event

Event insurance at a glance

What is event insurance?

Whether you’ve organised a one-off corporate function or a large- scale festival, you’ll know just how stressful arranging an event can be. There are so many things out of your control, including weather, ticket sales and even the behaviour of your attendees.

That’s why you should help protect yourself and your business with a tailored events insurance policy. With the right insurance, you can safeguard yourself if things don’t go to plan – allowing you to run your event with confidence.

Who should consider it?

Events insurance is usually taken out by professionals in the hospitality or entertainment industry, such as:

  • Event managers and coordinators.
  • Events promoters and organisers.
  • Sound and lighting operators.
  • Stage managers.

However, any individual or company holding an event should consider the cover that events insurance can offer. Events can include concerts, exhibitions, festivals, fundraisers, theatre productions, trade shows, dance parties or corporate functions.

“From standard theatre productions where access to the bar and toilets at interval seem to be the main concern, to green field music festivals where just getting the audience into the area is fraught with difficulties, the risk assessment coming from a crowd management plan is essential.”

 Live Performance Australia, Audience and Crowd Management Hazard Guide, 2018

Did you know?

1 in 5

One in five dollars spent by international visitors to Australia are spent at a business event.

(Deloitte, Australia’s international business events sector: the economic and strategic value proposition, 2014)

29

From 2003 to 2016, there have been 29 fatalities related to an event.

(Safe work Australia, “Fun, exciting and safe: WHS in major events”, 2017)

alert
According to Aldo Raineri, Occupational Health and Safety, Central Queensland University, faulty infrastructure, weather events, terrorism and crowd management are the biggest risks for event organisers.

(Safe work Australia, “Fun, exciting and safe: WHS in major events”, 2017)

What can it cover?

Events insurance can protect you and your company from the various risks you’re exposed to when conducting an event. Without insurance, such a claim could threaten your assets.

Depending on your policy, event insurance can cover:

Type of coverPotential benefits
Event (public) liabilityLiability if a third party issues a claim for personal injury or property damage.
Venue and equipment damageCovers venue and equipment damage during the event.
Cancellation of the event due to weatherCovers losses arising as a result of an event being cancelled due to weather conditions.
Cancellation, abandonment or non-appearanceCover for abandonment or non-appearance of a performer.
Voluntary workers personal accidentCover for defined out-of-pocket expenses if an accident results in the injury or death of a volunteer for the volunteers working at the event.

What usually isn’t covered?

Exclusions, the excess you need to pay and limits of liability can vary greatly depending on your insurer. Policies generally won’t include cover for:

  • High risk activities.
  • Injury to participants in sports and content.
  • Improper set up.

Case Study

A charity organised its annual fundraising dinner to be held at a local hall. The charity arranged for catering through a third-party company, and invested in quality decorations.

The day of the event, a storm hit, damaging the roof of the hall and ruining the decorations – and the event had to be cancelled.

Tickets were refunded, but the charity was out of pocket for the cost of the decorations and catering. However, because they had taken out event insurance, their policy covered these costs.

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