The £750 million event insurance scheme is evidence that the government doesn’t intend any further lockdowns, according to Michael Hirst, chair of the Events Industry Board.
And Hirst also voiced concern about whether events will be covered by the scheme in the case of partial restrictions, such as capacity caps.
He said: “I think the scheme is a sign that the government doesn't intend any further lockdowns under current circumstances. But if there are lockdowns, which cause cancellations, it's happy to cover it.
“Of course, it doesn't actually take away all the risk because if the government imposes partial restrictions, for example, capacity caps again, events will not be covered, from my understanding. We haven't seen the detail yet.
“If the government suddenly comes along and says, you know, you've planned a 20,000 person event, but we're only going to let 10,000 people attend it, there are some really big viability concerns for an organiser, if that suddenly happens.
But hopefully, commercial insurance will kick in again, you know, now that the commercial insurance can see that they don't have to take 100% of the risk. they'll come in for the more reduced risks.”
Event professionals have been asking for an event insurance scheme for more than a year. Hirst defended the late introduction of the scheme, which is due to start next month.
“I think the government obviously wanted to minimise the cost to the taxpayer. And therefore, offering it at a time when restrictions and lockdowns were at their peak would not be a sensible use of taxpayer’s money. Covering risks when the risks are so high - a commercial insurer would not do that. And in fact, that's what happened. You know, there was market failure and the government had to step in.
“Event insurance was one of the big cries from the industry, can we sort that out? And, you know, nothing's ever perfect. But we have got something, which is much, much better than nothing.”
Michael Hirst was speaking to M&IT as part of M&IT’s People Issue. The full interview will be in the September issue of M&IT.
M&IT editor Paul Harvey is a journalist with more than 15 years of experience. He began his career in the local press, working for various titles across the north. Since joining M&IT in 2013, he has become a trusted and respected voice in the sector, championing event professionals and reporting on all aspects of the events industry for the brand.
