LONDON (CelebrityAccess) — The United Kingdom is throwing a lifeline to the live events industry with the announcement of a £750 million government-backed insurance scheme to support the return of live events in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic
The Live Events Reinsurance Scheme, launched in partnership with insurer Lloyd’s, will back live events open to the general public, such as music festivals and business conferences.
The insurance plan will cover costs incurred in the event of cancellation due to the event being legally unable to happen due to Government Covid restrictions.
The plan will provide events companies with the option of purchasing cover from next month, alongside standard commercial events insurance from insurers in the Lloyd’s market, including Arch, Beazley, Dale, Hiscox and Munich Re.
The insurance scheme will go into effect in September and will be available until September 2022, the UK Government said.
“This vital intervention from the UK Government offers certainty to artists, concert and festival promoters in the live entertainment market. This is very welcome news and will help keep the sector and its employees working,” said Live Nation’s Denis Desmond.
The EIA, comprising of AEO, AEV and ESSA, welcome the Chancellor’s announcement of a new Covid Cancellation Insurance Scheme. The exhibitions sector has been significantly impacted during the pandemic with forced cancellations due to government and local authority restrictions. While we understand the necessary public health restrictions that have been in place, the impact on the sector has been devastating. The uncertainty caused by the pandemic has undermined the insurance market for our sector,” added Chris Skeith, CEO of the Events Industry Alliance.
“This government-backed insurance scheme will bring some much-needed confidence to a sector, and its supply chain, which often acts as the UK’s shop window to the world and allow the industry to rebuild itself despite the continued uncertainty pandemics bring. Our members provide trading platforms for over 180,000 businesses, fueling trade and economic impact across the UK and across every market sector, and we look forward to playing our part in driving the UK’s economic recovery. This new insurance scheme will hopefully play an important role in our ability to do that as we reopen in a safe and responsible manner,” Skeith continued.
