Contingency

Written by Naomi Vary

Key developments in 2024

The contingency chapter of the Annual Insurance Review returns after a break.  At the time of the 2022 update we expected the events market to rebound following the pandemic, although there remained lingering questions regarding entry requirements.  Moving to 2024, the COVID restrictions appear to be a thing of the past, with attendance at events depending on a personal risk assessment rather than a vaccine passport or negative test.  Despite the inevitable litigation following declinature of COVID claims, events and the contingency market have returned to normality.

This normality extends to the impact of extreme weather, which is regrettably becoming a common feature in the event industry.   Weather patterns have of course always had a degree of unpredictability, but the last few years have seen increasing extremes which can threaten events.  The opening ceremony and outdoor events at the 2024 Paris Olympics faced major storm alerts, whilst competitors in the sailing events wore ice vests to deal with the heat.  A number of the featured sports prohibited play should temperatures exceed a specific level.  On a more local level, 2024 saw a rash of cancellations, ranging from summer fairs to Christmas markets, due to severe weather warnings, and any policyholder will need to check carefully whether their policy covers these last minute and pre-emptive cancellations.

What to look out for in 2025

Global politics might seem a long way removed from sporting and cultural events but the increasing polarisation of opinions, and the ease of organisation through social media, has turned these events into unexpected pressure points.  In June 2024 the organisers of the Hay literary festival cut ties with the sponsor Baillie Gifford, over its links to Israel and fossil fuels.  Baillie Gifford responded by cancelling all sponsorship of literary festivals.  The same month, Barclays acceded to requests to suspend its sponsorship of Live Nation's UK festivals, after some acts had pulled out of the events in protest at Barclays' sponsorship; earlier in the year more than 100 artists had boycotted the Brighton Great Escape Festival, again due to Barclays' sponsorship.  Barclays remains in the news, as pro-Palestine protestors urge acts and fans to boycott the Capital Radio Jingle Bell Ball as a result of the bank's sponsorship.  

In September 2024 the RSPCA announced that it was cancelling a party to celebrate its 200th anniversary due to planned protests outside the event regarding allegations of animal cruelty at farms covered by RPCSA Assured.  Screenings of gender critical films have been postponed or cancelled due to fear of protests.  

This trend could lead to event organisers facing unattractive choices.  Most, if not all, contingency policies exclude cancellations caused by lack of finance.  Non-appearance cover does not extend to the voluntary withdrawal of an artist.  Cancellation of events due to fear of disruption is similarly generally excluded.  Event organisers may consider that they have valid reasons to cancel events, but should appreciate that this might be at their expense. 

Explore Annual Insurance Review 2025