Event Q & A
January 9, 2006
By Judy Allen, author of the professional best-selling Event
Planning series.
The question:
What is event insurance and what kind of protection does it offer?
Judy's Response:
Event cancellation insurance is a specialized insurance and not offered through all insurance companies at this time. Two insurance companies in Canada that do offer event cancellation coverage are Chubb Insurance and K & K Insurance.
Interest and demand for this type of insurance coverage is growing, especially after the recent devastation in New Orleans and Cancun, where buildings were destroyed and extensive time will be required for entire infrastructures to be rebuilt. Companies and organizations that were scheduled to hold events in these locales in the near future had to move their dates or relocate their event to another area. This involves several hard costs.
Event cancellation insurance can underwrite loss for travel, venue deposits, rescheduling costs, as well as other costs including planning, food and beverage, entertainment, décor, staging, lighting and audiovisual, staffing, promotional material, etc. should your event be cancelled because of:
- Natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.
- Physical damage to the premises where your event is to take place.
- Accommodation at your destination becomes uninhabitable.
- No access to your hotel or venues.
- Complete cessation of your airline.
- Complete cessation of your arrival airport.
- Complete cessation of your travel suppliers.
- Mandatory evacuations due to weather, natural disasters and other (terrorism threats etc.).
- Mandatory relocating.
- Mandatory rescheduling of your event due to conditions beyond your control.
- Strikes by contracted suppliers including airlines, hotels, venues, air traffic, public transportation and other infrastructure workers.
- Withdrawal by authorities of obtained licenses and permits.
- Late or non-arrival of essential items to your event.
- Infrastructure rebuilding delays.
- National mourning.
- Definition of Acts of God and how it affects event cancellation policy.
A request for this type of custom insurance can be placed through your insurance broker. An application would be submitted for review as to the cost and the risk being insured. You would then receive written confirmation of the cost of the policy, as well as the specific terms and conditions that would need to be met.
Some examples of event cancellation insurance claims:
Adverse Weather
Heavy snowfall causes curtailment at exhibition
Rainfall affects tennis, cricket matches, golf events, motor races
Freezing weather conditions affect soccer matches
Gale force winds cause circus tent to collapse
Severe fog on motorway causes curtailment at exhibition
Freak hailstorm causes cancellation of speedway event
Flooding causes grandstand seating to sink
Lightening causes fire damage at event venue
Forest fires force cancellation of event
Structure Damage
Boat show curtailed following partial collapse of temporary pool structure
Roof collapse causes cancellation of motor show
Fire destroys exhibition centre
Utilities Failure
Power grid supply failure causes shutdown of theatres
Water supply failure causes shutdown of exhibition
Denial of access to event location as a result of a gas leak
One offs
Performer attacked by audience member
Crash of jet causes death of pop star resulting in cancellation of her
tour
Murder at venue causes police to restrict access
Failure of stage hydraulics cause stage collapse at pop concert
Sprinkler leakage at event venue causes damage to exhibits and venue
flooding
Sprinkler leakage at venue causes depletion of water reservoir
Venue forced to close because sprinkler system unable to operate until reservoir
replenished
Another type of insurance that should be considered is event liability insurance. This insurance would cover your organization and your sponsors in the case of bodily injury and/or property damage during your event.
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For paid professional event planning consulting - event design, site
selection critique, venue and supplier contract review,
budget analysis,
strategic planning, event logistical and timing
requirements, and on-site
orchestration - contact Judy directly at Judy
Allen Productions.
Disclaimer: Advice and
recommendations are based on limited information provided and should be used as
a guideline only. Neither the author nor CharityVillage.com make any
warranty, express or implied, or assume any legal liability for
accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information provided in
whole or in part within this article.
