As the economy reopens with the lifting of COVID restrictions, getting the right kind of insurance is acting as a barrier for some events organisers.
To remedy this situation, the government has partnered with Lloyd’s to deliver the Live Events Reinsurance Scheme as part of the Plan for Jobs. The scheme will see the government act as a ‘reinsurer’ – stepping in with a guarantee to make sure insurers can offer the products events companies need.
The pandemic is not over, but with a sufficiently high proportion of the population vaccinated, the country can learn to live with COVID-19 without the need for strict economic and social restrictions. This scheme will support live events across the UK that are open to the general public – such as music festivals and business events. It will cover costs incurred in the event of cancellation due to government COVID restrictions.
The live events sector is worth more than £70 billion annually to the economy and supports more than 700,000 jobs, including small businesses and the self-employed.
A number of prominent insurers in the Lloyd’s market, including Arch, Beazley, Dale, Hiscox, and Munich Re are supporting the scheme which will provide events companies with the option of purchasing cover from September, alongside standard commercial events insurance, giving them the reassurance they need to plan ahead.
This is one of the only insurance schemes in the world to cover such a wide array of live events and not put a cap on costs claimed per event. The scheme will be delivered by insurers with event’s organisers able to purchase cover for government-enforced cancellation due to the event being legally unable to happen (due to government COVID restrictions), alongside their standard insurance.
The scheme will be available from September 2021 and will run until the end of September 2022. It will be provided in addition to the extensive support already given to the cultural sector.
Source: Informanagement