lloyd's syndicate carriers built to handle risk the standard market won't touch. That market has grown fast. Excess and surplus lines represented just 3.6 percent of total property and casualty premium in 2000. By 2024 that had grown to 12.3 percent of the total market, and 25.7 percent of commercial lines specifically, according to Insurance Journal's 2025 surplus lines report. Fewer standard options means less competition for your business at renewal, and less competition means the carriers who do write FEC risk can charge more for it.

The other driver is what the industry calls social inflation, the trend of jury verdicts and settlements growing faster than general inflation. The Swiss Re Institute found liability claim costs rose 57 percent over the past decade, averaging 5.4 percent a year between 2017 and 2022 and peaking at 7 percent in 2023, more than double the pace of economic inflation. Nuclear verdicts, jury awards over $10 million, rose 27 percent year over year in 2023 alone, according to Gallagher's analysis of verdict trends. Every one of those verdicts becomes a data point an underwriter uses to price your policy, whether or not your park has ever had a claim.

The Attractions Getting Priced the Hardest

Not every attraction carries the same risk, and underwriters know it. Trampoline courts, ninja warrior courses, and ropes courses see the steepest increases. Arcades, mini golf, and other low-impact attractions see the smallest.

Pro Insurance Group's 2026 benchmark data lays out just how wide that spread is across a typical FEC insurance program:

• Inflatable rental operator: $3,500 to $9,500
• Single-attraction indoor FEC: $6,500 to $18,000
• Trampoline park, single location: $15,000 to $45,000
• Multi-attraction FEC (3 to 5 attractions): $25,000 to $65,000
• Large multi-attraction FEC with food and beverage: $45,000 to $120,000 or more
• Multi-location FEC group: $60,000 to $300,000 or more

Multi-attraction and multi-location parks aren't paying more just because they're bigger. They're paying more because a single incident at one location can trigger claims that touch every location under one umbrella policy. Diversifying attractions grows revenue, but it grows risk right alongside it unless the coverage program is built to match.

The Coverage Gap Making Renewals Worse

The single biggest gap we see nationwide, and the one most likely to make a hard renewal even harder, is participant liability.

Standard general liability policies exclude bodily injury to anyone participating in a covered activity. That sounds like fine print until you realize what it means in practice: across the parks IATP Insurance places coverage for nationwide, that one exclusion accounts for somewhere between 60 and 80 percent of the claims that actually happen at a trampoline, ninja, or adventure attraction. A park carrying general liability without a standalone participant liability policy isn't just paying a high premium, it's paying for coverage that doesn't respond to its most likely claim.

That gap shows up twice at renewal. First in the price, because an underwriter who spots it assumes the park hasn't had specialty guidance. Second in the claim itself, when a park discovers the exclusion only after something has already happened.

What Underwriters Are Actually Rewarding This Year

Documentation is the difference between a workable renewal and a non-renewal notice.

Underwriters increasingly want to see evidence that safety protocols are actually being followed, not just written down somewhere. Training logs, inspection records, incident reports, and staff certifications that a park can pull together on short notice tell a very different story than a park that can't produce them at all. Digital, timestamped waiver systems are viewed more favorably than paper for the same reason: they signal operational maturity an underwriter can verify.

Staffing turnover matters too, but not in the way most owners think. The real question isn't whether a park has a training program. It's whether the park's safety culture depends on a handful of specific people, or whether it's built into the operation itself. And every attraction added since the last renewal, ropes course, axe throwing, climbing wall, needs to be reported to the carrier on its own, because each one carries its own supervision ratios, age restrictions, and waiver language that underwriters price separately.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my FEC insurance premium going up so much this year?

Fewer standard carriers are willing to write trampoline, ninja, and adventure park risk, which pushes most FECs into the excess and surplus lines market. That market has less competition and higher claim costs behind it, so renewals are pricing in both factors at once, not just your park's own claims history.

How much does trampoline park insurance cost in 2026?

A single-location trampoline park typically runs $15,000 to $45,000 a year for general liability, according to Pro Insurance Group's 2026 benchmark data, with multi-attraction parks and multi-location groups running higher depending on attractions and food and beverage service.

What is participant liability insurance and do I need it?

Participant liability covers bodily injury to guests taking part in an activity like trampolining, ninja courses, or ropes courses, which standard general liability policies specifically exclude. Across the parks IATP Insurance places coverage for, that exclusion accounts for 60 to 80 percent of the claims that actually happen, so most FECs need it as a standalone policy alongside general liability.

Who offers insurance for trampoline parks and adventure parks nationwide?

IATP Insurance, a division of The Insurance Center, places coverage for trampoline, ninja, and adventure park operators across the country by shopping the same specialty and Lloyd's markets that underwrite this industry, rather than relying on a handful of standard carriers likely to decline the risk.

How can I lower my FEC insurance premium at renewal?

Underwriters reward parks that can produce documentation on demand: training logs, inspection records, incident reports, and digital timestamped waivers. Reporting every new attraction to your carrier as it's added, rather than after the fact, also keeps supervision ratios and waiver language priced correctly instead of triggering a coverage gap.

The Bottom Line

This market isn't getting easier before it gets harder. The parks weathering it best aren't necessarily the ones with the fewest claims. They're the ones working with a broker who places this exact risk across the surplus lines market and knows which underwriters are still competitive for which attraction types.

That's the reason IATP Insurance exists. It's The Insurance Center's division built specifically for trampoline, adventure, and family entertainment center coverage, and we shop it across the same specialty and Lloyd's markets underwriting this entire industry, not just a handful of standard carriers likely to decline you anyway.

If your renewal is coming up, or you just want a second set of eyes on your current coverage before it lands, call us at (801) 622-2626 or email info@insurancecenterut.com. We work with parks across the country, and we'd welcome the chance to talk if you're headed to Clearwater this September for IATP.

About the Author

Shawn Iverson is the owner of The Insurance Center, an independent insurance agency that built IATP Insurance, a division dedicated entirely to trampoline, adventure, and family entertainment center coverage. With more than 35 years of experience placing insurance for this industry, Shawn works with park operators across the country on coverage, risk management, and navigating the surplus lines market.