Halloween can be a scary time for some business owners. For those that run haunted houses, corn mazes, pumpkin patches and other venues that are popular destinations this time of year, it can be extremely scary if they’re not properly insured in case any boys or ghouls happen to have an accident. According to a report from Claims Journal, it’s important to consider the risks for any event whether you’re operating a hay ride or a petting zoo. “I actually had one person tell me they had a tiger in their petting zoo,” David Baker, principal at Stratum Insurance Agency in Costa Mesa, Calif, told Claims Journal. “That is not a good idea.”

Since insuring a haunted house isn’t exactly the same as insuring a regular one, it does require some extra research by insurance agents. “From an agency standpoint, what you need to know is the basis of that haunted house, the event they are having, how is it going to be laid out, is it indoors or outdoors? Really get your hands around what they are going to have there and what kinds of risks there are going to be,” Brett Hager, account executive at Market Financial Group, told Claims Journal. “Some get a little crazy and might have a flame thrower or a canon that shoots pumpkins. Does the public have access to these? That’s something you need to know.”

Slips, falls, and things that go bump in the night can all equal big claims for the insurance company when covering venues for Halloween. Agents need to tour the venue beforehand and find out if it’s worth the risk. “People say it’s a pumpkin patch, but in reality they might have a carnival running, too,” Hager told Claims Journal. “Know what your customer truly has; don’t just take it at face value. A lot of people call us and say, ‘it’s just a pumpkin patch’ and I say, ‘well I am looking at your site and see you have a shooting range, too.’ There can be a lot of risk there.”

Some insurance companies say Halloween venues are just too scary, so they’ve opted out insuring them due to risk. But those that do service the industry offer general liability insurance, volunteer accident coverage and equipment insurance, according to Claims Journal. “I think standard carriers underestimate the professionalism that most of these guys operate under,” Robin Walker, commercial department manager for InPro Insurance in Troy, Michigan told Claims Journal. “Some of these are movie quality, theater quality sets and scenes, and the good ones that want to stay in business and want people to come back have to be safe. Standard carriers underestimate the safety aspect.”