Event cancellation cover eyed after sodden summer
10 September 2008
New figures from the Met Office make it official: we’ve had another exceptionally wet summer.
While the UK’s 188mm rainfall for June and July doesn’t match last year’s 270mm, it’s been more than enough to call off numerous events. These disruptions have stimulated interest in insurance cover from underwriters, according to Lloyd’s insurer, Beazley.
“Last year was exceptional but this year’s had more than its share of bad weather” says Chris Rackliffe, Contingency Underwriter at Beazley. “This double whammy for event organisers has meant the market is seeing an increasing number of enquiries for cancellation cover.”
Summer disruptions
Among this summer’s spate of cancelled events was England’s Twenty20 international cricket match with South Africa, scheduled for 20 August at Durham’s Riverside ground. It was abandoned because of heavy rain. The ground has a capacity of 15,000 and organisers were faced with returning ticket fees ranging from £10 to £65 each.
Ebor Festival, dubbed the jewel in the crown of York Racecourse, was called off because the course was inundated. The Royal International Air Tattoo, the world’s largest military airshow, couldn’t go ahead in July after nearby camping sites and RAF Fairford flooded.
According to Beazley, these events alone will lead to more than £10m of lost revenue for the event organisers.
Beazley believes cancellation insurance should be part of all event management. “It needs to be thought about sooner rather later,” Rackliffe says. “The cost will only go up closer to the event, and terms may become restricted. As soon as costs begin to be incurred, insurance needs to be a priority.”
Last updated on 10 Sep 2008
