Washington, D.C.-based Global Event Partners today announced its member destination management companies in the U.S. will now assume due diligence for ensuring proper risk coverage connected with eventsremoving that burden from the shoulders of planners. The new standards were unanimously approved by U.S. DMCs at GEP's annual "Best Practices" meeting in Dallas in November, said Chris White, chairman and CEO of GEP, in a company release.Attending the meeting was Steve Levin, Senior Vice President at The Berkely Group, which provides insurance exclusively for the travel and meeting industries, whose role was to assure that the components of the new standards protect the best interest of all parties involved."This kind of initiative is what the meeting industry needs to ensure that all appropriate parties are well protected. Meeting planners should feel comfortable in utilizing the services of a DMC who has implemented these standards," Levin said.Effective immediately, all GEP U.S. partners will adopt the following new risk management standards:* Maintain current certificates of insurance of all key suppliers for a minimum of $1million in liability.* Require key suppliers to name the GEP DMC involved in an event as additionally insured.* Conduct at least one annual meeting with key suppliers to reiterate safety and service expectations and to review insurance and vendor agreements.* Require a signed supplier agreement asserting compliance with all laws, ordinances, licenses, permits, rules and regulations, and service levels commensurate with the highest standards of the industry."We are sure these standards will go a long way toward alleviating a longstanding concern with risk management within our industry," White said.