EventCover is New Zealand’s specialised event insurance professional, that serves our events industry which wasn’t being served well. EventCover was established in 2018 after recognising a gap in the insurance market.
Event insurance is a unique niche market that only a few insurance brokers in New Zealand could say they understood.
Now PCOs, event managers and promoters have access to insurance that provides varying levels of event cover. The team at EventCover don’t see themselves as just insurance professionals, but yet a supplier who provides a service that’s embedded in the events industry.
Understanding the risk of an event
The New Zealand event industry has dramatically changed over the past 10 years. We now see a vast variety of events ranging in size and the bigger the event, the bigger the cost and the revenue it generates. This is the risk for any PCO, event manager or promoter.
The biggest risk that was unforeseen was Covid-19. It simply wiped out almost half a year’s worth of events that were forced to postpone or cancel. Although you can’t insure your event against Covid-19 because we’re still going through it, the expertise of EventCover still comes into play.
They’re here to help ensure your event can still go ahead rather than opting to cancel your event. This is what sets EventCover apart from general insurance organisations that don’t play in this space.
Is there less risk with indoor events?
People may think that indoor events such as business events are a low risk and there are less triggers for cancellation however, it’s the same risk. If we were to experience adverse weather it can prevent participants getting to your event, whether it be a terrorist attack, flooding, flights cancelled, road closures or a fire that can interrupt months’ worth of business events (eg. Sky City Convention City). Risk is omnipresent whether an event is indoor or outdoor, it’s everywhere, every risk is different, and it gets added to constantly.
Understanding event insurance
The cost to insure your event will vary depending on many factors such as:
- Where your event is held
- What time of year is it held
- The earthquake risk
- The type of event and speakers
It all starts with having those hard conversations because affordability is the key. Most of the time event insurance is not included in an event budget and conversations about event insurance are not taking place. It’s human nature that people don’t want to talk about what could go wrong however, it’s the hard ‘what if’ conversation that is now taking place.
The whole point of having event insurance is making sure that you’re in the same position you would’ve been had the event not been cancelled. Your net loss, projected profit and any additional costs such as relocating to another venue at a later date will be covered.
You can insure your speakers?
YES, that’s right you can insure your speakers, it’s another risk we need to be aware of.
If the success of your event is dependent on a special guest speaker, then the question is what will the outcome be if your speaker was unable to attend your sold-out event? Your speaker then becomes the biggest risk to your event, and therefore they should be insured.
Worst case scenario if you were to cancel your event because your guest speaker was unable to attend due to unforeseen circumstances. Touch wood. You must not forget your brand reputation.
If you’re considering cancelling your event and not providing refunds, then you must think of how it would affect those that had purchased a ticket to your event. We live in a digital age that your organisations brand can be tarnished if people were to vent on social media. It will literally spread like wildfire and the impact can damage your business reputation and brand.
Always keep your participants in mind, so you provide comfort to anyone who is going to part with their hard-earned cash to attend your event.
Stu Hartley, Underwriting Manager at EventCover
Stu is a Mancunian who got lost in New Zealand. With his background in film and television, he fell into insurance almost 15 years ago. Taking his love for the entertainment and events industry, he is now carving out his path as NZs authority in event insurance.
Website: www.eventcover.co.nz
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stuhartley/
