Edit – January 28, 2025: It appears that Forbes Advisor has clean up their act since being clapped by Google and have either removed its affiliate links or clearly calls out any partner/affiliate content, like on this page.
Edit January 28, 2025: The Forbes award page that BriteCo is referring to seems to have been taken down.
Considering BriteCo for your event insurance needs? The below BriteCo review is intended to provide context on their various claims, including why being named #1 on Forbes Advisor is not what it seems.
Overall our BriteCo review gave BriteCo a 2 out of 5 based on our analysis criteria found here.
Our BriteCo Review & The Forbes Advisor Scheme
Forbes and Forbes Advisor, although related, can be considered two different entities or publications. Forbes Advisor is run by a separate company called Marketplace and is leveraging Forbes’ brand and domain authority to rank high on Google search results (AKA parasite SEO). There, they insert their own affiliate/commission links to monetize those pages.
Also, it is speculated that Marketplace also runs the affiliate pages of CNN Underscored and USA Today.
Lars Lofgren does a good breakdown of how Forbes Advisor works here and why their “unbiased reviews” might not be so unbiased after all.
Forbes Advisor Exposed?
The Forbes Advisor scheme may have finally been exposed and it appears Google may be taking action, according to Jackie at Indexsy:
This is great news for those looking for unbiased reviews.
What We Like About BriteCo
- Nice, clean design
- Various coverage options from liability to cancellation to lost deposits and more
- Covers up to 500 attendees at their lowest price
- Seems to include $1M/$2M damage to rented premises, however (see below)…
What We Didn’t Like About BriteCo
- Can’t see a price until the very end
- Quite expensive, especially if your wedding/event is on the smaller side
- No refunds (even if you cancel before the event date)
- Asks for name and email up front just to start the quote process
- It’s hard to tell what’s included in the initial quote and in general for an insurance website the details are sparse
- i.e. Their claim of “you get $1M/$2M in property damage protection” can be misleading if it’s a combined limit policy
- Hard to determine who the actual insurer is that’s backing the policies
- No sample policies to view
Lowest Cost Available
$120
- $1M/$2M (occurrence/aggregate) GL
- Damage to rented premises appears to be combined with GL
- Host liquor included
- No medical expense coverage
- Waiver of Subrogation endorsement: Not included
- Primary Noncontributory endorsement: Not included
Other Options
See here for a summary of our analysis of a dozen insurers and how this BriteCo review stacks up agains other insurers.
Our Top Picks For Liability Coverage:
Be sure to check your venue’s insurance requirements before securing a policy!
GatherGuard
Starts at $75 for $1M/$2M GL coverage
Min. Damage to rented premises limit: $250,000
Medical expense limit: Not included
Waiver of Subrogation Endorsement: No
Primary Noncontributory Endorsement: No
Free quote feature available
SpecialInsurance.com
Starts at $160 for $1M/$2M GL coverage
Min. Damage to rented premises limit: $300,000
Medical expense limit: $5,000
Waiver of Subrogation Endorsement: Yes
Primary Noncontributory Endorsement: Yes
Free quote feature available
Coverage can extend beyond midnight depending on state liquor laws, in which case only 1 day of coverage is required